A researcher wishes to determine the factor structure of 20 continuous items and identify substantive meaning for those factors, for which existing theory for determining the relationships between variables is minimal. Which one of the following procedures is more appropriate?
A) confirmatory factor analysis
B) exploratory factor analysis
C) principal components analysis
D) structural equation modeling

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

EFA is appropriate when the goal is more than just decomposition, i.e., identifying constructs and attaching meaning to them, and when existing theory is minimal.

A Researcher Wishes to Determine the Factor Structure of 20