No. 33 - Florian Hohmann, Alessandro Belli and Andreas Hepp: Manual for the sorting software MeSort

The purpose of MeSort is to provide researchers with a versatile digital tool to conduct various kinds of sorting methods. At the current state of development, it supports a highly editable sorting scheme we call circle sort, which is often used for researching media repertoires. This sorting is usually done as a part of qualitative interviews, but also suitable for all kinds of sorting tasks.

If you want to get further information about this sorting technology in media repertoire reseach, please consult the following publications:

• Hasebrink, Uwe and Hanna Domeyer (2012), ‘Media repertoires as patterns of behaviour and as meaningful practices: A multimethod approach to media use iin converging media environments’, Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 9 (2), 757-83.
• Hasebrink, Uwe and Andreas Hepp (2017), ‘How to research cross-media practices? Investigating media epertoires and media ensembles’, Convergence, 23 (4), 362-77.
• Merten, Lisa (in press), ‘Contextualized Repertoire Maps: Exploring the Role of Social Media in News-Related Media Repertoires’, Forum Qualitative Research

In future versions of the program, other modes of sorting will be implemented, like the scheme used for Q-methodology or a sorting scheme we call bar sort, which can be used for research on media ensembles. The development of this research software is part of the DFG funded project “The sustainable provision of software for cross-media practices and digital traces research. A ‘co-creation approach’ for developing an infrastructure model for the digital diary and sorting apps MeTag and MeSort“ (HE 3025/13-1).

About the authors

Florian Hohmann
Florian Hohmann, M.A. is Assistant Researcher at the the ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research. He works in the DFG-funded project “The sustainable provision of software for cross-media practices and digital traces research – A ‘co-creation approach’ for developing an infrastructure model for the digital diary and sorting apps MeTag and MeSort”.

Alessandro Belli
Alessandro Belli, M.A. is Assistant Researcher at the the ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research. He works in the DFG-funded project “The sustainable provision of software for cross-media practices and digital traces research – A ‘co-creation approach’ for developing an infrastructure model for the digital diary and sorting apps MeTag and MeSort”.

Andreas Hepp
Andreas Hepp is Professor of Media and Communication Studies with the special areas Media Culture and Communication Theory at the ZeMKI, Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research. Hepp graduated 1995 from the University of Trier with an MA-degree in German Studies and Political Science, focusing on media communication. Between 1995 and 1997 he was a research associate in the interdisciplinary research project “Talking about Television. The Everyday Appropriation of TV“ at the University of Trier (funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). In 1997 he finished his doctoral thesis on everyday appropriation of television, combining various perspectives of Cultural Studies with sociological conversation analysis. After having done some post-doctoral research at the University of Trier, Andreas Hepp was a lecturer at the Interfaculty Institute for Applied Cultural Studies at the University of Karlsruhe (TH) in 1999. Between 1999 and 2003 he worked as a research associate at first, and later on as an academic assistant (wissenschaftlicher Assistent) at the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Technical University of Ilmenau. During that time he was also a research fellow at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, and a visiting researcher at the University of Sunderland, UK. In 2004 he finished his habilitation thesis on media cultures and globalisation. In 2003 and 2004 he was a deputy professor of media sociology and media psychology at the University of Muenster. From 2005 to 2010 he was professor of communications at the faculty for cultural studies, University of Bremen.