A Methodological Review of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Sexuality Research: Used Practices, Best Practices, and Data Analysis Resources

Sexuality researchers frequently use exploratory factor analysis (EFA), in order to illuminate the distinguishable theoretical constructs assessed by a set of variables. EFA entails a substantive number of analytic decisions to be made with respect to sample size determination, and how factors are extracted, rotated, and retained. The available analytic options, however, are not all equally empirically rigorous. In the present paper, we discuss the commonly available options for conducting EFA, and which constitute best practices for EFA. We also present the results of a methodological review of the analytic options for EFA used by sexuality researchers in over 200 EFAs, published in more than 160 articles and chapters from 1974 to 2014. Our review reveals that best practices for EFA are actually those least frequently used by sexuality researchers. We introduce freely available analytic resources to help make it easier for sexuality researchers to adhere to best practices when conducting EFAs in their own research.