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https://github.com/ccgilroy/r-estimates-fb-ads

Accessing the Facebook Marketing API using httr in R, for demographic researchers
https://github.com/ccgilroy/r-estimates-fb-ads

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Accessing the Facebook Marketing API using httr in R, for demographic researchers

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README 

        
# Demographic estimates from the Facebook Marketing API



Connor Gilroy, University of Washington



This module introduces you to obtaining estimates of populations of Facebook

users stratified by demographic characteristics and geographies. It does this

by accessing the Facebook Marketing API using `httr`.



We use `httr` because there exist no dedicated R packages for the Facebook Ads

API. Existing R packages (`SocialMediaLab`, `RFacebook`) are designed for

retrieving public information from the Facebook Graph API, such as comments on

Facebook Pages.



The activities in this module will allow you to retrieve a novel kind of social

media data that has previously only been accessed using other tools and

languages, such as Python. The module thus illustrates the versatility and

utility of R and `httr` for digital demography.



Additionally, we present examples of contemporary demographic research using the

Facebook Marketing API in slides found

[here](https://github.com/ccgilroy/r-estimates-fb-ads/blob/master/Zagheni_et_al_IUSSP_2017_FB_ads.pdf)

and

[here](https://github.com/ccgilroy/r-estimates-fb-ads/blob/master/facebook_ads_intro.pdf).



## Using this module



The easiest way to work with this module is as an "R Project." To do this,

open the folder that you downloaded from Dropbox or Github and click on the

`facebook_ads.Rproj` file (not the .R file!). This will open the R Project

in RStudio, and make it convenient to access all of the files you need.



See this page for more information on R Projects in RStudio:



https://support.rstudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/200526207-Using-Projects



For this module, you will need to edit two types of files that your computer

may not have a program set up to open by default: .json (JSON) and .yml (YAML)

files. Unless you are familiar with using text editors to write code, we recommend editing these files directly in RStudio.



If you have already opened the R Project, you can easily access existing

files in the project folder through the "Files" pane of RStudio (which shares

a panel with Plots, Packages, and Help); otherwise, you can open them through

RStudio > File > "Open file...".



## Obtaining Facebook Ads Manager Credentials



The two pieces of information to send with every Facebook Ads API request are

an Ads Account ID and a valid access token.



The authentication process is similar to that for the Twitter API, in that you

create an application and use it to generate an OAuth access token. It is

moderately complex, so follow the instructions carefully.



The overarching steps to accomplish are the following:



- Create a verified Facebook account

- Create a developer app

- Get a Marketing API access token for this app

- Create an Ads Account by starting to create an ad



Detailed instructions, with screenshots, may be found in the included set of slides,

[Obtaining Facebook Ad Manager Credentials](https://github.com/ccgilroy/r-estimates-fb-ads/blob/master/Instructions_to_obtain_FB_Ad_Manager_Credentials.pdf)



Social media platforms frequently make small changes to their developer

platforms, so do not be surprised if you notice some minor differences between

the screenshots in the instructions and your own experience.



Once you have successfully obtained a valid access token and your Ads Account ID,

be sure to store these credentials in the following way:



- Copy your access token and your account id into EXAMPLE_facebook_config.yml; use the format "act_#########" for your account id

- **RENAME** the file to "facebook_config.yml"