Latent Variable Models and Factor Analysis (Griffin's Statistical Monographs and Courses) - Hardcover

Bartholomew, D.J.; Stuart, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195206150 ISBN 13: 9780195206159

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1987

Synopsis

Latent variable models comprise an important branch of multivariate analysis. In particular, they are used to create a framework for reducing data from large scale statistical enquiries to manageable proportions. Factor analysis, a key latent variable model, has been effectively applied to problems in sociology, geology, chemistry, and psychology. This book provides a latent-variable framework for psychometricians and statisticians in their specification and use of suitable research models. Several chapters explore fields where the data are categorical and the latent variables are metrical.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Hitherto latent variable modelling has hovered on the fringes of the statistical mainstream but if the purpose of statistics is to deal with real problems, there is every reason for it to move closer to centre stage. In the social sciences especially, latent variables are common and if they are to be handled in a truly scientific manner, statistical theory must be developed to include them. This book aims to show how that should be done.

This second edition is a complete re-working of the book of the same name which appeared in the Griffin’s Statistical Monographs in 1987. Since then there has been a surge of interest in latent variable methods which has necessitated a radical revision of the material but the prime object of the book remains the same. It provides a unified and coherent treatment of the field from a statistical perspective. This is achieved by setting up a sufficiently general framework to enable the derivation of the commonly used models. The subsequent analysis is then done wholly within the realm of probability calculus and the theory of statistical inference. Numerical examples are provided as well as the software to carry them out ( where this is not otherwise available). Additional data sets are provided in some cases so that the reader can aquire a wider experience of analysis and interpretation.

About the Author:

D.J. Bartholomew is at London School of Economics and Political Science.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0195206150
• ISBN 13: 9780195206159
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208