Eigenvalues

[Diane]

Hi

Would you mind explaining the concept of the eiganvalue to me?

Thank you

Diane

[JohnM]

Diane,

The eigenvalue comes from linear algebra and is a very abstract concept within vectors and matrices. The following link is an attempt to give an explanation, but it really doesn't clarify a lot:
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/55483.html

In statistics, the concept of an eigenvalue is used in factor analysis to determine how many underlying factors can be extracted from a data set. They are explained approximately half-way down the page in this link:
http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/factor.htm