Factor Analysis at 100

Book excerpt: This book provides a retrospective look at major developments as well as a prospective view of future directions in factor analysis. In so doing, it demonstrates how and why factor analysis is considered to be one of the methodological pillars of behavioral research. Featuring an outstanding collection of contributors, this volume offers unique insights on factor analysis and its related methods. The book reviews some of the extensions of factor analysis to such techniques as latent growth curve models, models for categorical data, and structural equation models. Intended for graduate students and researchers in the behavioral, social, health, and biological sciences who use this technique in their research, a basic knowledge of factor analysis is required and a working knowledge of linear algebra is helpful.