Searching the Alligator

How to Search The Alligator

This webpage provides step-by-step instructions on how to use our Google Colab python code and dictionary to search the Florida Alligator for word frequency. The program allows users to input a word search for one word, two words simultaneously, or two-word phrases.

1. Download the Python Dictionary and Upload to Google Drive

Our group compiled every edition of the Alligator into a python dictionary, processing the words through natural language toolkit. To use our program, start by downloading this python dictionary and save it to your google drive. The file is 809 megabytes.

2. Create a Colab File, Copying the Code

The python code we used for our projects is available here. You can create a copy of the Google Colab file by going to File > Save a Copy in Drive. Manually copying and pasting the code is another option.

3. Modify the Dictionary Path

With the Google Colab code copied, go to "Step 1: Load modules" and look for the "processed_dictionary" variable. Modify the "processed_dictionary" variable to the path in your google drive where you downloaded the dictionary. 

4. Search

You can now use the program to search for one word or two words simultaneously (Step 2a) and output a graph (Step 3a). Alternatively, the code allows for searching of two-word phrases (Step 2b) and outputting a graph of that phrase (Step 3b).