| Abstract: | Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a set of techniques, used especially in behavioral and social sciences, that enable a researcher to visualize proximity data in a multidimensional space. This article focuses on a particular class of MDS models proposed to deal with proximities which describe asymmetric relationships (i.e., trade indices for a set of countries, brand switching data, occupational mobility tables, and so on). They are based on the decomposition of the relationships into a symmetric and a skew-symmetric part. In this way the objects are represented as points in a multidimensional space and the intensity of their relationships as scalar products (symmetry) or triangle areas (skew-symmetry). These models are seen as special cases of a general model and their rotational indeterminacy is investigated. The aim is to propose a rotation method that makes easier the visual inspection of the graphical representation, highlighting the simple structure of the data. In particular an orthomax-like family of rotation methods and a general algorithm are proposed. Advantages of the proposal are illustrated by analysis of import-export data. |
