In this paper, Lisa Merten presents a qualitative method for researching the patterns of news use: the Contextualized Repertoire Maps.
You can download the article free of charge: Merten, L. (2020): Contextualized Repertoire Maps: Exploring the Role of Social Media in News-Related Media Repertoires [61 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 21(2), Art. 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.2.3235
Abstract
In this article, I introduce contextualized repertoire maps as a qualitative approach to the study of news-related media use. With their origins in the sociological analysis of personal networks, egocentric network maps are adapted here to visualize patterns of media use and then contextualized with qualitative interviews and data collected during participant observation. This integrative approach is illustrated by a study of the routines and practices of news consumption within and around social media platforms. I demonstrate how the mapping exercise can complement other qualitative methods to explore the structure, meaning and processes of crossmedia user practices and discuss the scope and limits for visualizing and analyzing the interrelatedness between social media platforms and traditional mass media.