Various procedures have been used to estimate factor scores and the present study empirically compared the differential effectiveness of factor scoring by unit weights, by fractional weights using the factor loading, and by fractional weights estimated by multiple regression. The results indicated that these methods of scoring factors are roughly equivalent insofar as the intercorrelations among factor scores or reliabilities are concerned. However, estimation of factor scoring weights by multiple regression was the best method for maintaining orthogonality among the factors and appeared more sensitive in detecting group differences when factor scores derived by this method were used as dependent variables.
In chemotherapy, the problem of finding the right drug for the right patient is based upon the premise that drugs have specific actions and that a particular agent may be beneficial for certain patients but not for others. The drug of choice in this study was defined in terms of the best prediction from multiple regression equations developed on groups that had received 3 different tranquilizing drugs, using pretreatment symptomatology as the predictors. Cross-validation of these assignments on an independent sample confirmed the hypothesis that patients respond best if assigned to their drug of choice. Simple random assignment of patients to the different drugs would have led to an acceptance of the null hypothesis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.