About the Journal

Scope

Comunicação e Sociedade is an open-access academic journal publishing two thematic volumes per year (June and December).  The publication aims to further the analysis of communicational phenomena while contributing to the interpretation of social reality through theoretical and methodological tools from the different fields of human and social sciences.

Journal Structure

Comunicação e Sociedade admits three types of manuscripts (for thematic section or varia):

• articles;
• reviews (of authored or edited works);
• interviews.

Editorial Policy

Comunicação e Sociedade is an open-access academic journal that adheres to stringent standards of the peer review system. It is addressed to both established academics and junior researchers, national and foreign alike. It welcomes manuscripts seeking to expand the knowledge on communication phenomena and combine theories and methodologies from different fields of human and social sciences converging in the broad field of communication sciences. It is open to contributions from academics and professionals, providing an opportunity for interaction.

Comunicação e Sociedade invites proposals of original and unpublished academic manuscripts (including those previously available in preprints repositories) on topics related to the calls for papers (if applicable) and the journal's aims and scope, in the form of (a) articles, (b) reviews of authored or edited works, and (c) interviews.

Contributions should follow the principles of relevance and accessibility to an audience of communication sciences.

The manuscripts may be submitted in Portuguese or English, being always published in both languages

Editorial Procedures

The journal launches two calls for papers per year. Furthermore, authors may also continuously submit non-thematic manuscripts for publication in the Varia section.

Submissions to Comunicação e Sociedade will be subject to a preliminary analysis of their suitability and full compliance with the journal'ssubmission guidelines. The thematic editors and the directors will also consider the following criteria: relevance to the call for papers (if applicable), the journal's aims and scope, and the scientific article's structure and content. Conforming manuscripts are sent for reviewers' evaluation.

The journal uses a double-blind review process with at least two reviewers. The reviewers, academic or professional experts from different institutional and geographical backgrounds, will be recruited from the editorial board and, according to the content of the submitted papers, preferably from the areas of communication sciences and, in some cases, from other social sciences and humanities.  Recommendations shall be supported by an assessment of the article's academic quality, originality and relevance to the call for papers (if applicable) and to the journal's aims and scope.

The decision to publish the manuscripts submitted to the journal is made by the directors and the thematic editors. It is conditional on the favourable opinion of two external reviewers, one of whom should be a native speaker of the work's language. The decision may involve:

• publish with no further reviews;
• publish with minor revisions required;
• revisions and resubmission required;
• rejected.

The decision to publish with no further reviews applies to manuscripts that require minor changes but are in all other respects publishable in their original form.  Publishing with minor revisions refers to works where the reviewers suggest minor changes to content. Manuscripts recommended for further revision and resubmission require significant content revisions and reassessment.  Therefore, works receiving this recommendation are subject to one second round of review with the same two reviewers whenever possible. Only one revision and one resubmission are allowed.

The authors of submitted manuscripts are informed of the editorial decision within 3 months after submission. Authors are notified of the outcome of the review process and, should minor modifications or major revisions be recommended, invited to submit a new version within 2 to 4 weeks after notification, depending on the changes needed.

The manuscripts may be submitted in English or Portuguese, being always published in both languages.

Once the final version is accepted, it will be formally edited, and the proofs will be sent to the authors before publication for their approval. Authors may be asked to provide any missing information from a formal point of view. At this stage, authors are asked not to introduce any changes to the academic content of their manuscript.

The authors will be informed about the article's publication.

Authors are charged no fees for handling and submitting articles.

Peer Review Policy

As previously mentioned, the journal follows the double-blind peer review process. The decision to publish depends on the favourable opinion of two external reviewers, one of whom should be a native speaker of the work's language. The reviewers, academic or professional experts from different institutional and geographical backgrounds, will be recruited from the editorial board and, according to the content of the submitted papers, preferably from the areas of communication sciences and, in some cases, from other social sciences and humanities.

Code of Ethics

Comunicação e Sociedade shares the general principles of best practices and ethical values in scientific research, which are part of the Code of Ethical Conduct of the University of Minho. In line with that code's provisions (pp. 17-18), the journal deems reproachable any conduct that breaches the researcher's integrity.  The following actions, not exhaustively described, represent breaches of the researcher's integrity and, as such, are imposed sanctions:

• plagiarism;
• the appropriation of others' intellectual creations, protected by the rules of intellectual property, without legal consent;
• data fabrication;
• data falsification;
• the intentional data manipulation to favour a line of work or to satisfy interests that are alien to the scientific truth;
• redundant or duplicate publication, in whole or in part, without explicit reference to the source and the replicated sections.

Comunicação e Sociedade seeks to investigate allegations of plagiarism or misappropriation of articles published in the journal. It also strives to protect the journal's reputation against malpractice. Manuscripts submitted are cross-checked through the use of screening software. Should plagiarism be detected, or third party material be included without prior or timely copyright permission, or if the article's authorship is disputed, or any other malpractice is detected, the journal Comunicação e Sociedade reserves the right to take action, including but not limited to: publishing a retraction or amendment; withdrawing the article from the journal; reporting to academic bodies; banning the author from publishing in the journal or taking appropriate legal action.

Open Access

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that freely available scientific knowledge provides a greater global knowledge exchange.

The journal allows self-archiving of all versions in institutional repositories for immediate availability.

Data Sharing

The journal encourages authors to make the data supporting their research findings available. Exceptions may be granted to data that might, under any circumstance, compromise the protection, privacy or safety of those involved in the research or any other legal or ethical issue.  The deposit must precede or be made at the time of submission.

Deposit in a data repository with a plan for long-term preservation of the files and registration of persistent identifiers is recommended. Should you have doubts about the most suitable repository, you can, for instance, refer to the re3data.org portal to choose one that suits your needs, or you can use a generalist repository, such as Zenodo The University of Minho has a data repository,  Data RepositóriUM, where data related to manuscripts published in this journal can also be deposited.

Authors are encouraged to follow the best practices on citation and datasets.  When applicable, information should be provided on where the data related to the article is located and on what conditions it can be accessed. The DOI, other persistent identifier or URL should also be provided when applicable.

Example: The data supporting the research findings in this article are available in open access on the Data RepositoriUM at https://doi.org/10.34622/datarepositorium/QUV6OP.

However, this information should not be included in the manuscript to ensure double-blind peer review. You can add the information in the comments section to the editor during the submission process.

Digital Preservation Policy 

This journal is digitally preserved through the Public Knowledge Project.