Friday, 8-30

Today, we will go over the steps required to create some basic charts using our tweet analysis data. These will allow us to create visuals somewhat like these. Follow these steps:

First, standardize all of the entries in your spreadsheet: 

• Check that if you have entered terms that are synonyms, you combine them into a single term; venting, whining, and complaining, can all be combined using "complaining."
• Check that all of the text in your codes is the same in terms of spelling and case; colourful, colorful, Colorful--should all be combined using "colorful"
• Check to see if any items that you have listed no longer rise to the level or importance needed to be included; if an item appears only once or twice after all of the coding, it may be able to be combined with some other term.
• Look through the items and clean up entries to prepare to make visuals.

Next, create charts for your data:

• Select a column in your spreadsheet that seems to be interesting in terms of your analysis.
• From the Insert menu, select Chart
• Check that the items in the chart are correct; if anything is amiss--e.g., typos--delete the chart, go back to the entries in the spreadsheet and continue to clean up, and then repeat the process of inserting the chart.
• When the Chart is inserted and in good shape, use the Chart Settings option on the right to change the title, edit the X or Y axis titles, add Data Labels, and customize other aspects of the chart.
• When all is as you wish, use the more options on the chart--three dots in the top right--to select Download as. . . ., and then download the chart as a png image, saving it to your computer.
• Repeat this process for other categories in your spreadsheet until you have at least three visuals from your analysis saved on your computer.

Next, capture any visuals from the TAGS Explorer that offer helpful insights into the conversation related to your hashtag:

• Navigate to the Readme/Settings tab of your spreadsheet, and then select the link for the TAGS Explorer.
• Select the Mentions or Retweets links at the lower right. Allow time for the visualization to render. Take a screen shot of any images that you might want to use (Cmd-shift-4 on a Mac; Snipping tool on a PC).
• Also explore the Top Conversationalists, Hashtags, and Tweeters links in the upper left. If any visual materials seem especially helpful capture images of them as well. 

Once you have made charts from your analysis data and captured screen shots of any useful TAGS visuals, collect all of these files on your laptop. 

Today, we will also over the steps needed for the submission of our spreadsheet with our categories and coding and of our visuals. For that, follow these steps:

• Make sure that your spreadsheet is available to be viewed by the public on the web.
• Copy the address of the spreadsheet. (If you have downloaded your tweets into Excel, you can just save the file.)
• Go to the submission form for our Twitter Analysis and Coding. When the page opens, fill in the form to submit your materials. Complete this submission before 9:00AM on Sunday, September 1.

Once we have gone over the steps for submitting the analysis, we will turn to the analysis report assignment. First, select this link to open the composing field that you will use to create your report on your twitter analysis. Keep the composing box open in a new tab/window. To prepare, we will want to learn to:

1) upload an image:

save an image (e.g., a chart) to your computer. Place the cursor where you want the image to appear, and then use the image icon on the toolbar. In the dialog box that appears, upload and configure your image. When finished, you can make further adjustments (e.g., the size) by selecting the Source link in the toolbar and then adding codes like this: width="300"

The finished image code would look like

<img alt="test" data-align="left" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b401709e-0092-4fe8-847e-4f2dfe2ca451" src="/argunet/sites/default/files/inline-images/avatar.png" width="300" />

2) embed a tweet:

choose one tweet that you have coded that seems to be a particularly representative example that illustrates either some aspect of your decision-making or some aspect of online argument or rhetoric. Use the Status URL link in the spreadsheet to open the tweet in a web browser. Next, at the top of the tweet, use the small downward arrow, to select the embed tweet option. This should bring up the tweet and a field with embed codes that can be used to insert the tweet into a web posting. Copy the embed codes. 

Next, make sure that your posting is set to Full HTML. Then, click on the Source icon at the top of the toolbar. Locate the spot you want to embed the tweet, and then paste in the embed codes. Save the posting and see if it works. 

Once you have some sense of how to go about adding these materials to your posting, you can either continue working on your charts and collection materials from your twitter data or review and begin thinking about the report assignment.