Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Instructors: Patrick Curran & Greg Hancock
Software: R, Mplus, SAS, and SPSS
Lectures: 13 hours
Software Demonstrations: 1-5 hours per program
Evergreen Content: Continually updated
Lifetime Access: Materials never expire

Class Overview Video

Professional: $849
Student: $649

Savings Opportunity: Get more content and save up to $250 with our Measurement Bundle

Registration Type

Clear

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Category: Asynchronous, Workshops

The goal of this workshop is to provide in-depth training in the core concepts involved in the design, validation, and scoring of multi-item measurement scales commonly used in the educational, psychological, behavioral, and health sciences. Topics include an introduction to the principles of measurement and scale development; a detailed discussion of exploratory factor analysis, including both principal components analysis and the common factor model; and a comprehensive explication of confirmatory factor analysis. Equal emphasis is placed on understanding the statistical framework and underlying assumptions of each method and on the practical application of these techniques across a wide array of research settings. The unifying goal of the workshop is to provide researchers with the modeling tools needed to develop and validate measurement instruments and obtain optimal scale scores within their own substantive programs of study.

Note: Get lifetime access to both this class and Foundations of Item Response Theory at a significant savings of $250 off the professional rate (or $200 off the student rate) relative to the total cost when purchased separately through our Measurement Bundle. This gives you a total of 20 hours of lectures plus many more hours of software demonstrations.

3:52 Class Content / 13:20 Materials Provided / 15:14 Learning Objectives

Instructors

Patrick J. Curran, Ph.D.

Patrick Curran is a Professor in the L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is dedicated to teaching and disseminating advanced quantitative methods and has won multiple awards for teaching excellence. Read More

Gregory R. Hancock, Ph.D.

Greg Hancock is Professor, Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, and Director of the Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation program in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland and Director of the Center for Integrated Latent Variable Research. Read More

Workshop Details

The Goals of the Workshop

Our motivating goal is to provide an interactive and engaging instructional experience that focuses on a large number of topics in the theory and application of contemporary exploratory and confirmatory measurement models. We strive to strike an equal balance between core concepts of the underlying statistical models along with their practical application and interpretation when fitted to real empirical data, including the generation of scale scores. Our workshop is designed to provide participants with the materials and instruction needed to develop a real understanding of both foundational and advanced measurement models and to be able to thoughtfully and knowledgeably apply these models to their own data.

Who Should Attend

Our workshop is designed for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and research scientists from the behavioral, social, educational, and health sciences and other related fields. It is recommended, but not required, that participants have a working knowledge of the linear regression model. Participants who would like a more thorough refresher on linear regression prior to attending may wish to watch our (no cost) Linear Regression Playlist on YouTube.

Syllabus

Chapter 1: Introduction & History of Factor Analysis
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background and History of Factor Analysis
1.3 Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 2: Principal Components Analysis
2.1 Extraction & Enumeration
2.2 Rotation & Interpretation
2.3 Empirical Demonstration
2.4 Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 3: The Common Factor Model
3.1 Factor Extraction & Empirical Demonstration
3.2 Extensions and Limitations
3.3 Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 4: Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Part I
4.1 Foundations of Confirmatory Factor Analysis
4.2 Model Building, Estimation, and Evaluation
4.3 Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Issues and Practice
4.4 Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 5: Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Part II
5.1 CFA Approach to Classical Test Theory and Reliability
5.2 Mean Structures
5.3 Frequently Asked Questions

Chapter 6: Confirmatory Factor Analysis: Part II
6.1 Extensions and Next Steps

Software Considerations

Pre-recorded software demonstrations for all measurement models are provided for all demonstrations. Specific software varies depending on the model under consideration (not all software packages can estimate all models). We provide detailed demonstrations in SPSS, SAS, and R for principal components analysis, SPSS, SAS, R, and Mplus for the common factor model, and R and Mplus for confirmatory factor analysis. Comprehensive demonstration notes, script, and data files are provided for all four programs.

While it is helpful to have some familiarity with one or more of these programs, this is not necessary and all necessary code will be provided assuming no prior knowledge. Note that R can be downloaded free-of-charge.

What is Provided

Participants receive lifetime access to all course materials, including complete course notes, lecture recordings, software demonstration notes, software demonstration recordings, and data and code for all examples. You can revisit these materials any time you like, without worrying about expiration dates. Pretty awesome, huh?

Content for this class is evergreen, meaning participants will always have access to the most current version of the course materials. Thus, if we replace a lecture recording or software demonstration, or update a syntax file, you will have immediate access to the updated content without needing to re-enroll in the class. Even more awesome.

Availability of Recordings

Certificate of Completion

After enrollment, you will have the option to generate a certificate of completion which will display your first and last name (as indicated in your user account), the name of the workshop, and the date upon which the certificate was generated. It can be printed to a PDF and will also be stored in the your user account for future access (after logging in to your account, select My Certificates from the user menu). Heck, you can even print out a hard copy and frame it to impress your friends.

Sample Content

Tuition Support for Students

We offer reduced-price registrations for undergraduate and graduate students who are actively enrolled in a recognized bachelor's, master's or doctoral training program. No application is necessary to qualify for the student tuition rates; simply choose the student rate when beginning the registration process at the top of the page. Confirmation of student status may be requested at a later time.

Reviews

The workshop had many strengths. The teachers were very knowledgeable and their teaching was entertaining. The best was that we get access to the course afterwards. This provides enough time to really learn the course contents.

Comprehensive, good background/context for WHY things are done a certain way.

Patrick and Greg were great at making the material understandable and accessible for attendees. The demo notes were also extremely well put together.

Patrick and Greg are knowledgeable and great at teaching. Their explanations are thorough and accessible. The banter is awesome and really makes the workshop fun.

Informative, engaging, and applicable. During the workshop I actually thought, "I like learning statistics" which would have horrified my undergraduate self. I would recommend it and CenterStat to my colleagues.

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