Cite this article as:

Ananina K. А. Specificities of Applying Factor Analysis in Political Science Research. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Sociology. Politology, 2018, vol. 18, iss. 1, pp. 107-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/1818-9601-2018-18-1-107-110

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).
Heading: 
A Word to Young Politological Scientists
UDC: 
303.7
Language: 
Russian

Specificities of Applying Factor Analysis in Political Science Research

The article compares the applicability of two types of factor analysis – exploratory and confirmatory – as research methods of political science. The author argues that exploratory factor analysis provides better understanding of complex political phenomena by constructing a hypothesis on their potential structure. Instead, confirmatory factor analysis aims to test an already proposed hypothesis by means of experiment. Yet experimenting seems to be of limited use in political science. Firstly, political interactions cannot be studied and adequately formalized in a vacuum, namely, out of the context of constantly changing external environment. Secondly, the results of such experiments performed in reproduced artificial conditions cannot be controlled and measured in their dynamics. For these reasons exploratory factor analysis, the author posits, has larger analytical potential for political science methodology.

Author: 
Ananina
Kristina
А.
,
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
,
Vernadskogo Ave., 76, Moscow, 119454
,
ananina.k.a@my.mgimo.ru
Key words: 
factor analysis, political science methodology, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, hypothesis
DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.18500/1818-9601-2018-18-1-107-110
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