Factor analysis of mixed data
In statistics, factor analysis of mixed data or factorial analysis of mixed data (FAMD, in the French original: AFDM or Analyse Factorielle de Données Mixtes), is the factorial method devoted to data tables in which a group of individuals is described both by quantitative and qualitative variables. It belongs to the exploratory methods developed by the French school called Analyse des données (data analysis) founded by Jean-Paul Benzécri. The term mixed refers to the use of both quantitative and qualitative variables. Roughly, we can say that FAMD works as a principal components analysis (PCA) for quantitative variables and as a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) for qualitative variables. (Wikipedia).
