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Social Media Data and Tools

A guide discussing how to acquire, extract, and use social media data and tools

Extract Social Media Data

Tools that collect social media data:

Advanced collection methods:

  • Facebook Graph API
    • The Graph API is the primary way to get data into and out of the Facebook platform. It is an HTTP-based API that apps can use to programmatically query data, post new stories, manage ads, upload photos, and perform a wide variety of other tasks.
    • Researchers need to register as a Facebook Developer and create a Facebook App.

Other resources:

  • Data Knowledge Hub for Monitoring Online Discourse
    • The Data Knowledge Hub for Monitoring Online Discourse (Data Knowledge Hub) is an initiative that aims to provide a central resource for researchers, social scientists, data scientists, journalists, practitioners, and policy makers interested in monitoring social media and online discourse more broadly.
  • Social Media Research Toolkit
    • The Social Media Research Toolkit is a list of 50+ social media research tools curated by researchers at the Social Media Lab at Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University. The kit features tools that have been used in peer-reviewed academic studies. Many tools are free to use and require little or no programming.