A further comparison of oblique factor transformation methods

Abstract

Four prominent oblique transformation techniques—promax, the Harris-Kaiser procedure, biquartimin, and direct oblimin—are examined and compared. Additionally, two newly-developed procedures, falling into the category designated as Case III by Harris and Kaiser [1964], are presented and included in the comparisons. The techniques are compared in light of their freedom from bias in the interfactor correlations, and their ability to yield clear simple structures, over many data sets—some constructed and some “real”—varying widely in terms of number of variables and factors, factorial complexity, and clarity of the hyperplanes. Results are discussed, and implications for practice are noted.