Methods of Multivariate Analysis
Second Edition
ALVIN C. RENCHER: Brigham Young University
13.8 THE RELATIONSHIP OF FACTOR ANALYSIS TO PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS
Both factor analysis and principal component analysis have the goal of reducing dimensionality. Because the objectives are similar, many authors discuss principalcomponent analysis as another type of factor analysis. This can be confusing, and we wish to underscore the distinguishing characteristics of the two techniques. Two of the differences between factor analysis and principal component analysis were mentioned in Section 13.1:
- In factor analysis, the variables are expressed as linear combinations of the factors, whereas the principal components are linear functions of the variables.
- In principal component analysis, the emphasis is on explaining the total variance, as contrasted with the attempt to explain the covariances in factor analysis.
- The principal component analysis requires essentially no assumptions, whereas the factor analysis makes several key assumptions;
- the principal components are unique ( assuming distinct eigenvalues of S), whereas the factors are subject to an arbitrary rotation.
- If we change the number of factors, the ( estimated) factors change. This does not happen in principal components. The ability to rotate to improve interpretability is one of the advantages of factor analysis over principal components.
If finding and describing some underlying factors is the goal, factor analysis may prove more useful than principal components; we would prefer factor analysis if the factor model fits the data well and we like the interpretation of the rotated factors. On the other hand, if we wish to define a smaller number of variables for input into another analysis, we would ordinarily prefer principal components, although this can sometimes be accomplished with factor scores. Occasionally, principal components are interpretable, as in the size and shape components in Example 12.8.1.
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