Journal of Communication

Published on behalf of the International Communication Association

Edited by:
Michael Cody

Print ISSN: 0021-9916
Online ISSN: 1460-2466
Frequency: Quarterly
Current Volume: 60 / 2010
ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 1/45 Communication
Impact Factor: 2.266

TopAuthor Guidelines

The Journal of Communication is a general forum for communication scholarship and publishes articles and book reviews examining a broad range of issues in communication theory and research. JoC publishes the best available scholarship on all aspects of communication. All methods of scholarly inquiry into communication are welcome. Manuscripts published in JoC should advance knowledge about human communication. In addition, manuscripts should be methodologically sound, thoughtfully argued, and well crafted. Manuscripts must not have been published elsewhere or be currently under consideration for any other publication. Manuscripts are processed by blind review so author identification must be removed from all pages except the title page, which is retained by the editor.

Ordinarily (unless a compelling argument is made), data- or text-based manuscripts must follow specific guidelines depending upon method. Quantitative manuscripts should report reliability estimates for dependent variables, the amount of variance accounted for in significance tests, and actual power when a result is not significant. When measures of central tendency are reported, appropriate measures of variability should be included. Quantitative content analyses should report inter-coder reliability, preferably using a statistic that controls for agreement by chance. Survey research should describe the population, sampling procedures, and the response rate. Qualitative research should articulate the standards employed to assure the quality and verification of the interpretation presented (e.g., member-checking, negative case analysis).


Manuscript Guidelines. Manuscripts should be a maximum of 30 pages in length (including all references, tables, figures, appendices and endnotes). Prepare manuscripts in strict accordance with the 5th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

1) Page 1 should include an abstract (maximum of 120 words), and include selected keywords (5 to 9 only).
2) Page 2 starts with title and main text
3) Standard type (12-point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 1.0 inch margins) should be used
4) Running head and page numbers on top right corner (header) of each page
5) References are double-spaced; 2nd and subsequent lines should have hanging indent of 0.5 inch (References should also start on a new page)
6) All tables, figures, appendices and endnotes should be placed after references
7) Submit only 1 main document (including all tables, figures and appendices) in WORD format (.doc) extension. NOTE: We do not accept PDF files.

In addition, please remove all author names and institutional information from manuscripts, so as to enable blinded peer review.
Manuscripts that do not follow these requirements or that are otherwise deemed unsuitable for publication will be returned to the author(s) without review.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE NO LONGER ACCEPT OFFLINE OR EMAIL SUBMISSIONS. ALL MANUSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE THROUGH MANUSCRIPT CENTRAL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcom

Inquiries regarding manuscripts should be directed to:
Michael J. Cody
Editor, Journal of Communication
School of Communication
Annenberg School for Communication

University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281
cody@usc.edu, or by calling 213-740-3936

Manuscripts meriting review will be read anonymously, usually by two referees. In most instances, authors can expect decisions on their work within 120 days. Because manuscripts receive expert review, and because the Editorial Board of JoC is international in scope, this time may vary. The Journal retains the right to make changes in accepted manuscripts that (in the opinion of the editor) do not substantially alter meaning as well as for grammatical, stylistic and space considerations.

Authors should submit book review manuscripts via the journal's Manuscript Central site. When submitting a book review, please select 'book review' from the manuscript type drop-down menu. For inquiries regarding book reviews, please contact the book review editor:

Elisia L. Cohen
Book Review Editor, Journal of Communication
Department of Communication
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0042
elisia.cohen@uky.edu