Mapping contextual data

The proliferating platformization and digital transformation require designing and deploying suitable research methods and approaches to address the hybrid nature of actors, relations, practices, and the growing importance of the context. This paper explores the design of such a tailored methodology for investigating the value-driven development of online public service media platforms in Germany. While qualitative methodologies are time- and resource-consuming and digital methods leave out less context to the field, this mixed methodology emphasizes the context and invests in collecting thick data. It encompasses multiple stages of recording and mapping that employ qualitative and quantitative approaches to bring together various vignettes, unveiling complementary context and contradictory accounts with the help of visualization. In each mapping and visualization stage, the paper investigates actors and relationships heuristically and emphasizes the work-in-progress nature of mapping regarding platforms.