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GW Libraries collect millions of election tweets

GW Hatchet student newspaper – Colleen Grablick, Hatchet Reporter Issue: November 20, 2016. Updated: Nov. 21, 2016 at 10:50 a.m.

“Library staff collected more than 3.6 million tweets for political science and communications research on election night. On GW Libraries’ website, students and faculty can skim academic articles, check on the status of requested books and, now, read millions of tweets about the election. After the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, library staff collected more than 3.6 million tweets from election night and 279 million tweets about or from candidates, parties, conventions and debates throughout the election cycle. The dean of libraries said the collection can help researchers who are studying the 2016 presidential election gain insights on what people said on Twitter throughout the election process and on election night, specifically. The collection is available on Social Feed Manager, a tool created in 2014 with a $24,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, and currently supported by a $130,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, to assist in research through social media outlets. Researchers can access this collection of tweets from the election season by emailing the library’s data email account. Geneva Henry, the dean of libraries and academic innovation, said in an email that the libraries collect the social media data for “research, archiving and academic purposes” and know that political events are particularly important for researchers in multiple disciplines..”

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