Effects of size of sample on eigenvalues, observed communalities, and factor loadings

Abstract

Several samples were randomly selected from a finite population of undergraduates over 5 N levels, factor analyzed, and then compared to the factor analysis of the finite population. Results indicate that within the limitations of the sampling design (Ns = 1,600, 400, 100, 25, and 17), samples representing N = 400 of a population of N = 2,322 yield factor structures comparable to that of the population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)