I want to develop some stuff with the twitter streaming API and twitter4j in university. I read now about shutting down the share-count API (https://blog.twitter.com/2015/hard-decisions-for-a-sustainable-platform). Will this effect the twitter streaming API and how it works in any way? Because I need this service for at least 6 month.
The Share-Count and the Streaming API do not cross paths, actually you can obtain the share-count from the Streaming API data as suggested in this post.
Since they are discontinuing that service, it will have no effect on the data that you're able to obtain from the Streaming API so it won't effect the progress of your project.
As far as GNIP goes, that's overkill, it should not have been suggested at all. For research base, especially during initial stages and possibly later phases, the Streaming API will provide you with excellent amount of data. You can even request a limit increase through Twitter's Sale Department but it's up to them to make the final decision. They can be contacted at [email protected]