Homework 10: Exploratory Factor Analysis

(Due at Start of Class, 4/17)

Note: Use the HW10_data.sav

You must be careful with this project. This project can take a tremendous amount of your time if
you spend too long trying to interpret each of the possible analyses at each of the steps. There are
no right or wrong answers regarding the real number of factors, so dont get too caught up in
the process. You will probably all make different decisions along the way. Different people will
probably have different answers, and thats okay as long as youve performed the procedures
properly.

The following is a subset of the items graduate students generated.

Note) LS = life satisfaction, SE = Self-esteem, ANX = Anxiety, ASE = Academic self-efficacy

1. I am satisfied with the overall course of my life. (LS1)

2. I have few major regrets. (LS2)
3. My life has turned out as I had hoped. (LS3)
4. I wish I had made different choices in the past (LS4R)-(R indicates a recoded item.)
5. I would recommend my life decisions to others I care about. (LS5)
6. I find my life to be fulfilling. (LS6)

7. I like myself. (SE1)

8. My opinions are not valuable. (SE2R)
9. I believe I am not as valuable a person as others. (SE3R)
10. I am a likeable person. (SE4)
11. I am usually disappointed with myself. (SE5R)
12. I have a lot to offer other people. (SE6)
13. I have many positive attitudes. (SE7)
14. I am glad I am who I am. (SE8)

15. I get butterflies in my stomach before an exam. (ANX1)

16. I have a hard time sleeping the night before a test. (ANX2)
17. I feel nervous before taking a test. (ANX3)
18. No matter how much I study, I worry that I will perform poorly on a test. (ANX4)
19. I forget answers that I know while taking a test because Im nervous. (ANX5)
20. My muscles become tense when Im taking an exam. (ANX6)
21. Before an exam, I have an abnormal appetite (e.g., overeating, not eating). (ANX7)
22. After I take a test, I worry about how well I did. (ANX8)

23. I am confident that I will perform well on all tests taken within my program. (ASE1)
24. I have good study habits. (ASE2)
25. I am prepared for my classes. (ASE3)
26. I allow plenty of time to sufficiently study for my classes. (ASE4)
27. I feel positive about my ability to finish coursework. (ASE5)
Part A

First, examine the items and consider their content. How many different underlying factors do
you think might exist? Describe them briefly. Examine items for possible coding problems (i.e.,
reliability checking).

Part B: Principal Components Analysis (PCA)

Perform a principal components analysis on the 27 items. Using (a) theory, (b) the Kaiser
criterion (i.e., eigenvalue > 1), and (c) scree plot, determine the number of factors that should be
retained (attach the syntax and output). Select a rotation method and transform to simple
structure (try different rotations for fit). When you have obtained the most interpretable solution,
print your results and interpret them. Describe briefly how you obtained your final solution
using principal components analysis.

1. Ran unrotated PCA

2. Ran rotated PCA varimax with 5 components
3. Ran rotated PCA varimax with 4 components
a. Deleted lifesat1, acadseff5, selfest4, lifestat5
4. Ran rotated PCA varmiax with 4 components
5. Ran rotated PCA varimax with 3 components
a. Failed to converge
b. Deleted lifesat4
6. Ran rotated PCA varimax with 4 components
a. Deleted lifesat3
7. Ran rotated PCA varimax with 4 components
8. Ran rotated PCA Promax Kappa 4 with 4 components
9. Ran rotated PCA Equamax with 4 components

WRITE-UP:

Procedures
An primary unrotated principal components analysis was run on the data from all 27
items. The scree-plot, presented as Figure 1, and component eigenvalues indicated five possible
components present in the data. In order to improve the interpretability of the analysis, a rotated
analysis was run using the Varimax rotation and five components. While the rotated component
matrix included items for all five components, only two items were loaded primarily into
component five, LS5 and ANX5. Because LS5 was, I would recommend my life decisions to
others I care about, and ANX5 was, I forget answers that I know while taking a test because
Im nervous, and these two items were theoretically unrelated, I decided to decrease the number
of components to four and rerun the analysis using Varimax rotation.
Using four components, the model fit the data much better, with far fewer cross-loadings
and better simple structure. However, certain items appeared to be cross-loaded. LS1, LS5, SE 4,
and ASE5 were all substantially cross-loaded. They were removed from the item set, and the
analysis was run again using four components and Varimax roation.
 While the simple structure improved again, there still was a notable degree of cross-
loading for certain items. In the interest of saving items rather than deleting them, a rotated
analysis was run using Varimax rotation and only three components. However, this analysis
failed because the rotation failed to converge in 25 iterations, suggesting that three components
could not adequately represent the data.
Finally, LS3 was removed from the items and an analysis was run using four components
and Varimax rotation. This solution contained a small degree of cross-loading; however, the
results were easily interpretable. That is, most of the self-esteem and life-satisfaction items
formed component 1, most of the anxiety items formed the bulk of component 2, component 3
was formed entirely by academic self-efficacy items, and component 4 was formed by two
anxiety items (ANX4 and ANX5). In order to explore the utility of different rotations, a Promax
rotation and a Equimax rotation were also run. Compared to the Varimax rotation, they both
produced comparable results; however, the Promax rotation provided the most sufficient simple
structure and the pattern matrix made the components easily visible.

SCREE-PLOT

TABLES: Also, complete the following tables unrotated and rotated.

Table 1

PCA Results Total Variance Explained (Rotated)

Component/Factor Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings

Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1 9.64 45.88 45.88
2 2.96 14.09 56.97
3 1.53 7.28 67.25
4 1.14 5.46 72.70

Table 2. PCA Results Total Variance Explained (Unotated).

Component/Factor Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings (equal to initial eigenvalues)

Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1 12.44 46.06 46.06
2 3.30 12.22 58.28
3 1.87 6.93 65.21
4 1.29 4.77 69.98
5 1.03 3.82 73.80

Part C: Common Factor Analysis

Perform a common factor analysis on the 27 items. Determine the number of factors that should
be retained. Examine the unrotated solution. Select a rotation method and transform to simple
structure (try different rotations for fit). When you have obtained the most interpretable solution,
print out your results and interpret them. Describe briefly how you have obtained your final
solution using common factor analysis. Also, complete the following tables without and with a
rotation.

WRITE-UP:
1. Unrotated CFA
2. Rotated CFA Varimax 4 components b/c 1 item for 5th component
3. Rotated CFA Promax 4 components
4. Rotated CFA Promax 4 components (no SE7, ASE5, LS2-3)

SCREE-PLOT
 13

12

11

10

8
Eigenvalue

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Factor Number

TABLES: Also, complete the following tables unrotated and rotated.

Table 3. Sums of Squared Loadings (Unrotated)

Unrotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1 12.47 46.06 46.06
2 3.30 12.22 58.28
3 1.87 6.93 65.21
4 1.29 4.77 69.98
5 1.03 3.82 73.80
Table 4. Order (by Loading Size) in which Items Contribute to the Factors (Unrotated)

Factor
1 2 3 4 5
selfest8 .93 -.09 .04 -.08 .15
selfest1 .92 -.18 .24 -.15 -.08
selfest2 .87 .01 .15 -.12 -.02
lifesat3 .80 .07 -.23 .02 .27
lifesat1 .79 -.19 -.23 .41 .10
selfest5 .78 -.14 -.01 -.13 .23
acadseff3 .78 .16 -.36 -.17 -.06
lifesat6 .77 -.15 -.02 .39 .03
acadseff5 .76 -.10 -.19 -.13 .04
selfest7 .75 -.33 .08 .15 -.26
acadseff4 .74 .26 -.46 -.23 -.12
selfest6 .74 .00 .26 .06 .08
acadseff2 .65 -.01 -.52 .17 -.18
selfest4 .64 -.13 .01 .43 -.11
lifesat4 .62 .15 -.03 -.08 .38
anxiety2 .59 .48 .03 -.01 -.13
lifesat2 .58 -.11 .12 .24 .13
acadseff1 .57 -.09 -.25 .08 -.20
lifesat5 .50 .00 .12 .34 .02
anxiety3 .55 .63 .26 .07 .09
anxiety7 .51 .60 .02 -.02 -.08
anxiety1 .51 .59 .07 .07 .03
anxiety8 .44 .57 .20 .00 -.15
anxiety6 .48 .55 .19 .02 .21
anxiety4 .24 .51 .30 .47 -.21
selfest3 .44 .47 -.02 -.12 .14
anxiety5 .28 .41 .26 .40 -.13
Table 5. Sums of Squared Loadings (Rotated)

Factor Rotation Sums of Squared Loadings

Total % of Variance Cumulative %
1 10.50 45.67 45.67
2 2.97 12.93 58.60
3 1.64 7.14 65.74
4 1.24 5.40 71.14

Table 6

Order (by Loading Size) in which Items Contribute to the Factors (Rotated)

Factor 1a Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4

anxiety3 (.83) selfest1 (.90) acadseff4 (.87) selfest4 (.69)

anxiety1 (.74) selfest8 (.84) acadseff2 (.82) lifesat6 (.66)

anxiety4 (.73) selfest5 (.78) acadseff3 (.71) lifesat1 (.64)

anxiety8 (.72) selfest2 (.77) acadseff1 (.48) lifesat5 (.46)

anxiety7 (.72) selfest6 (.74)

anxiety6 (.67) lifesat4 (.52)
anxiety2 (.62)
anxiety5 (.60)
selfest3 (.53)

Part D

Briefly compare findings from Part B and Part C regarding similarities and differences.

Part E

Decide which factors are the most meaningful and which items should be retained as parts of
which factors. Use item content and factor loadings to describe each factor. Perform a
coefficient alpha reliability analysis on the items associated with each of the factors you have
decided to retain.

Use your theory, item content, results of the reliability analysis (item-total correlations,
reliabilities), and factor loadings (low loadings or high cross-loadings) to decide which items to
retain or eliminate. Then, define the factor conceptually, list the items associated, compute
coefficient alpha, provide correlation matrix, means, SDs for the scales.