Posted by
statisticsdoc on
Nov 15, 2006; 11:20am
URL: http://spssx-discussion.165.s1.nabble.com/PCA-factor-score-uses-tp1072110p1072114.html
Fred,
Yes, the scores can be used as dependent variables.
Factor scores are standardized with Mean = 0 and SD = 1 , so your groups are
quite different from one another.
Best,
Stephen Brand
For personalized and professional consultation in statistics and research
design, visit
www.statisticsdoc.com
-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:
[hidden email]]On Behalf Of
Fredric E. Rose
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 10:18 PM
To:
[hidden email]
Subject: PCA factor score uses?
I'm not entirely familiar with PCA and could use some help.
I've used PCA w/varimax rotation to reduce 10 variables (answers to a racism
attitudes questionnaire) down to 2 factors. I want to know if the
calculated factor scores for each participant can then be used as a
dependent variable in subsequent analyses, or whether I should simply
combine the variables loading on the respective factors and use those? My
problem is in interpreting the factor scores: Group 1 has a mean of -2.72
and Group 2 has a mean of 2.68. These are significantly different, but I'm
not sure what the means represent (the raw data are scores ranging from 1 to
10, so there are no negatives).
Thanks for any insight.
Fred Rose