Factor & Cluster Analyses
Factor Analysis Goals Data Process Results
Factor Analysis Goals Reduce number of variables Typically for further analysis Measure/Understand underlying construct e.g. What is intelligence, beauty, effectiveness?
Factor Analysis Data Typically numeric Variables must have some intercorrelations
Factor Analysis Data
Factor Analysis Process Linear combination of variables Types: Principal Components Analysis Factor Analysis Maximize variance in each Factor / Component, with 0 covariance between components.
Factor Analysis Results These numbers show relative importance of each variable within a component
Cluster Analysis Goal Data Process Results
Cluster Analysis Goals Find subgroups within a larger group Create profiles of subgroups for further action (marketing, medical intervention, etc.)
Cluster Analysis Data Typically numeric Free of correlations Free of outliers
Cluster Analysis Data
Cluster Analysis Process K-means clustering Prespecified number of clusters Based on Euclidean distances Hierarchical Tree Each observation is a cluster, and the number of clusters is iteratively reduced
Cluster Analysis Results Cluster Means The mean of each variable for all the observations within the cluster is output. The combined set of these means for each cluster is called the cluster Centroid.
Cluster Analysis Results