methodshub.qmd

---
title: rtoot - Collecting and Analyzing Mastodon Data
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## Description

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An implementation of calls designed to collect and organize Mastodon data via its Application Program Interfaces (API), which can be found at the following URL: <https://docs.joinmastodon.org/>.

## Keywords

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* Mastodon
* Decentralized Social Network
* Social Media Data

## Science Usecase(s)

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Although not using this package, the data from the Mastodon API has been used in various social science publications on platform migration (e.g. [La Cava et al. 2023](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48200-7)) and online network formation (e.g. [La Cava, et al. 2021](https://doi.org/10.1007/s41109-021-00392-5)).

## Repository structure

This repository follows [the standard structure of an R package](https://cran.r-project.org/doc/FAQ/R-exts.html#Package-structure).

## Environment Setup

With R installed:

```r
install.packages("rtoot")
```

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## Input Data 

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No applicable.

## Sample Input and Output Data

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As a data collection software, this tool does not have any "sample input".

The output from this software is a [standard tibble](https://cran.r-project.org/package=tibble) of data collected from the Mastodon API.

## How to Use

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Please refer to the ["Introduction to rtoot"](https://gesistsa.github.io/rtoot/articles/rtoot.html) for a comprehensive introduction of the package.

In general, one should first conduct the authentication to obtain an access token. This can be done with the provided function `auth_setup()`. For more information, please refer to the documentation on [authentication](https://gesistsa.github.io/rtoot/articles/auth.html).

However, it is also possible to use some of functions with authentication. For example, it is possible to obtain the public timeline of a Mastodon instance, e.g. emacs.ch.

```{r}
library(rtoot)
get_timeline_public(instance = "emacs.ch")
```

Other functions, e.g. `get_timeline_hashtag()`, `get_account_statuses()` require authentication.

## Contact Details

Maintainer: David Schoch <david@schochastics.net>

Issue Tracker: [https://github.com/gesistsa/rtoot/issues](https://github.com/gesistsa/rtoot/issues)

## Publication

1. Schoch, D., & Chan, C. H. (2023). Software presentation: Rtoot: Collecting and analyzing Mastodon data. Mobile Media & Communication, 11(3), 575-578. https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579231176678

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