Principal component analysis (PCA)

Multivariate analysis · Method and input reference

Numeric complete observations. PCA standardizes variables; EFA uses maximum likelihood without rotation. CFA accepts measurement lines only. Discriminant analysis uses first column as class; reports leave-one-out accuracy. Canonical correlation splits columns into two sets. Synthetic example: 180 people with three correlated continuous health measures on different scales.

Open calculator · Compare methods in the decision matrix

When to consider it

  • Summarize numeric variation using orthogonal principal components.

Assumptions and scope

  • Observations must be independent between subjects; repeated rows from one subject are not independent samples.
  • Use the outcome and predictor coding required by the calculator; review missing data and model diagnostics.

Required inputs

  • Data matrix (one observation per line; comma-separated columns) — Numeric observations; preserve the row and column structure described above.
  • Components / factors — Enter the method parameter described above.

Review missing values and data coding before running. Sample inputs are synthetic teaching examples.

Implementation

Lifescio validates inputs and formats results; listed functions are the principal calculation routines, not an exhaustive transitive dependency list.

  • scikit-learn 1.7.2: sklearn.decomposition.PCA

These are pinned library versions; saved results record the versions actually used at runtime.

Library references