Scree Test
Ralph B. D’Agostino, Heidy K. Russell · Encyclopedia of Biostatistics · 2005
Abstract The scree test is a test for determining the number of factors to retain in a factor analysis or principal components analysis. The scree test involves plotting the eigenvalues in descending order of their magnitude against their factor numbers and determining where they level off. The break between the steep slope and a leveling off indicates the number of meaningful factors, different from random error. The technique is illustrated and compared with alternative techniques for determining the number of factors to retain.