Bifactor latent structures were introduced over 70 years ago, but only recently has bifactor modeling been rediscovered as an effective approach to modeling "construct-relevant" multidimensionality in a set of ordered categorical item responses. I begin by describing the Schmid-Leiman bifactor procedure (Schmid & Leiman, 1957) and highlight its…

Proposes Promin as an alternative to Promaj for the rotation of oblique factors. Identifies advantages of the Promin approach, which seems to perform better than other well-known procedures. (SLD)

A sufficient condition in terms of the unique variances of a common factor model is given for the results of factor analysis to come closer to those of principal components analysis. In general, vectors corresponding to loading matrices can be related to each other by a specific measure of closeness, which is illustrated. (SLD)

Proposes a class of multivariate Tobit models with a factor structure on the covariance matrix. Such models are useful in the exploratory analysis of multivariate censored data and the identification of latent variables from behavioral data. The factor structure provides a parsimonious representation of the censored data. Models are estimated with…

This article examines the methodological foundations of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and suggests that it is properly construed as a method for generating explanatory theories. In the first half of the article it is argued that EFA should be understood as an abductive method of theory generation that exploits an important precept of…