PrincipalComponentAnalysis_Outliers_Validation_Reliability.ppt

Principal Component Analysis: Additional Topics Split Sample Validation Detecting Outliers Reliability of Summated Scales Sample Problems Split Sample Validation To test the generalizability of findings from a principal component analysis, we could conduct a second research study to see if our findings are verified. A less costly alternative is to split the sample randomly into two halves, do the principal component analysis on each half and compare the results. If the communalities and the factor loadings are the same on the analysis on each half and the full data set, we have evidence that the findings are generalizable and valid because, in effect, the two analyses represent a study and a replication. Misleading Results to Watch Out For When we examine the communalities and factor loadings, we are matching up overall patterns, not exact results: the communalities should all be greater than 0.50 and the pattern of the factor loadings should be the same. Sometimes the variables will switch their components (variables loading on the first component now load on the second and vice versa), but this does not invalidate our findings. Sometimes, all of the signs of the factor loadings will reverse themselves (the pluss become minuss and the minuss become pluss), but this does not invalidate our findings because we interpret the size, not the sign of the loadings. When validation fails If the validation fails, we are warned that the solution found in the analysis of the full data set is not generalizable and should not be reported as valid findings. We do have some options when validation fails: If the problem is limited to one or two variables, we can remove those variables and redo the analysis. Randomly selected samples are not always representative. We might try some different random number seeds and see if our negative finding was a fluke. If we choose this option, we should do a large number of validations to establish a clear pattern, at least 5 to 10. G