This paper evaluates the use of Factor Analysis (FA) in English education research in Korea and suggests improvements in methodology. A detailed coding protocol was used to review 179 FA cases from 12 major English education journals (2014-2023). The review identified several key issues, including small sample sizes and lenient criteria for sample size selection, insufficient reporting on data appropriateness and normality, confusion between principal component analysis and FA, overreliance on the Eigenvalue > 1 criterion for determining the number of factors, inappropriate factor rotation methods, inconsistency between factor rotation and extraction methods, inadequate reporting on factor loadings and cross loadings criteria, and excessive reliance on SPSS as a statistical tool for FA. This study provides specific guidelines for applying FA appropriately and reporting results accurately.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. Literature Review
    2.1. Brief Overview of Factor Analysis
    2.2. Essential Considerations for Factor Analysis
3. METHODOLOGY
    3.1. Article Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
    3.2. Article Collection Procedure
    3.3. Data Coding and Analysis Procedure
4. Results
    4.1. Trend Analysis in the Application of Factor Analysis Over Time
    4.2. Trend Analysis in Data Evaluation for Factor Analysis
    4.3. Trend Analysis in Factor Extraction Methods
    4.4. Trend Analysis in Factor Number Determination
    4.5. Trend Analysis in Factor Rotation Method Selection
    4.6. Trend Analysis for Clarifying Factor Structures
5. Discussion
    5.1. Small Sample Size and Lenient Criteria for Sample Selection
    5.2. Insufficient Reporting on Data Normality and Appropriateness
    5.3. Limited Awareness of the Distinctions between PCA and FA
    5.4. Excessive Reliance on the Criterion of Eigenvalue > 1
    5.5. Incorrect Application of Factor Rotation Method
    5.6. Incompatibility Between Factor Rotation and Extraction Methods
    5.7. Deficient Reporting on Factor and Cross-Loadings Criteria
    5.8. Overreliance on SPSS for Factor Analysis
6. Conclusion and Suggestions
    6.1. Effective Strategies to Enhance Factor Analysis
    6.2. Exemplary Reporting of Factor Analysis Methods
    6.3. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Studies
REFERENCES
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B

• Myunghwan Hwang(Research Professor, Center for Cognitive Science, Yonsei University)
• Soyeon Kim(Graduate Student, Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University)
• Hyejin Kim(Graduate Student, Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University)
• Joohee Han(Graduate Student, Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University)
• Hee-Kyung Lee(Professor, Graduate School of Education, Yonsei University, 50 Yonseiro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, South Korea) Corresponding author