Indices of the Adequacy of Factor Extraction Suggesting a General Function in Factor Analysis

Abstract

In a systematic study of factor-extraction-termination criteria, computer generated data were arranged in matrices having 4, 8, and 16 “true” factors with 16, 32, and 48 variables for sample sizes of 50, 100, 200, and 500. Four graphical methods of data treatment involving residuals, factor loadings, number of variables, and sample sizes gave results of such regularity as to suggest the possibility of a mathematical approach to factor extraction termination.