Collection Goal & Scope Statement

The #metoo Digital Media Collection is a digital project of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. This project will document the digital footprint of the #metoo movement and the accompanying political, legal, and social battles in the United States and will collect social media, news articles, statements of denial and/or apology, Web-forum conversations, legislation, lawsuits, statistical studies, Fortune 500 companies’ employment manuals, hashtags related to #metoo, and more. The material in the collection will date from 2017 with the popularization of the #metoo hashtag (originally created in 2007 by Tarana Burke) and will end when #metoo activity subsides. The collection will be made available for interdisciplinary research on #metoo.

Collection dates: 2017 -

Hashtags: The project will collect media with the hashtag #metoo and this dynamic list of related hashtags.

Language:  The project will collect tweets in English and in other languages when the point of origin is the U.S.  

Regions: The project will endeavor to collect material from every region in the U.S., using the Census Bureau Regions and Divisions as guidelines, as well as from U.S. Territories.

Industries: #metoo has been spreading across industries. The project will endeavor to document its effect on industries by using the North American Industry Classification System as a guide.

• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting

• Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction

• Utilities

• Construction

• Manufacturing

• Wholesale Trade

• Retail Trade

• Transportation and Warehousing

• Information

• Finance and Insurance

• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

Ideology: The project intends to document #metoo by collecting digital content created by its supporters and its critics.