JMP 13 Multivariate Methods, Second Edition, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10 

Latent Class Analysis

Group Observations of Categorical Variables

Latent class analysis enables you to find clusters of observations for categorical response variables. A latent variable is an unobservable grouping variable. Each level of the latent variable is called a latent class. The Latent Class Analysis platform fits a latent class model and determines the most likely cluster or latent class for each observation. In most situations, a subject matter expert uses the results of a latent class analysis to create definitions for each latent class based on the characteristics of the class.

Figure 10.1 Example of Latent Class Analysis