The purpose of factor analysis can be best described as:
A)data simplification by summarizing the information contained in a large number of variables into summary measures.
B)presenting the relationship between multiple categorical measures in a low-dimensional diagram.
C)assessing the significance of group differences across many metric dependent variables simultaneously.
D)assessing the degree of correlation of a group of categorical measures.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The purpose of factor analysis is to simplify data by reducing the number of variables while retaining the essential information. It does this by identifying underlying factors or dimensions that explain the relationships among the observed variables. These factors can then be used as summary measures to describe the data. Choice B is describing a method of multidimensional scaling, not factor analysis. Choice C is describing multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Choice D is not a relevant purpose of factor analysis.

The Purpose of Factor Analysis Can Be Best Described As