"Factor Analysis" is a genetic term for a somewhat vaguely delimited set of techniques for data processing, mainly applicable to the social and biological sciences. These techniques have been developed for the analysis of mutual relationships among a number of measurements made on a number of measurable entities. In the broad sense, factor analysis comprises a number of statistical models which yield testable hypotheses -- hypotheses that may confirm or disconfirm in terms of the usual statistical procedures for making tests of significance. It also comprises a number of simplifying procedures for the approximate description of data, which do not in any sense constitute disconfirmable hypotheses, except in the loose sense that they supply approximations to the data. In literature, the two types of analysis have often been confused.
This book clarifies the concepts of factor analysis for students or professionals in the social sciences who wish to know the technique, rather than the mathematics, of factor theory. Mathematical concepts are described to have an intuitive meaning for the non-mathematical reader. An account of the elements of matrix algebra, in the appendix, and the (mathematical) notes following each chapter will help the reader who wishes to receive a more advanced treatment of the subject. "Factor Analysis and Related Methods" should prove a useful text for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in economics, the behavioral sciences, and education. Researchers and practitioners in those fields will also find this book a handy reference.

This book introduces the reader to the main quantitative concepts, methods, and computational techniques needed for the development, evaluation, and application of tests in the behavioral/social sciences, including educational tests. Two empirical examples are carried throughout to illustrate alternative methods. Other data sets are used for special illustrations. Self-contained programs for confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis are available on the Web.

Intended for students of psychology, particularly educational psychology, as well as social science students interested in how tests are constructed and used, prerequisites include a course on statistics.

The programs and data files for this book can be downloaded from www.psypress.com/test-theory/