1. An Introduction to Innovative Methods in Media and Communication Research

Kubitschko and Kaun explicate the book’s aim to actively and prolifically approach methodological challenges and opportunities by bringing together empirical research about media transformations as well as studies that do research through media. The chapter highlights that the book gathers unique insights to innovative methodological approaches in media and communication studies while embedding these in the rich history of interdisciplinary empirical research of various fields. Kubitschko and Kaun advocate an inclusive understanding of ‘innovation’ to denote the lively and productive qualities of emerging methods. Innovation here is a call for widening and rethinking research methods to further understandings of the role media technologies and infrastructures play in society. Above all, methodological innovation takes place in doing. To innovate one has to develop, apply and critically reflect on research methods.