factor analysis

Noun

factor analysis (countable and uncountable, plural factor analyses)

1. (uncountable) A statistical method used to describe variability among observed correlated variables in terms of one or more unobserved variables (called factors).
   • Factor analysis is a generic term that we use to describe a number of methods designed to analyze interrelationships within a set of variables or objects.1993, Richard A. Reyment, K. G. Jöreskog, Applied Factor Analysis in the Natural Sciences, page 71
   • Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and principal components analysis (PCA) both are methods that are used to help investigators represent a large number of relationships among interval-level variables in a simpler (more parsimonious) way.2005, Nancy L. Leech, Karen Caplovitz Barrett, George Arthur Morgan, SPSS for Intermediate Statistics: Use and Interpretation, page 88
2. (countable) A statistical study performed using the method.
   • Separate exploratory factor analyses using an oblique rotation were conducted on the item sets measuring task values, task difficulty perceptions, and ability perceptions.1999, Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Allan Wigfield, “In the Mind of the Actor: The Structure of Adolescents' Achievement Task Values and Expectancy-Related Beliefs”, in Richard M. Lerner, Jasna Jovanovic...
   • The factor analyses clearly showed significant vectors where variables of campesino identity are related.2008, Nina K. Müller-Schwarze, When the Rivers Run Backwards, page 368