Is exploratory factor analysis always to be preferred? A systematic comparison of factor analytic techniques throughout the confirmatory-exploratory continuum
Abstract
. The number of available factor analytic techniques has been increasing in the last decades.
However, the lack of clear guidelines and exhaustive comparison studies between the
techniques might hinder that these valuable methodological advances make their way to
applied research. The present paper evaluates the performance of confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA), CFA with sequential model modification using modification indices and the Saris
procedure, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with different rotation procedures (Geomin,
target, and objectively refined target matrix), Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM),
and a new set of procedures that, after fitting an unrestrictive model (i.e., EFA, BSEM),
identify and retain only the relevant loadings to provide a parsimonious CFA solution
(ECFA, BCFA). By means of an exhaustive Monte Carlo simulation study and a real data
illustration, it is shown that CFA and BSEM are overly stiff and, consequently, do not
appropriately recover the structure of slightly misspecified models. EFA usually provides the
most accurate parameter estimates, although the rotation procedure choice is of major
importance, especially depending on whether the latent factors are correlated or not. Finally,
ECFA might be a sound option whenever an a priori structure cannot be hypothesized and the
latent factors are correlated. Moreover, it is shown that the pattern of the results of a factor
analytic technique can be somehow predicted based on its positioning in the confirmatoryexploratory continuum. Applied recommendations are given for the selection of the most appropriate technique under different representative scenarios by means of a detailed
flowchart.
Is exploratory factor analysis always to be preferred? A systematic comparison of factor analytic techniques throughout the confirmatory-exploratory continuum
Tipo de Actividad
Artículos en revistasISSN
1082-989XPalabras Clave
.confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis, Bayesian structural equation modeling, cross-loadings, internal structure.