ABSTRACT
Factor analysis is a statistical technique widely used in psychology and the social sciences. Indeed in some branches of psychology, especially those in which tests or questionnaires have been administered, it is a necessity. With the advent of powerful computers and the dreaded statistical packages which go with them factor analysis and other multivariate methods are available to those who have never been trained to understand them. I have examined countless theses in which the factor analytic results were simply a source of fear and confusion to the students who were praying that they would not be asked to explain them.
