The small size and simplicity of the example allow to easily validate the rules of interpretation. But the method will be more valuable when the data is large and complex.
Other methods suitable for this type of data are available. Procrustes analysis is compared to the MFA in {{Harvsp<ref>Pagès |Jérôme Text(2014). PagesMultiple =Factor 2013Analysis |by idExample =Using Pagès2014R. |}}Chapman & Hall/CRC The R Series, London. 272p </ref>.
==History ==
The MFA was developed by [[Brigitte Escofier-Cordier|Brigitte Escofier]] and Jérôme Pagès in the 1980s. It is at the heart of two books written by these authors:
<ref> ''Ibidem''</ref> and <ref>Escofier Brigitte & Pagès Jérôme (2008). Analyses factorielles simples et multiples ; objectifs, méthodes et interprétation. Dunod, Paris. 318 p. isbn=978-2-10-051932-3</ref> and <ref>Pagès Jérôme (2014). Multiple Factor Analysis by Example Using R. Chapman & Hall/CRC The R Series, London. 272p </ref>. The MFA and its extensions (hierarchical MFA, MFA on contingency tables, etc.) are a research topic of applied mathematics laboratory Agrocampus ([http://math.agrocampus-ouest.fr LMA ²]) which published a book presenting basic methods of exploratory multivariate analysis <ref> Husson F., Lê S. & Pagès J. (2009). Exploratory Multivariate Analysis by Example Using R. Chapman & Hall/CRC The R Series, London. isbn=978-2-7535-0938-2</ref>.
