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ERIC Number: EJ990689
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Nov
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1531-7714
EISSN: N/A
Replication Analysis in Exploratory Factor Analysis: What It Is and Why It Makes Your Analysis Better
Osborne, Jason W.; Fitzpatrick, David C.
Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, v17 n15 Nov 2012
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is a powerful and commonly-used tool for investigating the underlying variable structure of a psychometric instrument. However, there is much controversy in the social sciences with regard to the techniques used in EFA (Ford, MacCallum, & Tait, 1986; Henson & Roberts, 2006) and the reliability of the outcome. Simulations by Costello and Osborne (2005), for example, demonstrate how poorly some EFA analyses replicate, even with clear underlying factor structures and large samples. Thus, we argue that researchers should routinely examine the stability or volatility of their EFA solutions to gain more insight into the robustness of their solutions and insight into how to improve their instruments while still at the exploratory stage of development. (Contains 4 tables and 3 footnotes.)
Center for Educational Assessment. 813 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002. e-mail: pare@umass.edu; Tel: 413-577-2180; Web site: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/pare
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A