CHAPTER V Factor Analysis1

THE last report on factor analysis in the REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (26) covered the period 1939-1951. Altho the period covered by the present survey is much shorter, the number of papers reviewed is nearly as great as that for the previous period. This accelerated research activity emphasizes the present interest in the state of the art. Examination of the literature reveals that most of the research is on the mechanics of fac tor analysis as a research technic or its application in some subject area. However, the new research does not overlook the origins of factor analysis, for it also includes some attempts at evaluating the validity of factor analysis as a mathematical model to describe observed human behavioral responses in terms of operationally meaningful human parameters. Validity of Factor Analysis Factor analysis, as we know it today, emerged as a research technic thru the creation of a mathematical model which attempted to portray the relationships between a response to a test of mental ability and th