On Eigen Values Greater Than Unity and the True Structure of Tests
- 1 December 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Educational and Psychological Measurement
- Vol. 40 (4) , 875-877
- https://doi.org/10.1177/001316448004000408
Abstract
A 32 item inventory was computer-generated to have a clearly de fined factor structure. N observations were sampled from this struc ture, factor-analyzed and examined for eigen values exceeding unity. Only in the robust N condition (N = 320) was the prescribed structure correctly identified. It was concluded that the use of this procedure for uncovering the internal structure of tests is a special case of sample quantity not quality.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The Application of Electronic Computers to Factor AnalysisEducational and Psychological Measurement, 1960