title: MultiLevel simultaneous component analysis: A computational shortcut and software package.
abstract: MultiLevel Simultaneous Component Analysis (MLSCA) is a data-analytical technique for multivariate two-level data. MLSCA sheds light on the associations between the variables at both levels by specifying separate submodels for each level. Each submodel consists of a component model. Although MLSCA has already been successfully applied in diverse areas within and outside the behavioral sciences, its use is hampered by two issues. First, as MLSCA solutions are fitted by means of iterative algorithms, analyzing large data sets (i.e., data sets with many level one units) may take a lot of computation time. Second, easily accessible software for estimating MLSCA models is lacking so far. In this paper, we address both issues. Specifically, we discuss a computational shortcut for MLSCA fitting. Moreover, we present the MLSCA package, which was built in MATLAB, but is also available in a version that can be used on any Windows computer, without having MATLAB installed.
authors.affiliation: University of Leuven - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. eva.ceulemans@ppw.kuleuven.be.|Methodology of Educational Sciences Research Group, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium. eva.ceulemans@ppw.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ceulemans
authors.affiliation: University of Leuven - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.|Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tom F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Wilderjans
authors.affiliation: Heymans Institute for Psychology, DPMG, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk A L
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kiers
authors.affiliation: Heymans Institute for Psychology, DPMG, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marieke E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Timmerman
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012984:Software
keywords: Component analysis; Multilevel data; Software