INSTITUTIONS

The research perspective of the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut focuses on media transformation and related structural changes of public communication. With its cross-medial, interdisciplinary and independent research, it combines basic research and transfer research, and thus, generates knowledge on issues relevant for politics, commerce and civil society. 
 
The Media Research Methods Lab (MRML) at the HBI combines the methodological expertise of the HBI into an organizational unit that pursues three interrelated goals: First, the MRML drives methodological development through its own research. Second, it pools the methodological expertise available at the HBI and supports other projects and program areas by providing advice and infrastructure, for example in the area of digital trace analysis. Third, the MRML contributes its expertise to public debates related to social and information science methods and developments. 

A substantive focus of the MRML's research work is the study of digital, social media on issues related to the spread of disinformation, the development of social cohesion, and argumentative and deliberative debate quality. Methodological challenges that are addressed in the projects include the collection and analysis of Big Data and the combination of established social science methods (survey, observation, content analysis, experiment) with new, computer-based methods (e.g., automated content analysis, network analysis, log data analysis, experience sampling).