On Cliff's Formula, the Kaiser-Guttman Rule, and the Number of Factors

1992 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 595-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry F. Kaiser

Cliff (1988) has presented a formula for the reliability of a principal component which is different from my long-known formula (Kaiser, 1957, 1991) for coefficient alpha of a principal component. Cliff claims that his approach is “correct” and mine “is the result of a misapplication of the formula for internal consistency reliability” Actually, both developments are correct but are based on different premises: Cliff considers measurement error within—but not between—attributes, while I consider measurement error between—but not within—attributes. The application of my formula to the knotty problem of the “number of factors”—the Kaiser-Guttman Rule—appears often to give the “right” result, when “right” means agreement with the subjective judgment of factor-analytic grandmasters. But when it fails it is approximately equally likely to overfactor as to underfactor. Cliff's formula, on the other hand, when used to establish the number of factors, almost invariably overfactors and, in the limit, as the within-attribute reliabilities all approach one (as with, say, physical attributes), nonsensically will declare all principal components perfectly reliable no matter how small their associated eigenvalues, yielding an absurd answer if used to establish the number of factors.

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Powell

This paper describes a 64-item clinical screening task designed to assess the accuracy of children's consonant cluster productions. This procedure is designed to help speech-language pathologists develop intervention programs to improve children's production of clusters by facilitating the identification of error patterns. Once such patterns have been identified, individualized treatment programs designed to maximize generalization may be developed. The task was administered to 100 4- and 5-year-old subjects to assess the technical adequacy of the procedure. Internal consistency reliability of the task was high, and the procedure was also shown to assess an appropriately diverse array of word-initial and word-final consonant clusters. Finally, the construct validity of the task was supported by factor analytic procedures.


Author(s):  
Judi Allyn Godsey ◽  
Tom Hayes ◽  
Clinton Schertzer ◽  
Robert Kallmeyer

Purpose Nurses have been called to be leaders in the transformation of health care and to help improve health-care access for the nation’s most vulnerable populations. However, to lead health-care transformation, the profession of nurses must first see themselves as leaders. Unfortunately, nursing has been described as lacking cohesiveness and failing to communicate a consistent brand image. No empirically tested quantitative tools exist to measure the brand identity of nursing, making it difficult to assess where the profession stands in regard to the mantel of leadership. The purpose of this study was to develop empirically sound instruments which could measure nurses’ perceptions of their professional brand image. A total of three scales were developed and then tested: The Nursing Brand Image Scale, Nursing’s Current Brand Position Scale and Nursing’s Desired Brand Position Scale. Design/methodology/approach The factor structure and internal consistency reliability of each scale were examined following survey administration to a national sample of registered nurses. Principal component analyses were used to explore the factor structure of each scale. Item reduction was achieved through examination of the loading of items across the factors and the impact of the item on internal consistency reliability. Findings Respondents to the survey were nursing alumni who received a baccalaureate or master’s degree in nursing at a private, mid-western university, and nursing faculty affiliated with a private, collegiate network (n = 286). For all scales, principal component analysis showed no inter-item correlations >0.9 or <0.1. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure for sampling adequacy was high and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant (p < 0001). The internal consistency reliability of each of the three scales was good to excellent. Current brand position mean scores were highest for the factor “caring advocates for patients/public”, and lowest on “influential leaders”. The most desired brand position mean scores were highest and rated similarly for factors “influential leaders” and “patient-centered caregivers”. Originality/value This study provides strong preliminary evidence for the factor structure and internal consistency reliability for each of the three scales and represents an important first step toward quantitatively measuring the brand image of nursing. However, results suggest there is work to be done if nursing is to formulate and adopt a brand image that consistently reinforces their role as leaders. Further testing of the scales with other nursing populations, the general public and with larger sample sizes is recommended.


2007 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 617-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Grove

Principal component analysis (PCA) and common factor analysis are often used to model latent data structures. Typically, such analyses assume a single population whose correlation or covariance matrix is modelled. However, data may sometimes be unwittingly sampled from mixed populations containing a taxon (nonarbitrary subpopulation) and its complement class. One derives relations between values of PCA parameters within subpopulations and their values in the mixed population. These results are then extended to factor analysis in mixed populations. As relationships between subpopulation and mixed-population principal components and factors sensitively depend on within-subpopulation structures and between-subpopulation differences, naive interpretation of PCA or factor analytic findings can potentially mislead. Several analyses, better suited to the dimensional analysis of admixture data structures, are presented and compared.


2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anu Realo ◽  
Kati Koido ◽  
Eva Ceulemans ◽  
Jüri Allik

In this article, following an assumption that individualism and collectivism are separate factors, we have further established that three central components of individualism can be distinguished. In the first part of the article we examined whether the three proposed components of individualism—autonomy, mature self‐responsibility, and uniqueness—can be distinguished from each other in one cultural context, Estonia. A new scale was developed to measure the three aspects of individualism which demonstrated both the reasonable internal‐consistency reliability as well as convergent and divergent validity with several other measures of individualism and collectivism and related constructs. In the second part of the article we studied whether individualism generalizes across specific contexts or domains of social relationships, namely, across relations with family and close others; friends and peers; state and nation. The results of the three‐mode principal component analysis showed that the individualistic tendencies of the respondents did not differ much while measured toward the three types of social relation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan B. Weir ◽  
Marcia M. Dickman ◽  
Dale R. Fuqua

This psychometric study was designed to test the feasibility of measuring college students' preferences for developmental and prescriptive advising styles as separate constructs. Part 5 of the Academic Advising Inventory (Winston & Sandor, 1984b) was revised into two independent scales, one for measuring preferences for developmental advising and the other for measuring preferences for prescriptive advising. Results suggest that the two scales have a reasonable item structure, and the internal consistency reliability is reported to be modest. Of greater theoretical importance, the two scales are found to be largely independent. The practical implications of this independence are discussed relative to future applications and research.


1996 ◽  
Vol 51 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasunobu Sakoda ◽  
Kenji Matsui ◽  
Yoshihiko Akakabe ◽  
Jun Suzuki ◽  
Akikazu Hatanaka ◽  
...  

Abstract Chemical structure-odor correlations in the isomers of n-C9-methylene interrupted dienols were explored using synthetic nine isomers of these alcohols. The synthetic dienols were purified by recrystallization or column chromatography of their 3,5-dinitrobenzoate de­ rivatives. Chemical structure-odor correlations in all the isomers of the purified n-nonadien-1-ols were analyzed by treating the data obtained statistically with the principal component analysis method (Sakoda et al., 1995; Cramer et al., 1988) in comparison with those of n-nonen-1-ols. The odor profiles of the n-nonadien-1-ols were attributable largely to the geometries of the isomers, compared with n-nonen -1-ols (Sakoda et al., 1995). With the principal component analysis, the odor profiles of the series of the dienols were successfully integrated into the first and the second principal components. The first component (PC 1) consisted of combined characteristics of fruity, fresh, sweet, herbal and oily-fatty, and the second component (PC 2) leaf or grassy and vegetable-like. Of the methylene interrupted dienol isomers, (2E ,6Z)-and (3Z,6Z)-nonadien-1-ols which are natural products and have (6Z) in the same, deviated markedly from the other isomers as seen in (6Z)-nonen -1-ol of n-nonen-1-ols. That suggests that the double bond of (ω3Z) was an important factor for natural characteristic odor.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 150-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedicte Sørensen Strøm ◽  
Knut Engedal ◽  
Ellen-Karine Grov

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Threadgold Communication Tool (TCT). Method: Internal consistency reliability was measured using Cronbach's α coefficient and inter-item correlation. Test-retest was performed to examine the instrument's stability. Exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) with oblimin rotation was carried out to evaluate construct validity. Finally, the score on each item of the TCT was correlated with the person's Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Barthel Index of activities of daily living scores. Results: A total of 51 persons participated, with a mean age of 86.7 (SD 6.6) years, of whom 46 were women with moderate-to-severe dementia [mean MMSE score 7.5 (SD 6.7)]. There were two measurement points 2 weeks apart. The results showed a satisfactory level for internal consistency and a high test-retest reliability (r = 0.76). The corrected item-total correlation ranged between 0.50 and 0.87, and a two-factor structure was revealed at the PCA. ‘Vocalizing' seemed to measure another aspect of communication and was the only item which was negatively loaded. Conclusion: Despite the low sample size in this study, the results revealed the TCT as a reliable and valid instrument, suitable for measuring communication among people with dementia. We suggest clarifying the understanding of ‘vocalizing' before considering removing it from the scale.


Author(s):  
Jihhyeon Yi ◽  
Sungryul Park ◽  
Juah Im ◽  
Seonyeong Jeon ◽  
Gyouhyung Kyung

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of display curvature and hand length on smartphone usability, which was assessed in terms of grip comfort, immersive feeling, typing performance, and overall satisfaction. A total of 20 younger individuals with the mean (SD) age of 20.8 (2.4) yrs were divided into three hand-size groups (small: 8, medium: 6, large: 6). Two smartphones of the same size were used – one with a flat display and the other with a side-edge curved display. Three tasks (watching video, calling, and texting) were used to evaluate smartphone usability. The smartphones were used in a landscape mode for the first task, and in a portrait mode for the other two. The flat display smartphone provided higher grip comfort during calling (p = 0.008) and texting (p = 0.006) and higher overall satisfaction (p = 0.0002) than the curved display smartphone. The principal component regression (adjusted R2 = 0.49) of overall satisfaction on three principal components comprised of the remaining measures showed that the first principal component on grip comfort was more important than the other two on watching experience and texting performance. It is thus necessary to carefully consider the effect of display curvature on grip comfort when applying curved displays to hand-held devices such as smartphones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. 87-88
Author(s):  
J. Antonio Garcia-Casal ◽  
Natacha Coelho de Cunha Guimarães ◽  
Sofía Díaz Mosquera ◽  
María Alvarez Ariza ◽  
Raimundo Mateos Álvarez

Background:Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is a brief cognitive test, appropriate for people with minimum completed level of education and sensitive to multicultural contexts. It could be a good instrument for cognitive impairment (CI) screening in Primary Health Care (PHC). It comprises the following areas: recent memory, body orientation, praxis, executive functions and language.Research Objective:The objective of this study is to assess the construct validity of RUDAS analysing its internal consistency and factorial structure.Method:Internal consistency will be calculated using ordinal Cronbach’s α, which reflects the average inter-item correlation score and, as such, will increase when correlations between the items increase. Exploratory Factor Analysis will be used to arrange the variables in domains using principal components extraction. The factorial analysis will include the extraction of five factors reflecting the neuropsychological areas assessed by the test. The result will be rotated under Varimax procedure to ease interpretation.Exploratory factor analysis will be used to arrange the variables in domains using principal components extraction. The analysis will include Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. Estimations will be based based on Pearson’s correlations between indicators using a principal component analysis and later replicated with a tetrachoric correlation matrix. The variance in the tetrachoric model will be analysed to indentify convergent iterations and their explicative power.Preliminary results of the ongoing study:RUDAS is being administered to 321 participants older than 65 years, from seven PHC physicians’ consultations in O Grove Health Center. The data collection will be finished by August 2021 and in this poster we will present the final results of the exploratory factor analysis.Conclusions:We expect that the results of the exploratory factor analysis will replicate the results of previous studies of construct validity of the test in which explanatory factor weights were between 0.57 and 0.82, and all were above 40%. Confirming that RUDAS has a strong factor construct with high factor weights and variance ratio, and 6-item model is appropriate for measurement will support its recommendation as a valid screening instrument for PHC.


Refuge ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Adina Friedman

The notion of Return in many ways epitomizes the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The Palestinian Right of Return, one embodiment of this notion, has constituted a hurdle in the parties’ attempts to reach a sustainable agreement. Rather than regard the conflict as of zero-sum nature, this paper assumes that Palestinians and Israelis, in their negotiations on the Right of Return and other issues, do not hear each other, and in fact are seldom speaking the same language even when it seems they are discussing the same issue. It examines the ways in which Israelis and Palestinians understand the issue of Return, and suggests a number of factors that influence their different understandings – as well as what each is able to hear from the other. A sustainable agreement would have to take these factors into account in its formulation and in the way in which it is delivered to both peoples.


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