The document provides instructions for collecting Twitter data using Python by having users set up Twitter API keys, prepare a list of Twitter handles in a CSV file, create a SQLite database to store the Twitter data, install necessary Python libraries, modify a Python script to retrieve tweets from the Twitter handles list, and run the script to collect and save the Twitter data in the SQLite database. The results obtained will include various metadata for each tweet such as the language, retweets, user details, hashtags, URLs, and more.

1. SMAC LAB, LSU
Sep 14, 2018
SMAC Talks
Collect Twitter Data Using Python
Instructor: Dr. Ke (Jenny) Jiang

2. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Five Steps
1. Set up Twitter API Keys
2. Prepare a list of Twitter handles (Screen-names) in .csv format
3. Create a SQLite database using SQLite Browser, and import the Twitter handle
list
4. Install Python libraries
5. Modify Python Script and run it to get results.

3. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Results We will Get?
language language
retweeted_status Is the tweet a RETWEET
from_user_screen_name The Twitter handle
from_user_followers_count The number of followers
from_user_friends_count The number of following
from_user_listed_count How many times a sender is listed by other users
from_user_stuatuses_count The number of tweets sent by the sender
from_user_description The profile bio of the sender
from_user_location The location of the sender
from_user_created_at When the Twitter account is created
retweet_count How many times a tweet is retweeted
entities_urls The URLs included in tweet
entities_hashtags The hashtags included in a tweet
entities_hashtags_count The number of hashtags in a tweet
entities_mentions The Twitter handles mentioned in a tweet
in_reply_to_screen_name Whom do the sender reply to
entities_media_count How many media included in a Tweet
media_url The media url included in a Tweet
media_type The type of media included in a Tweet
video_link If has a video link
photo_link If has a photo link

4. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Go to apps.twitter.com

5. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click

6. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Create a account
Select
Click

7. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Please Describe using
at least 300 character
Select No
Click Continue

8. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Check the box
Submit

9. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Go to your mailbox…

10. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click

11. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click

12. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click

13. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Create your app name
Description
URL: ANY
Check box
URL: same as above
Describe how the app
will be used
Click create

14. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click create

15. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click

16. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
Click Create

17. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step One: Set up Twitter API Keys
API key
API secret key
token
token secret

18. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Two: Prepare a Twitter handle List
* The first column lists sequential numbers
beginning with 1
Create a list of Twitter handles whose tweets we are
interested in collecting. You can create the list in
Excel and save it as csv format. The list should have
three columns (in accordance to the configuration in
the Python script).
* The second column lists Twitter handles
* The third column, you could enter 1 all
throughout, you also can leave it blank.

19. Go to http://sqlitebrowser.org and download SQLite
Database Browser. It allows you to view and edit
SQLite databases.
Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
mac
Windows

20. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
mac: go to application, and open DB Browser for SQLite

21. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Click: File - New Database

22. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
*Name database as “twitter database.sqlite”
*Add the extension .sqlite when typing filename

23. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Import the list of Twitter handle into twitter database.sqlite
Select File - Import - Table from CSV file

24. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Select “Sample twitter handles” - Click “Open”

25. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Name the Table as “accounts” - Click Ok

26. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Click “Modify Table”

27. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Change the three field names as
1. rowid - type - integer
2. screen_name - type - text (string)
3. user_type - type - text (string)
Then, Click “Ok”

28. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
The “accounts” table has been created
and defined in the Database

29. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Three: Create a SQLite database
Click “Browse Data”, you will find the
“sample twitter handles” has been
imported into the Database

30. Mac: go to Application, open Utilities, then open Terminal.
Once you are on Terminal, type in the command line pip install,
followed by the name of Python library.
Windows: go to Start menu and type in CMD and run the CMD
file as administrator. Once you are on CMD, type in the
command line pip install, followed by the name of Python library.
Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Four: Install Python libraries
e.g. to install Twython, you need to type pip install twython, and press
enter

31. Install the following libraries:
1. pip install simplejson
2. pip install pysqlite3
3. pip install sqlalchemy
4. pip install twython
Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Four: Install Python libraries

32. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
On Spyder, please open “collecting tweets sent by as list of users” .
Locate to line 20-23, ENTER YOUR API KEYS

33. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
Go to line 385, Please make sure your Python script file and the created
SQLite database are in the same folder, just paste your database name
(twitter database.sqlite) here.
Otherwise, you have to match the file path and file name to the SQLite
database you’ve created.
* Make sure your Python script file is in the Default Python folder.
How to find default folder?
Go to Console, type:
import os
os.getcwd()

34. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
Run the Whole File

35. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
Go to SQL, you will find the data
has been saved in the twitter database

36. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
Click File - Export - Tables to CSV file…

37. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
Select Table Tweets, Press OK,
Then, tweets.csv will be stored in your default folder

38. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Step Five: Modify Python Script
If the Python script is running successfully, it should give you these

39. Get Tweets Sent by a List of Users
Twitter API Rate Limit
A Twitter API allows you to get around 3,200 tweets from a specific Twitter handle
Rate Limit
Generally speaking, Twitter API allows 15 requests per user, and 15 minutes per request.
More information: https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/basics/rate-limits.html
Two ways to get around the restriction:
1. wait for 15 minutes for another run,
2. create multiple Twitter apps and get multiple API keys.
When you start a new run:
1. go to line 395,
2. Change 0 to index of twitter handle you want to start with.
Question: In the first run, you’ve covered
user 0 to user 100, and run into rate limit.
What number you will put on line 395?

40. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
If Several Libraries have not been installed, you will get error.
Then you need to “pip install”…
Step One: Install Packages
On Spyder, please open “Search and Store Tweet by keywords.py” .
Run line 1-34

41. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Go to line 36-38, change the terms to your own,
Step Two: Enter Your Search Term
You can enter multiple search terms, separated by comas.
Please notice that the last search term ends by a coma.

42. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Go to line 41-44, ENTER YOUR API KEYS
Step Three: Enter API Keys

43. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Go to line 176,
Step Four: Change the Parameter
result_type defined by the Twitter API Documents. Now we set it to recent,
we can also set it to mixed or popular.
* recent: return only the most recent results in the response
* mixed: include both popular and real time results in the response
* popular: return only the most popular results in the response
If you want to limit the search to Spanish, you can add lang = ‘es’
If you want to limit the search to Chinese, you can add lang = ‘zh’
If you want to limit the search to Korean, you can add lang = ‘ko’

44. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Go to line 376,
Step Five: Set Up SQLite Database
We have to type in a file name, and then the database will be saved in the
same folder with the Python script.

45. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Run the Scripts
Run the Whole File

46. Search and Store Tweets by Keywords
Getting All the Tweets?
If you run the script daily or twice a day, you should be good enough to
cover all tweets generated on that day, and tweets a few days old.
But, historical tweets are EXPENSIVE!