It is clear that monitoring and evaluation are different yet complementary. Monitoring is the process of routinely gathering information with which to make informed decisions for project management.Evaluation, on the other hand, gives information about why the project is or is not achieving its targets and objectives.

Amrita Saraswaty, Yes, if your study is an exploratory one, not driven by theory, you can first use a EFA guided by common sense/available theory as well as some statistical criteria (e.g., eigenvalue, parallel analysis), and then subject your resulting EFA-solution to CFA. One practical suggestion is that estimate your EFA and CFA with the same method, i.e. maximum likelihood (ML).

Hi Amrita,

conducting a CFA does not require a formal theory. Whenever you have an idea or expectation on the factor structure / data generating model and meaning of an underlying latent variable, you can move directly to the CFA. The test will inform you whether your idea is appropriate. Doing an EFA first and a CFA later is doable but not the most solid way to proceed. Rather the second step could involve variables with which the explored factor should be causally related (and those with which it should NOT be related) IF the explored factor is the entity that you think it is. Adding new variables does two things: 1) it adds new / not yet tested testable implications (i.e., conditional independencies) and 2) it provides estimates that serve as criteria for convergent and discriminant validity.

All the best,

--Holger

Thank you for the answers Idarmis Knight Soto , Holger Steinmetz , Mehmet Mehmetoglu . Noted.

EFA will explore the underlying factor structure and also help identifying cross-loading & low loading variables, which are candidates for removal from the study. After that a fresh primary data is collected and CFA is used to confirm the established factor structure.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is for refining a measure/scale through the variable/item reduction process. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is for confirming or disconfirming the basal factor structures. For further insights on EFA and CFA, you could refer to the RG thread initiated by Siriwardhana (2017) and the attached article by Tavakol and Wetzel (2020). Both are fully cited below.

Siriwardhana, D. (2017, June 27). Exploratory factor analysis versus confirmatory factor analysis. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/post/Exploratory_Factor_Analysis_versus_Confirmatory_Factor_Analysis

Tavakol, M., & Wetzel, A. (2020). Factor Analysis: A means for theory and instrument development in support of construct validity. International Journal of Medical Education, 11, 245–247. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.5f96.0f4a

Good luck,