A recent computer science research project from Georgetown University has mined and analyzed data from Twitter concerning the #MeToo hashtag that went viral last October. The #MeToo movement brought to light many incidents of sexual harassment and assault, particularly in the workplace. The research was funded by the Massive Data Institute and the Gender Justice Initiative.
Lisa Singh, a computer science professor at Georgetown, led the project in collaboration with six other Georgetown University faculty members. The research found that there have been more than 8.1 million tweets containing #MeToo to date and most tweets were more negative than positive. The researchers plan to develop future algorithms that will help them better understand particularly vocal or silent communities in the discussions, how the movement is utilized by women of color, the difference in work-related and home-related posts, and if the movement is a leading indicator of societal change.
“What we want to do is to understand whether or not what we see on social media gives agencies and others looking at these types of issues more insight and information than the data they collect. We may find that there is a vulnerable population or industry that one of these agencies does not have enough insight into, but that the agencies need to consider when developing policy,” stated Dr. Singh.
Dr. Singh holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and English from Duke University, and a master’s degree in computer science and a Ph.D. in computer engineering from Northwestern University.