Synonyms
Definition
Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a statistical technique for presenting the similarities or dissimilarities between objects in a graphical way. This visual representation of the similarities can be presented in a n-dimensional space, although two dimensions are typically used to describe the structure of the analyzed objects.
Introduction
In the social sciences in general and psychology in particular, the researcher addresses similarities between objects while describing and explaining various phenomena. Finding nonobvious similarities between different objects can be a valuable contribution in itself. Moreover, similarities identified between objects can reveal underlying latent dimensions that organize the observed similarities between objects and therefore can help in constructing a theoretical model. MDS is a technique for visualizing similarities between objects to help to understand the data and enhance theory building....
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References
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Acknowledgement
The work was supported by Grants 2014/14/M/HS6/00919 from the National Science Centre, Poland.
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Cieciuch, J. (2017). Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1329-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1329-1
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