metadata

license: mit
language:
  - en
tags:
  - climate
  - energy
  - climatechange
  - reddit
  - socialnetwork
  - comment
size_categories:
  - 10K<n<100K

Dataset Card for Reddit Climate Comment

Dataset Description

Dataset Details

The Reddit Climate Comment dataset is a collection of comments extracted from subreddits focused on discussions related to climate change, energy, and renewable energy. It includes comments from popular subreddits such as "Climate," "Energy," "RenewableEnergy," and “ClimateChange”. The dataset provides insights into user engagement, sentiment, and discussions surrounding environmental sustainability topics on Reddit. It was created using the Reddit API, with comments collected from the top posts in selected subreddits, totaling 44,109 comments. The dataset encompasses discussions in English language and serves as a comprehensive resource for natural language processing (NLP) and text-based analyses in the domain of climate change and energy.

Dataset Description

reddit_data_collection.py)

The dataset is centered around discussions related to clean energy and climate change, obtained through the Reddit API by extracting information from the top ~900 to ~1000 posts within specified subreddits and collected using a Python Library, Praw, on January 31th, 2024, code shown in Appendix. These subreddits include “Climate”, “Energy”, “RenewableEnergy”, and “ClimateChange”. The dataset collected 20 comments under each post. The selection of curated subreddit names is determined by assessing both the relevance of the subreddit to energy and climate change and the size of the subreddit community, measured by the number of Reddit users who have joined. In the dataset, under the “Climate” subreddit category, there are 14,003 comments (184k users in the community), while 10,465 comments under “ClimateChange” subreddit category (89k users in the community); “Energy” subreddit has 13,692 comments (181k users in the community), and the “RenewableEnergy” subreddit has 5,394 comments (124k users in the community). In total, there are 43,554 comments across all subreddit. During the data collection process, timestamps were converted from Unix timestamps (seconds since the epoch) in the raw data into a UTC datetime object.

Our dataset includes information from ~20 comments under each of the top 1000 posts, providing a detailed lens into user engagement and sentiment within these subreddits. Subreddit names are curated with consideration for relevance to climate and energy topics, and the number of users in a community. This ensures a diverse representation of opinions and perspectives. While the primary emphasis is on clean energy discussions, the inclusion of "Energy", "Climate", and “ClimateChange” subreddits introduces valuable comparative dimensions. "Energy" provides insights into the broader energy landscape, while "climate" and “climatechange” reflect overarching perspectives and attitudes towards sustainability subjects. The dataset, thus, serves as a comprehensive repository for exploring nuanced discussions on Reddit surrounding climate, energy, and renewable energy topics.

Curated by: Reddit users and the Reddit platform
Language(s): English
License: MIT

Dataset Sources

API Documentation: [https://www.reddit.com/dev/api/]

Uses

The Reddit Climate Comment dataset is intended to be used for various natural language processing (NLP) and text-based analyses related to discussions on climate change, energy, and renewable energy topics.

Direct Use

Sentiment Analysis: determine the sentiment expressed in comments related to climate, energy, and renewable energy.
Topic Modeling: identify prevalent topics and themes within the discussions.
Keyword Extraction: extract keywords or phrases that frequently appear in the dataset to understand the most discussed concepts within climate, energy, and renewable energy discussions
User Engagement Analysis: explore user engagement metrics, such as upvotes and comment length, to discern patterns in community participation and preferences.
Comparative Analysis: conduct comparative analyses between discussions in subreddits focused on "energy", "renewable energy", "climate", and “climatechange”. Explore how conversations differ across these thematic areas.
Temporal Analysis: investigate how discussions evolve by analyzing temporal patterns. Identify trends, peak activity periods, and correlations with real-world events.

Out-of-Scope Use

While the Reddit Climate Comment dataset offers valuable insights into discussions surrounding climate change, energy, and renewable energy topics on Reddit, there are certain out-of-scope uses and limitations to consider:

Individual Identification: The dataset should not be used for identifying or targeting individual Reddit users based on their comments. The dataset does not provide personally identifiable information about users, and any attempt to infer or extract such information would constitute misuse.
Generalization to the Entire Population: The dataset represents a subset of Reddit users who are active in discussions related to climate change, energy, and renewable energy. It may not be representative of the broader population's opinions or attitudes towards these topics, and caution should be exercised when generalizing findings.
Bias and Limitations: Users should be aware of the potential biases and limitations associated with analyzing Reddit data, including selection bias, subreddit selection bias, user engagement bias, temporal bias, upvote bias, moderation bias, and social desirability bias. These factors may impact the interpretation of results and should be considered in analytical approaches.
Ethical Considerations: Researchers and analysts should adhere to ethical guidelines and respect Reddit's terms of service when using the dataset. Any research or analysis conducted using the dataset should prioritize user privacy, respect community guidelines, and avoid harmful or malicious actions.

It's essential for users of the dataset to exercise caution, critically evaluate the data and methodologies used, and consider the ethical implications of their analyses.

Dataset Structure

The organized dataset is structured in a hierarchical array format to facilitate efficient navigation and analysis of comments within specific subreddits, post titles, and post IDs. Each element in the array represents a subreddit community, containing information about individual posts within that subreddit.

This representation includes a sample post from the "climate" subreddit with two comments. Huggingface dataset users can adjust the data fields and content according to desired actual dataset structure. This format helps users understand the structure and content of the dataset in a standardized way, which is suitable for Hugging Face datasets.

{
  "dataset": "Reddit Climate Comment",
  "subreddit": "climate",
  "post_id": 1,
  "post_title": "Example Post Title 1",
  "comments": [
    {
      "author": "Author Name",
      "comment_body": "This is a sample comment.",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-31 12:34:56",
      "upvotes": 10
    },
    {
      "author": "Another Author",
      "comment_body": "This is another sample comment.",
      "timestamp": "2024-01-31 13:45:32",
      "upvotes": 5
    }
  ]
}

The dataset includes the following fields:

Subreddit (String): represents the name of the subreddit community where discussions are taking place (e.g., "climate").
  Posts (Array): contains information about individual posts within the subreddit.
  PostID (Integer): original post identifier.
  PostTitle (String): title of the Reddit post, summarizing the topic of discussion.
    Comments (Array):contains individual comments associated with the post.
    Author (String): username of the comment author.
    CommentBody (String): the text content of the comment.
    Timestamp (String): timestamp indicating when the comment was created (in UTC).
    Upvotes (Integer): number of upvotes received for the comment.

Dataset Creation

Curation Rationale

The inclusion of the term "energy" in addition to subreddits focused on environment sustainability allows for a more comprehensive representation of discussions. While the primary focus revolves around clean energy topics, the inclusion of a broader spectrum such as "energy" captures a diverse array of discussions related to the energy sector at large, and facilitates a nuanced understanding of how conversations around clean energy compare and potentially contrast with discussions on energy more broadly. By encompassing both clean energy and general energy discussions, the dataset enables researchers and analysts to discern trends, sentiments, and engagement levels in each domain. This comparative approach enhances the dataset's utility, providing a holistic view of the Reddit community's dialogue on energy-related topics. The dataset's inclusion of the subreddit "climate" and “climatechange” introduces another layer of comparison. While "energy" and "renewable energy" provide detailed insights into people's opinions, "climate" and “climatechange” serves as a reflection of the community's overall perspectives and attitudes toward the topic in general. This multi-perspective approach enriches the dataset, enabling a more thorough examination of the diverse facets and opinions within the Reddit community's discourse on energy and climate change related subjects.

Source Data

The source data for this dataset comprises comments contributed by Reddit users participating in discussions on climate change, energy, and renewable energy topics within designated subreddits. These subreddits include "Climate," "Energy," "RenewableEnergy", and “ClimateChange”. The comments were extracted from the top posts within these subreddits using the Reddit API.

Data Collection and Processing

The data collection process involved extracting comments from the top posts in selected subreddits, including "Climate," "Energy," "RenewableEnergy", and “ClimateChange”, using the Reddit API. The PRAW Python library was utilized for interacting with the Reddit API. Specifically, the top ~1000 posts were considered in each subreddit, with approximately 20 comments collected under each post. The data collection was performed on January 31st, 2024.

The processing steps included:

Text Cleaning: Removal of unnecessary characters, HTML tags, or formatting artifacts, and conversion of text to lowercase for consistency.
Parsing Timestamps: Conversion of timestamps to a standardized date-time format.
Duplicate Removal: Checking for and removing duplicate comments to ensure dataset integrity.
Updated Data Organization To enhance the structure and organization of the dataset, under the same subreddit community, we group comments under the same post title, identified by a unique post ID. Each post ID serves as an identification number, and all relevant information, including author, comment bodies, timestamps, and upvotes, is grouped together within this array-like structure.

Benefits of the New Structure

Each post is uniquely identified by an assigned post ID, facilitating easy referencing and retrieval of information for specific posts.
Structured Comment Grouping provides a coherent and organized representation of discussions under each post and each subreddit community.
The array-based structure enhances the dataset's readability and accessibility, streamlining the process of extracting and analyzing information for each post.
The standardized format ensures a consistent approach to retrieving relevant data elements, such as authors, comment bodies, timestamps, and upvotes, for analysis or visualization.

These steps aimed to prepare the data for analysis while maintaining and improving its quality and consistency.

Who are the source data producers?

The source data producers are Reddit users who contributed comments to discussions on climate change, energy, and renewable energy topics within the specified subreddits.

Personal and Sensitive Information

[More Information Needed]

Bias, Risks, and Limitations

When dealing with discussions related to climate, energy, and renewable energy on the Reddit platform, it's essential to consider potential biases that may influence the data and subsequent analyses.

Selection Bias: the demographic composition of Reddit users may not be representative of the general population. Certain age groups, geographic regions, or ideological perspectives might be overrepresented or underrepresented, influencing the nature of discussions.
Subreddit Selection Bias: the choice of subreddits (e.g., "climate," "energy," "renewableenergy", and “climatechange”) introduces bias towards specific topics. This may lead to a skewed representation, as discussions in these subreddits may not reflect the broader spectrum of opinions on climate and energy.
User Engagement Bias: the dataset may primarily capture comments from active participants, potentially overlooking the opinions of more passive or silent observers. This could result in a biased representation of sentiments and perspectives.
Temporal Bias: the dataset's timeframe might be influenced by specific events, leading to a temporal bias. For instance, discussions during a major climate event may differ significantly from those during less eventful periods.
Upvote Bias: highly upvoted comments may receive more visibility, potentially shaping the perceived popularity of certain opinions. This could result in a bias towards more commonly accepted viewpoints.
Moderation Bias: different subreddits may have varying moderation policies, influencing the types of discussions allowed. Biases may arise if certain perspectives are disproportionately favored or discouraged by moderators.
Social Desirability Bias: users may conform to the prevailing opinions within a subreddit to avoid conflict or gain social approval. This social desirability bias may impact the authenticity of expressed opinions.

In addition to biases, there are several other known limitations associated with working with datasets focused on climate, energy, and renewable energy discussions on Reddit. Being aware of these limitations is crucial for researchers and analysts to interpret results accurately and responsibly:

Anonymity and Reliability: Reddit users typically operate under pseudonyms, making it challenging to verify the credibility and reliability of information shared. The lack of real-world identity verification introduces a potential limitation in assessing the authenticity of comments.
Quality of Comments: the quality of comments can vary widely, ranging from well-informed opinions to low-quality or irrelevant contributions. The dataset may include noise and off-topic discussions, affecting the overall quality of insights derived.
Limited Context: Reddit comments often lack the depth of context found in longer-form content. This limitation may make it challenging to fully understand the nuances of certain discussions or to interpret the sentiment accurately.
Reddit Algorithm Impact: the visibility and accessibility of comments are influenced by Reddit's algorithms. Changes in these algorithms may affect the reach and engagement of certain discussions, introducing a dynamic aspect that researchers should be mindful of.

Recommendations

Users should be made aware of the risks, biases and limitations of the dataset. More information needed for further recommendations.

Citation [optional]

BibTeX:

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APA:

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Contribution

We express gratitude to the Reddit community for their contributions to climate change and energy discussions. Special thanks to the PRAW library for enabling efficient Reddit API interactions, making this dataset possible.

Dataset Card Contact

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