| Zusammenfassung |
In order to deal with the methodological challenges which confront current mediatization research (Hepp & Krotz, 2014) due to the ongoing digitalization of media, a new mixed methods approach for the analysis of long-term change in trans-media use is suggested. It is an adopted form of media repertoire analysis (Hasebrink & Popp, 2006) based on the generation unit concept of Karl Mannheim (1964 / 1928). Basically, we propose that discovery and life cycle analysis of culturally meaningful media repertoire patterns may be achieved by ‘quantitative’ classification studies on the societal level, conducted in the tradition of latent structure analysis (Lazarsfeld & Henry, 1968). On the other hand, interpretation of underlying orientation patterns which may explain empirically observed emergence, decline and metamorphoses of identified user-types are be realized by complementing reconstructive ‘qualitative’ methodologies on the micro level that are able to differentiate between different types of knowledge stocks in verbal material, thereby again drawing on the praxeological sociology of knowledge (Mannheim, 1924). Our critical‐realist research approach (Lepa, 2013) is demonstrated by a latent class analysis with covariates (Collins & Lanza, 2010) of Germans’ audio media repertoires in 2012 and extracts of the documentary analysis of narrative follow-up interviews (Nohl, 2010) with selected audio repertoire class members. Our findings deliver detailed descriptions of nowadays audio media usage types in Germany and show how generational and social location contributed as part of the historical mediatization processes that brought these patterns about. |
