PROC FACTOR: How to Interpret the Output of a Real-World Example

This paper summarizes a real-world example of a factor analysis with a VARIMAX rotation utilizing the SAS@ System’s PROC FACTOR procedure. Each step you must undergo to perform a factor analysis is described -from the initial programming code to the interpretation of the PROC FACTOR output. The paper begins by highlighting the major issues that you must consider when performing a factor analysis using the SAS System’s PROC FACTOR. This is followed by an explanation of sample PROC FACTOR program code, and then a detailed discussion of how to interpret the PROC FACTOR output. The main focus of the paper is to help SAS software beginning and average skill level users learn how to interpret programming code and output from PROC FACTOR. Some knowledge of Statistics and/or Mathematics would be helpful in order to understand parts of the paper. All of the results discussed utilize Base SAS and SAS/STAT@ software.