Basic Mathematical and Statistical Concepts

The exposition of factor analysis may be approached in several ways. We shall treat it in a manner combining linear algebra, multidimensional geometry, and statistics. Many of the ideas involved will certainly be unfamiliar to some of you, and it is the purpose of this chapter to define and illustrate some of the fundamental concepts underlying the technique of factor analysis. We make no pretext of writing a treatise on linear algebra and so, if you wish to delve deeply into the algebra of vectors and matrices, you should consult a formal text on the subject. A very readable account is that of Davis (1965); another is Smith (1978).