When is a correlation matrix appropriate for factor analysis? Some decision rules

Abstract

Discusses 3 techniques for assessing the psychometric adequacy of correlation matrices; (a) computation of M. S. Bartlett's test of sphericity, (b) inspection of the off-diagonal elements of the anti-image covariance matrix, and (c) computation of the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin 1970 measure of sampling adequacy. The advantages and disadvantages of each are compared with respect to assessment of correlation matrices prior to factor analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1974 American Psychological Association.