AN INTRODUCTION TO FACTOR ANALYSIS

User Guide


Developed by

Nuala Colgan, University of Ulster


in collaboration with

Brendan Bunting and Noel Wilson


ISBN: 1 85889 150 7

CODE NO: AS25

DESCRIPTION:

This product consists of hypertext-based tutorials and

companion documentation; it is designed to introduce the

concepts of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis

and principal component analysis


OBJECTIVES:

The package provides a self-teach facility for students who

are not studying statistics as a mainstream topic, and

support for those who are associated with project and

research work which entails the use of factor analysis

and principal component analysis techniques


PREREQUISITES:

A basic understanding of statistical measurement,

especially that presented in our Reliability and Scale

Construction CBT. A basic working knowledge of MS WINDOWS

is assumed.


PRODUCT FEATURES:

On-line help, notepad facility, and a suite of interactive

self test facilities.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

IBM or compatible microcomputer with hard disc and

minimum of 4Mb RAM; EGA, VGA (or better) colour monitor,

MS DOS Rel 3.1 (or later); MS WINDOWS Rel 3.1 (or

later) and at least 6Mb free disc space.


CONTENTS:

Introduction to concept of measurement

Overview of exploratory factor analysis

Overview of confirmatory factor analysis

Comparison of exploratory and confirmatory factor and analysis techniques

Overview of principal component analysis

(examples are based on SPSS FACTOR output but their is no direct link to SPSS

nor is there a need to be familiar with SPSS in order to use the product)


DISTRIBUTION:

Copies of the product are obtainable from:

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Jean Burgan Tel: 0114 272 5248

UCoSDA Fax: 0114 272 8705

Ingram House Email:

65 Wilkinson Street j.burgan@sheffield.ac.uk

The University of Sheffield

SHEFFIELD S10 2GJ


URL: http://www.niss.ac.uk/education/ucosda.html


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COST:

stlg25.00 for UK HE institutions

stlg45.00 for non-UK HE institutions (p+p is added for overseas orders)

Cheque with order, made payable to UCoSDA, is preferred but an

invoice can be sent if necessary.

For overseas orders we normally send/fax a pro forma invoice for

payment before goods are dispatched. Payment is preferred in pounds

sterling, drawn on a UK bank, cheques made payable to UCoSDA.

However, if payment is made in dollars then we ask that an additional

$20.00 is added to the converted total to cover our bank charges.


FURTHER INFORMATION AND COMMENTS:

N Wilson

Principal Computing Officer

Academic Services

Shore Road

Newtownabbey

Co Antrim

BT37 OQB


Tel: 01232 368141

Fax: 01232 366809

e-mail: RN.Wilson@ulst.ac.uk


Dr B Bunting

School of Behavioural & Communication Sciences

University of Ulster

Shore Road

Newtownabbey

Co Antrim

BT37 OQB


Tel: 01232 365131

Fax: 01232 366610

e-mail: BP.Bunting@ulst.ac.uk


Registered Trademarks:


MS DOS and MS WINDOWS are registered trademarks of

Microsoft Corporation


All other trademarks are acknowledged


OTHER PACKAGES IN THE SERIES:

AS18: Introduction to the SAS System


AS19: Generating Descriptive Statistics using the SAS System


AS20: Introductory Data Analysis using Minitab


AS22: Workbook on Questionnaire Design


AS24: Introduction to SPSS/PC+ Data Entry Module


AS29: Introduction to Regression Analysis


AS30: Introduction to Reliability and Scale Construction


AS31: An Introduction to Inferential Statistics


AS32: Data Types and Experimental Design