[R] Factor Analysis?

Maria Wolters wolters at ikp.uni-bonn.de
Wed Feb 2 17:25:56 CET 2000


Peter,

> Erm, while there is a certain truth to what you're saying, in that
> factor analysis is often used by people who find anything non-GUI too
> difficult, I don't think that is a valid cause for further supporting
> that state of affairs... Such users will have no grasp of what a
> factor analysis means and will likely overinterpret the results.
this is a valid point. My argument wasn't "let's make R more accessible",
it was "let's include this functionality" - in the hope that some 
stats-literate practicioners in these fields will be able to make good
use of it. 

I actually think it's an advantage of R that it discourages the innocent 
click'n'play approach fostered by GUI-based systems. In fact, using R
has shown me (personally) how statistically illiterate I still am, and 
made me much more aware of many use and misuse issues. 

Maria
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