Arrindell, Willem A.Van der Ende, Jan2011-03-302011-03-301985Arrindell, Willem A & Van der Ende, Jan. (1985). An empirical test of the utility of the observations-to-variables ratio in factor and components analysis. Applied Psychological Measurement, 9, 165-178. doi:10.1177/014662168500900205doi:10.1177/014662168500900205https://hdl.handle.net/11299/102074Many researchers have proposed a minimum ratio of observations to variables or an absolute minimum of observations in order to obtain stable factor configurations. However, hardly any empirical studies employing real data are available that attest to the tenability of these proposals. A systematic analysis of the problem was undertaken, using self-report data from two large phobic samples on the Fear Survey Schedule- III (N = 1104) and the Fear Questionnaire (N = 960). The data sets were randomly split into subsamples with ratios varying from 1.3:1 to 19.8:1. Neither the observations to variables ratio nor an absolute minimum of observations had any influence on factor stability.enArticle