Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
MA Student of Educational Technology, Allameh Tabataba’i University
Abstract
Numerous studies use the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) method to reduce the data. Determination of the true number of retainable factors is the most crucial problem confronting researchers when using EFA. Common methods usually under/overestimate the number of factors. Objective: The present research aims to evaluate the common methods of determining the number of retainable factors and also introduce Parallel analysis (PA), as one of the most accurate methods of doing so. Method: The Parallel Analysis methodwas illustrated step by step using authentic examples with Syntax programming in SPSS. Results: The results showed that Parallel Analysis was an accurate method of determining the number of factors; however, its application is limited. Conclusion: Despite being accurate, PA is not well-known to researchers; in part, because it is not included as an analysis option in most popular statistical packages. Therefore, this paper elaborated on how to apply PA. The authors hope this effective method will be applied more in the future.
Keywords
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