While I <3 path diagrams, I know some folk prefer visualizing their data otherwise. So in digging around with the #SciFund data, I’ve whipped up this small graphic using ggplot2 (which is an awesome R package for visualizing multivariate data with very little coding – you’ll note it’s what I’ve been using in all of these posts).

I like it because first, the clear relationship between contributors and funding leaps out at you. You keep looking, and you notice that points with warmer colors tend to be more on the right hand side of the graph – so, folk with more Twitter Followers tend to have more contributors and hence more funds. Lastly, almost all of the small points are clustered in the lower left – so, if you have fewer Facebook friends, you tended to have fewer contributors and lower funds.

Note also I’ve made the points partially transparent, so, you can see when there are multiple points in the same area of space.

Enjoy!