Model fit indices are being increasingly recommended and used to select the number of factors in an exploratory factor analysis. Growing evidence suggests that the recommended cutoff values for common model fit indices are not appropriate for use in an exploratory factor analysis context. A particularly prominent problem in scale evaluation is the…

Conventional differential item functioning (DIF) detection methods (e.g., the Mantel-Haenszel test) can be used to detect DIF only across observed groups, such as gender or ethnicity. However, research has found that DIF is not typically fully explained by an observed variable. True sources of DIF may include unobserved, latent variables, such as…

CEFA 3.02(Browne, Cudeck, Tateneni, & Mels, 2008) is a factor analysis computer program designed to perform exploratory factor analysis. It provides the main properties that are needed for exploratory factor analysis, namely a variety of factoring methods employing eight different discrepancy functions to be minimized to yield initial…

Issues related to the decision of the number of factors to retain in factor analyses are identified. Three widely used decision rules--the Kaiser-Guttman (eigenvalue greater than one), scree, and likelihood ratio tests--are investigated using simulated data. Recommendations for use are made. (Author/JKS)

The performance of four rules for determining the number of components (factors) to retain (Kaiser's eigenvalue greater than one, Cattell's scree, Bartlett's test, and Velicer's Map) was investigated across four systematically varied factors (sample size, number of variables, number of components, and component saturation). (Author/JKS)

Working from a common data base and hypothesized model, this paper demonstrates and compares the EQS and LISREL computer program strategies in the analysis of a second-order factor model. Program similarities and differences are noted with respect to: (1) preliminary analyses of the data; (2) treatment of data that are not multivariately normal;…

The Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLR), a 28-item form, was created by ETS to supplement the qualitative rating of graduate school applicants' nonacademic qualities with a quantitative approach. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the following psychometric properties of the SLR using the Rasch rating-scale model: dimensionality,…