Tools, Scripts, Libraries for Digital Methods Research

An evolving collection of tools, scripts and libraries for digital methods research.

Tool collections

• Tools from the Digital Methods Initiative
• Tools from the médialab at Sciences Po, Paris
• List of Digital Research Tools (for New Media and Internet-Related Research) - University of Amsterdam
• List of Digital Tools - from Anthony Glyn Burton and Greg Elmer

Data collection

Multi-platform

• https://github.com/strohne/Facepager - tutorials here and here
• https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/zeeschuimer
• 4CAT: https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat

Twitter

• 4CAT: https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/4cat
• twarc: https://twarc-project.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
• TCAT: https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/dmi-tcat/wiki
  • Introductory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex97eoorUeo
  • Code: https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/dmi-tcat
• Tweepy: https://www.tweepy.org/
• https://medialab.sciencespo.fr/en/tools/gazouilloire/

YouTube

• YouTube Data Tools: https://tools.digitalmethods.net/netvizz/youtube/
• youtube-dl: https://github.com/ytdl-org/youtube-dl

Instagram

• https://adamsm.com/instamancer/
• https://github.com/rarcega/instagram-scraper
• https://blog.apify.com/scrape-instagram-posts-comments-and-more-21d05506aeb3
• https://helpcenter.octoparse.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018842071-Scrape-data-on-Instagram
• https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/zeeschuimer

Facebook

• CrowdTangle: https://www.crowdtangle.com/
  • CrowdTangle browser extension
• Netvizz: https://apps.facebook.com/netvizz/
  • Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfoYAPistYg
  • Wiki page: https://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/ToolNetvizz
  • Code: https://github.com/bernorieder/netvizz

TikTok

• https://github.com/dfreelon/pyktok
• https://github.com/digitalmethodsinitiative/zeeschuimer

Search

• Google Bookmarklets browser extension: https://medialab.sciencespo.fr/en/tools/google-bookmarklets/

Data Analysis

• https://openrefine.org/

Data Visualisation

Simple, web-based, free and/or open-source data visualisation tools.

• Raw Graphs - "missing link between spreadsheets and data visualization", an open-source tool from Density Design with a wide variety of visual formats;
• Gephi – open source software for visualisation and exploration of graphs and networks;
  • Learn how to use Gephi - links and materials to get started from Gephi;
  • Gephi Tutorial for working with Twitter mention networks by Bernhard Rieder at the Digital Methods Initiative;
  • Facebook Page Like Networks with Netvizz and Gephi by Bernhard Rieder at the Digital Methods Initiative;
  • Community support is available on the official Gephi Facebook group and Gephi community forum
• MiniVAN - open-source tool for visual network analysis from the Public Data Lab;
• DataWrapper - open-source tool originally created by and for journalists and media organisations;
• Flourish - free web-based tool to "explore and explain your data with stunning visualizations and stories".
• Sigma.js - JavaScript library for publishing network graphs on the web;
• Retina - "Retina is a web application that helps you share your graph visualizations online."