Academic Journal Structure

The topic of academic journal structure refers to the content of, in this case, communication studies [Page 3]journals. More simply, it refers to what types of research one is likely to find in particular journals. This topic is relevant not only to the student but also to the scholar seeking to publish his or her original research. In this entry, most of the principal journals in communication studies are characterized as a guide for the reader beginning with the most general publications and moving to the most specialized ones.

The intent of most people who enter the profession of college or university professor is to teach. However, it does not take long for the newly minted professor to learn that progress toward higher ranks in the profession and the award of tenure depends not only on teaching ability but also on service to the college or university and the profession and, preeminently, published research. Most academic institutions have specific expectations for how much published research a professor should have in particular periods and some sense of the quality of the academic journals in which they appear. These journals are similar to popular, commercial magazines, except that they are usually published by professional academic organizations and contain the texts of research articles. They also typically appear only a few times per year rather than weekly or monthly.

The field of communication studies has changed dramatically since the early 1960s. At that time, there were many fewer journals in this field but also many fewer publishing scholars. Expectations were also lower, with some institutions not looking for any publication at all from their professors. Today, there are multiple publication outlets, many more practitioners, and heightened expectations. Where the National Communication Association (NCA) then had only three journal publications, today it has 11. The International Communication Association (ICA) publishes five journals, and each of the four regional communication associations publishes at least one. Some subareas of communication studies, such as rhetoric and religious communication, have formed their own professional organizations and publish such journals as the Rhetoric Society Quarterly and the Journal of Communication and Religion. There are now also numerous international communication journals, such as the European Journal of Communication and the Chinese Journal of Communication. Several journals that are not strictly communication oriented, such as the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and Personal Relationships, nonetheless publish a large number of studies involving communication.

It would appear that any scholar seeking to publish research findings today would have a relatively easy time in doing so. This is not the case, however, since the competition for publication has become more fierce. During James Donald Ragsdale’s 3-year tenure as editor of the Southern Communication Journal (volumes 77–79), submissions came in at the rate of 10 or so a month, while acceptances were about 20% of that. Acceptance for publication depends not only on the quality of the manuscript but also on the journal’s level of financial support. Publication is gratis, although in some fields, especially scientific ones such as crop science, scholars may be asked to pay for the cost of publication when a journal issue exceeds its normal page limitations.

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