An Introduction to Factor Analysis

Included in this course is an e-book and a set of slides. The purpose of the course is to introduce students to factor analysis, when it is used and how it is used. The course does not assume the use of any specific statistical software. Therefore, this course should be of use to anyone intending interested in factor analysis. The theory is explained in an intuitive way while keeping the math at a minimum. The course starts with a simple one-dimensional example where the concepts of reliability, loadings, and eigenvalues are explained. The course then moves to two-dimensions where the concept of rotation is explained. Different rotation techniques are discussed in addition to the differences between them.

In the second part of the course, students walk through a case study in a step-by-step approach in order to see how the techniques are applied and what sort of logic is used in each step. In this part, students will walk through a large project in order to understand the type of questions that are raised throughout the process.