Σύγκριση μεθόδων

	Επιβεβαιωτική Ανάλυση Παραγόντων (CFA)	Επαληθευτική Παραγοντική Ανάλυση (Confirmatory Factor Analysis - CFA)	Συντελεστής Άλφα του Cronbach (Ανάλυση Αξιοπιστίας)	Διερευνητική Ανάλυση Παραγόντων (EFA)
Πεδίο	Στατιστική	Ψυχομετρία	Στατιστική	Στατιστική
Οικογένεια	Latent structure	Latent structure	Latent structure	Latent structure
Έτος προέλευσης	1969	1969	1951	—
Δημιουργός	Karl Jöreskog	Karl Gustav Jöreskog	Lee J. Cronbach	—
Τύπος	Confirmatory latent variable model	Hypothesis-testing latent variable model	Reliability / internal consistency coefficient	Latent variable / dimension reduction
Θεμελιώδης πηγή	Brown, T. A. (2015). Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Applied Research (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press. ISBN: 978-1462515363	Jöreskog, K. G. (1969). A general approach to confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analysis. Psychometrika, 34(2), 183–202.	Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334.	Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C. & Strahan, E. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory factor analysis in psychological research. Psychological Methods, 4(3), 272–299.
Εναλλακτικές ονομασίες	Doğrulayıcı Faktör Analizi (CFA), confirmatory factor analysis, measurement model	CFA, confirmatory FA, measurement model, restricted factor analysis	coefficient alpha, alpha reliability, internal consistency reliability, Güvenilirlik Analizi (Cronbach Alpha)	common factor analysis, açımlayıcı faktör analizi, factor analysis
Συναφείς	4	4	4	4
Σύνοψη	Confirmatory factor analysis tests whether a researcher-specified factor structure fits the observed data. Formalised by Karl Jöreskog in 1969, it is the measurement-model step within structural equation modelling and is the standard tool for validating the factorial structure of scales and questionnaires before comparing groups or estimating latent relationships.	Confirmatory factor analysis tests a researcher-specified factor structure against observed data. Unlike exploratory approaches, the researcher decides in advance which indicators load on which latent factor, and the model is evaluated by how closely the implied covariance matrix reproduces the sample covariance matrix. CFA is central to scale validation, construct validity assessment, and measurement invariance testing.	Cronbach's alpha is a coefficient of internal consistency that quantifies the degree to which a set of items on a scale measures the same underlying construct. Introduced by Lee J. Cronbach in 1951, it remains the most widely reported reliability index in social-science, health, and educational research.	Exploratory factor analysis reduces a large set of observed variables into a smaller number of latent common factors. It is widely used in scale development and psychometrics to uncover the dimensional structure that underlies a set of correlated items, without specifying that structure in advance.