Collecting Keyword-based Data

Collecting Keyword-based Data#

Collect submissions that match a keyword query from the subreddits of your choice.

Collect Submissions#

To collect submissions containing particular keywords from all possible subreddits, use the following code:

subreddits = ["all"]
query = "data science"
collect.submission_by_keyword(subreddits, query, limit=5)

You can also collect submissions containing particular keywords from specified subreddits:

subreddits = ["python", "learnpython"]
query = "data science"
collect.submission_by_keyword(subreddits, query, limit=5)

This example collects the 5 most relevant submissions from the subreddits r/python and r/learnpython that contain the keyword “data science.”

You can customise your search using boolean operators:

  • AND: Requires all words to be present (e.g., “energy AND oil” returns results with both “energy” and “oil”)

  • OR: Requires at least one word to match (e.g., “energy OR oil” returns results with either “energy” or “oil”)

  • NOT: Excludes results with a word (e.g., “energy NOT oil” returns results with “energy” but without “oil”)

  • (): Groups parts of the query

When using multiple boolean operators, you may sometimes get unexpected results. To control the logic flow, use parentheses to group clauses. For example, “renewable energy NOT fossil fuels OR oil OR gas” returns very different results than “renewable energy NOT (fossil fuels OR oil OR gas)”.

Collect Comments#

Reddit’s Data API does not support searching comments by keyword. The usual workaround is to search submissions by keyword and then collect their comment threads, which the next section covers.