The five EcoTypes came from survey data of over 2500 college students. How can so many people possibly be characterized via a small handful of EcoTypes?: well, see below!* More information is underneath this dynamic graph, with a Going Deeper exercise at bottom.
As the survey report FAQ details, the five EcoTypes were derived from a cluster analysis of over 2500 college student survey participants between 2019–21. The dynamic graph above presents the theme scores** for these data, where the X axis is Place, the Y axis Knowledge, and the Z axis Action.
Feel free to view just one of the five EcoTypes by clicking at top, or to rotate the entire visualization to see it from various perspectives. You can also zoom in/out.
You can, for instance, compare this chart of real data with the idealized EcoTypes comparison charts by rotating the graph so that the Z axis (Action) is pointing straight at you, and thus disappears (see sample below). You will then see the four Place/Knowledge sectors, each with its own distinct EcoType.
* Thanks to Jeremy McWilliams, Head of Digital Services, and student Haley R. of Lewis & Clark College, who developed this dynamic chart using Plotly.
**A technical reminder may be helpful here: as detailed in the survey report FAQ, EcoTypes are assigned via standardized theme scores (overall mean = 0; standard deviation = 1) vs. the raw scores reflected in your survey report. You cannot thus compare your raw Place, Knowledge, and Action theme scores to the ones on this dynamic graph. Standardized scores are both the typical outcome of factor analysis, and in this case offer a three-dimensional orthogonal space for k-means cluster analysis.
Going Deeper With Visualizing Your EcoType
View your EcoType (take the survey if you don’t yet have one) along these Place, Knowledge, and Action axes relative to other EcoTypes. What might this say about you in comparison to other people & their EcoTypes?