What is Principal Component Analysis and what software should you use?

Principal Component Analysis (PCA)  is a variable-reduction technique that is used to emphasize variation, highlight strong patterns in your data and identify interrelationships between variables.

It aims to reduce the number of correlated variables into a smaller number of uncorrelated variables called principal components. Thus, giving you much smaller and easier components to work with! Each component attempts to account for as much variability in the data as it can.

PCA is useful for identifying underlying dimensions of consumer behavior, summarizing data and identifying redundant questions in questionnaires. It is also frequently done as the preliminary step in a series of analyses. For example, you might use principal components before you perform a regression analysis to avoid multicollinearity.

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Why should you choose Q for PCA?

There are various different software packages that offer Principal Component Analysis. Between Matlab and XLSTAT, SPSS and R, Minitab and Q Research Software, how do you know which one to choose?

       1. Q is complete

Complete, powerful and flexible, Q is your Principal Component Analysis solution. Unlike other software, Q is complete from the get-go. No need to purchase additional modules or upgrade your license to be able to do PCA. Everything is built into Q and we’ve made it easy to do – so you can wave goodbye to outsourcing!

      2. Q is easy to use

Do PCA easily with a few clicks (no coding required) or dig even deeper into your data with more advanced options. Q automatically generates 8 variables for you, using the “Kaiser rule”. But if like, there are also options for selecting components. For example, you can choose the number of components to keep, or use Eigenvalues over to specific the cut-off-value for components.

You can use a Varimax rotation to make interpretation easier. While Varimax is the most popular rotation, Q also has many other rotation options for you to choose. Q also makes it super easy to save your variables once you’ve done – a vital step if you want to use them for other analyses.

      3. Q’s customer success team

The biggest reason why you should pick Q to do PCA? Our dedicated 24 hour customer success team and free online learning resources makes getting started and troubleshooting easy. From the wiki to blog posts, there’s a wealth of information to help you out.

What is the best PCA tool for market research consultants?

Q research software, of course.

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“Much easier to work with than SPSS. It has more advanced analytics that doesn’t require purchasing additional modules.”
Seth DeAvila, Isobar
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