A Fortran IV program which computes either of the coefficients of congruence (psi or phi) used in comparison of factors in factor analysis is presented. Output consists of a non-symmetric matrix of factor coefficients. Listings of the program, results and test data are available. (Author/JKS)

A method is presented for determining the number of components to retain in a principal components or image components analysis which utilizes a matrix of partial correlations. Advantages and uses of the method are discussed and a comparison of the proposed method with existing methods is presented. (JKS)

Analysts differ quite heatedly over the use of principal components rather than principle axis factor analysis. The difference between the two approaches involves the entries used on the diagonal of the matrix of associations that is analyzed. This paper uses an actual data set (N=539; variables =98) to illustrate that these two methods converge…

This paper considers some decisions that must be made by the researcher conducting an exploratory factor analysis. The primary purpose is to aid the researcher in making informed decisions during the factor analysis instead of relying on defaults in statistical programs or traditions of previous researchers. Three decision areas are addressed.…

It is shown that, under very general conditions, uniqueness estimates proposed independently by Guttman (1957) and by Harris (1963) provide tighter upper bounds on the unknown uniqueness values of factor analysis than do existing estimates. (Editor)

This paper made an important distinction between determinacy of common-factors and determinacy of unique-factors and examined the implications of two results previously obtained by Guttman. (Author/RK)

The differences in concept formation skills between middle and working class children in New Zealand are discussed. (CK)

Three-mode factor analysis (3MFA) and PARAFAC are methods that describe three-way data. A class of 3MFA models is introduced that falls between 3MFA and PARAFAC and contains the good properties of both approaches, including the unique axes property that has distinguished the PARAFAC model. (SLD)

Proposes an index for assessing the degree of factor simplicity in the context of principal components and exploratory factor analysis. The index does not depend on the scale of the factors, and its maximum and minimum are related only to the degree of simplicity in the loading matrix. (SLD)

Developed a general framework to estimate total test or testlet reliability with either fixed or random factors that is based on hierarchical factor analysis. Illustrates the framework with an example based on real data. (SLD)