ABSTRACT
One of the most common errors committed by inexperienced research workers is to collect a mass of data before deciding how the data are to be analyzed. Despite the fact that proper planning is just as important in factor analytic research as it is in other areas, factor analysis is often called upon to rescue unplanned research endeavors from disaster. For every person who asks how to plan a project so that factor analysis can be used effectively, there seem to be ten who wait until after the data are already collected to ask for help in doing “something” with what they have. Needless to say, when factor analysis is used as an afterthought on data from a poorly planned investigation, the results are not apt to be gratifying nor representative of what factor analysis can do when used properly. Investigators who wish to get the most from this powerful analytic tool would do well to give careful attention to the principles of proper design of factor analytic research. Principles of design and other considerations involved in a well-planned factor analytic investigation are the subject of this chapter.
