ABSTRACT
This chapter explores possible designs for using factor analysis and gives some examples of how and why they may be useful in a wide variety of settings–including case studies of individuals, classification of people and the study of mood and motivation. Like Q-technique, S-technique involves identifying types of individuals–but based on their responses to a single test, which is administered on a large number of occasions. P-technique is very useful in developing and evaluating scales that measure moods, emotional states, motivational states and anything else which is likely to vary over time. Chain-P technique involves gathering data from each of several people and stacking their data on top of each other before performing the factor analysis. G-analysis is simply a form of Q-analysis that is based on dictotomous data. When performing a normal R-technique factor analysis, identifying the factors is generally quite straightforward as one merely observes which variables have large positive or negative loadings on the factor.
