I’m having trouble with my CFA path diagram in R. The output looks really messy. There are weird black lines going through the boxes. Also, the residual values are showing up twice, like they’re on top of each other. It’s making the whole thing hard to read.
I used the semPaths function from the semPlot package. Here’s what my code looks like:
myDiagram <- plotCFA(model_fit, show_resid = TRUE, node_size = 8, layout = "vertical")
print(myDiagram)
Does anyone know how to clean this up? I want to get rid of those extra lines and fix the double residual values. Any tips would be super helpful!
hey man, messy diagrams are the worst. tried tweaking ‘edge.label.cex’? might reduce those double residuals. also set residuals=FALSE to drop extra lines. if that fails, maybe use DiagrammeR for a fresh approach. catch ya later!
I’ve encountered similar issues with CFA diagrams in R. Here’s what worked for me:
Try adjusting the ‘edge.label.cex’ parameter to reduce the size of the residual labels. This can help prevent overlap. Also, setting ‘residuals = FALSE’ in the semPaths function can remove those pesky extra lines.
For a cleaner layout, experiment with different ‘layout’ options like ‘tree’ or ‘circle’. You might also want to play with the ‘edge.color’ and ‘edge.width’ parameters to make the paths more distinct.
If you’re still having trouble, consider using the ‘lavaan’ package instead. It often produces cleaner diagrams out of the box. Just convert your model to lavaan syntax, then use lavaanPlot() for visualization.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you need more specifics on implementation.
Hey there, fellow R enthusiast! 
I totally get your frustration with messy CFA diagrams. They can be such a pain, right? Have you tried tweaking the ‘sizeMan’ parameter in semPaths? It might help with those overlapping residuals.
Also, I’m curious - what kind of model are you working with? Sometimes the complexity of the model itself can lead to cluttered diagrams. Have you considered simplifying it a bit, just for visualization purposes?
Oh, and here’s a random thought - have you checked out the ‘DiagrammeR’ package? It’s not specifically for CFAs, but I’ve found it super flexible for creating clean, custom diagrams. Might be worth a look if you’re open to trying something new!
What do you think? Wanna give these a shot and let us know how it goes? I’m really interested to see if we can crack this diagram puzzle together!