In their article, Dr. Lisa Merten and Prof. em. Dr. Uwe Hasebrink present contextualized repertoire maps as a method for recording media repertoires based on a study on news usage and discuss their possibilities and limitations in media usage research. Their article is part of the anthology “Researching Media, Data, and Networking Practices: Methodological Concepts and Research Software.”
The article “Sortiermethoden zur Erforschung von Medienrepertoires: Kontextualisierte Repertoirekarten” [Sorting Methods for Researching Media Repertoires: Contextualized Repertoire Maps] as well as the anthology “Medien-, Daten- und Vernetzungspraktiken erforschen” [Researching Media, Data, and Networking Practices] have been published in German only.
Summary of the Chapter
A repertoire-oriented perspective has proven useful for describing everyday media-related activities. First, this perspective is characterized by a user-centered view of media use. The goal is to capture what is relevant to users. Second, the perspective is geared toward completeness; the goal is to capture the full range of media used. Third, it highlights how different usage practices complement each other, forming a coherent repertoire: the relationships between repertoire components must be documented. Repertoire-oriented studies have specific requirements for data collection, such as identifying the components that are relevant to the user, describing how these components are used, and recording the relationships between them. Considering these requirements, this article presents sorting methods and contextualized repertoire maps as ways to record media repertoires. Contextualized repertoire maps are a subform of ego-centered network maps. In addition to visualizing complex patterns of media use, they provide relevant contextual information to embed these patterns in everyday life through qualitative interviews and participant observation. Using the example of a study on news consumption, this chapter discusses the possibilities and limitations of this sorting procedure in media usage research.
The chapter can be purchased here.
About the Anthology
In today’s media environment, people typically gather information, communicate, and act on data across several media rather than through one medium. The cross-media nature of contemporary media, data, and networking practices poses two challenges for empirical research. One is the conceptual and methodological challenge of adequately capturing cross-media practices. Another challenge is developing effective research methods. Triangulating established social science survey methods with software-based methods has proven particularly helpful. This volume aims to introduce the conceptual and practical applications of research software in studying media, data, and networking practices while reflecting on existing challenges. To this end, the first part of the volume presents methodological concepts for research following a comprehensive introduction. The second part uses case studies to examine the practical implementation of this research.
The anthology can be purchased here.
Merten, L., Hasebrink, U. (2025). Sortiermethoden zur Erforschung von Medienrepertoires: Kontextualisierte Repertoirekarten [Sorting Methods for Researching Media Repertoires: Contextualized Repertoire Maps]. In: Hepp, A., Hohmann, F., Sinner, P. (eds) Medien-, Daten- und Vernetzungspraktiken erforschen [Researching Media, Data, and Networking Practices]. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-49434-6_3