The Practice of Social Research
Chapter Sixteen. Social Statistics
Other Multivariate Techniques
Path Analysis
Time-Series Analysis
Factor Analysis
In this section, we'll take a look at some of the other multivariate techniques
used by social researchers. You won't have to learn how to calculate
the statistics involved, but I'd like you to have a basic understanding of
what they mean, in case you come across them in your reading of the research
literature.
Path analysis lays out a graphic representation of the relationships
among several variables.
Time-series analysis examines social processes over time.
Factor analysis is a technique for discovering common dimensions
of variation among a number of variables.