Multiple Factor Analysis by Example Using R

Chapter 8

Qualitative and Mixed Data

Until now, multiple factor analysis (MFA) has been presented for quantitative variables. In this chapter, we extend this to qualitative variables and, more generally, to mixed data. The referent method for processing individuals x qualitative variables tables is multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Furthermore, the issue of mixed data has already been discussed in the chapter devoted to factorial analysis of mixed data (FAMD). Here we therefore present a combination of MCA, FAMD and MFA.

Weighting the variables is key to MFA. We begin by introducing the notion of weighted variables in MCA under the name weighted MCA.

8.1 Weighted MCA

We use the notations for MCA as presented in Section 2.2:

• yik: General ...