Media Research Methods Lab

The Research Group “Media Research Methods Lab” (MRML) supports the application of computer-assisted methods both within and outside the HBI through collaborative projects, its own methodological research, and the collection, processing, and provision of datasets.

In particular, the collection, processing, and provision of datasets will be expanded as part of the Digital Media Ecosystem Index (DIMEX) project, which will be launched in 2027 as part of the institute’s strategic expansion. In DIMEX, the infrastructure for collecting communications by public figures on social media and online media—which was already initiated with the Social Media Observatory (SMO)—will be systematically expanded, consolidated, and supplemented with structured reporting. The goal is to provide a regular overview of developments in the German social media landscape. DIMEX is complemented by content-based studies conducted as part of the SMO, particularly on polarization dynamics in selected social contexts.

As part of the DFG-funded research group “Communicative AI” (ComAI), we are entering the field phase of the project “Political Discourse: Communicative AI and Deliberative Quality” to test AI-based moderation and intervention strategies.

As part of the BMBF-funded project “Systematic Observation of New Auditory Risks” (SONAR), we are investigating how misinformation and disinformation spread via podcasts and short-form video platforms, as well as whether and how counter-narrative strategies—in the form of comments or response videos/audio clips—can sow doubt about the supposed certainties of widely circulated conspiracy myths.