*! version 1.0.0 18Oct2025

Title

rotatesort -- sorts factors in descending order of loadings after rotate

Syntax

rotatesort
[,
format(%fmt)
blanks(#)
]

rotatesort will only work following rotate

format(%fmt) display format for the factor loadings; default is format(%9.5f)

blanks(#) display loadings as blank when |loading| < #; default is blanks(0)

Description

rotatesort is a convenience tool for researchers who prefer to review the results of rotate in descending order of the factor loadings. Sorting
the factor loadings in descending order serves two purposes. It more clearly highlights: (1) which loadings belong to which factors, and (2) which items in
a factor have the highest loadings. This is helpful for choosing which items to retain in the item reduction process.

Options

format(%fmt) specifies the format for displaying the factor loadings; default is format(%9.5f).

blanks(#) shows blanks for loadings with absolute values smaller than #.

Examples

Setup

. use "https://www.stata-press.com/data/r19/sp2.dta", clear

we perform factor analysis using the PCF method and limit the output to 3 factors

. factor ghp31- ghp05, pcf factor(3)

we then rotate the factors and suppress output for |values| < 0.40. We also normalize the values

. rotate, normal blanks(0.40)

we now use rotatesort to resort the factor loadings in descending order suppressing |values| < 0.40.

. rotatesort, bl(0.40)

It is now clear which items belong to which factors, and which items load the highest per factor

Citation of rotatesort

rotatesort is not an official Stata command. It is a free contribution
to the research community, like a paper. Please cite it as such:

Linden A. (2025). ROTATESORT: Stata module to sort factors in descending order of loadings after rotate

Authors

Ariel Linden

President, Linden Consulting Group, LLC

alinden@lindenconsulting.org

Also see

Help: factor, rotate