Exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques are compared, and how to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis is reviewed. A sampling of "fit" statistics and suggestions for methods to improve models for testing are also presented. Exploratory factor analysis is used to explore data to determine the number of the nature of…

Rotation is used in almost all exploratory factor analysis (EFA) studies. There are numerous rotation strategies that can be employed in these various applications. This paper reviews the various rotation choices in EFA studies, including confirmatory rotation, and presents criteria useful in selecting rotation methods in various analytic…

The central objective of factor analysis is to explain the greatest amount of variance in a data set with the smallest number of factors. Higher-order analysis is an invaluable tool that offers the benefit of parsimony provided by first-order analysis with the opportunity to make data-based generalizations beyond the first-order. Higher-order…

Logistic regression was used for modeling the observation-to-indicator ratio needed for the standard error scree procedure (SEscree) to correctly identify the number of factors existing in generated sample correlation matrices. The created correlation matrices were manipulated along the number of factors (4,6), sample size (250, 500), magnitude of…

Assumptions underlying the multifaceted, hierarchical structure of self-efficacy previously hypothesized by R. Shavelson, J. Hubner, and G. Stanton (1976) for the construct of self-concept were tested. The self-efficacy interpretation of the Science Self-Efficacy Scale (H. Kennedy, 1996), a relatively new measure, was studied with 331 (151 female…

Although it has been suggested that an understanding of shyness may come from a better understanding of social anxiety, there is no hard evidence that shy people are in fact socially anxious. To explore the link between shyness and social anxiety, a 297-item questionnaire was administered to 302 college students. Analysis of the 100 questionnaire…

A Bayesian procedure is given for estimation in unrestricted common factor analysis. A choice of the form of the prior distribution is justified. The procedure achieves its objective of avoiding inadmissible estimates of unique variances, and is reasonably insensitive to certain variations in the shape of the prior distribution. (Author/BJG)

This study was undertaken to compare factorial similarity across three scale versions within the same sample focusing on leadership phenomena. (Author/RK)

Procedures developed by Joreskog for studying similarities and differences in factor structures between different groups were applied to data from a study by Thurstoen to investigate the sampling stability of a hypothesized isolated configuration. The hypothesis of an isolated configuration was rejected but not by much. (Author/RC)

A "doubly-centered" raw data matrix is one for which both columns and rows have both unit variance and means equal to zero. The factor scores from one analysis are the same as factor pattern coefficients from the other analysis except for a variance adjustment. This study explored an extension of the reciprocity principle which may have…

Examined two assumptions about the dimensionality of Rotters' Internal-External (I-E) scale: First, the bipolarity of the two statements within each item pair; second, the unidimensionality of the overall construct. Both assumptions regarding Rotters' I-E Scale were found untenable. (Author/BJG)

Research supported by Office of Naval Research contract, N00014-67-A-0305-0012

The concurrent validity of the Achievement Anxiety Test (AAT) and its factor structure are investigated to provide empirical evidence about the quality of AAT. State and trait anxiety were measured by State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), mathematics anxiety was assessed by a 24-item revised version of the 98-item Mathematics Anxiety Rating…