SIMPLIMAX - OBLIQUE ROTATION TO AN OPTIMAL TARGET WITH SIMPLE STRUCTURE

Factor analysis and principal component analysis are usually followed by simple structure rotations of the loadings. These rotations optimiz e a certain criterion (e.g., varimax, oblimin), designed to measure th e degree of simple structure of the pattern matrix. Simple structure c an be considered optimal if a (usually large) number of pattern elemen ts is exactly zero. In the present paper, a class of oblique rotation procedures is proposed to rotate a pattern matrix such that it optimal ly resembles a matrix which has an exact simple pattern. It is demonst rated that this method can recover relatively complex simple structure s where other well-known simple structure rotation techniques fail.