Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research

Despite the widespread use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research, researchers often make questionable decisions when conducting the se analyses. This article reviews the major design and analytical decisions that must be made when conducting a factor analysis and notes that each of these decisions has important consequences for the obtained results. Recom mendations that have been made in the methodological literature are discuss ed. Analyses of 3 existing empirical data sets are used to illustrate how q uestionable decisions in conducting factor analyses can yield problematic r esults. The article presents a survey of 2 prominent journals that suggests that researchers routinely conduct analyses using such questionable method s. The implications of these practices for psychological research are discu ssed, and the reasons for current practices are reviewed.