Transitions in Science Communication: Continuity and Change  

JCOM is pleased to announce a special issue dedicated to “Transitions in Science Communication”, one of the three themes of the forthcoming Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) conference to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, in May 2025. The special issue will focus on continuities and change in science communication research and practice over time and across the world, examining in particular how our field of research and practice can be used to contribute to positive change amid pressing concerns over global issues including the climate emergency, rapid technological change, and public health problems. 

We invite presenters at the PCST 2025 conference to submit original research articles and practice insights for this special issue. We are particularly interested in contributions that explore continuities and changes in:

    • science communication theories, concepts, and frameworks; 
    • institutional practices in public engagement; 
    • roles and skills of science communication practitioners; 
    • norms and values of science communication researchers and practitioners; 
    • modes, styles, and genres of science communication;
    • knowledge, attitudes, and values of different publics;
    • relationships between science communication and wider society;
    • case studies of changing practices in science communication;
    • the role of place in science communication, with a particular focus on approaches to science communication that have emerged in particular world regions or countries.

Please note that this call for papers is restricted to conference participants who will present at the PCST conference in 2025. The submission for the special issue must be closely related to what authors will present at the conference. Authors may submit their accepted abstract for the PCST conference, but we strongly encourage submitting authors to highlight the link to the conference theme of transitions and the special issue as outlined above. 

Guest Editors

Declan Fahy, Dublin City University
Alice Fleerackers, University of Amsterdam
Ana Claudia Nepote, National Autonomous University of Mexico
Guoyan Wang, Soochow University

Submission Guidelines

Interested authors are invited to submit an abstract of between 300 and 500 words to Declan Fahy at: declan.fahy@dcu.ie with the subject line “Special issue on Transitions in Science Communication”. Please indicate whether the proposed contribution is intended as a research article (which is typically between 6,000 and 8,000 words long) or a practice insight (which is typically between 3,000 and 5,000 words long.) For a detailed description of the features of practice insights, please consult the “Submit” section of the journal’s website. Submissions can be single or multi-authored. The deadline for abstract submissions is 31 March, 2025.

Based on an evaluation of these abstracts by the editors, selected contributors will be invited to submit full manuscripts directly via the JCOM submission system. Contributions will be peer reviewed. An invitation to submit a full manuscript, therefore, does not guarantee publication as part of this special issue.

It is our expectation that at least one of the final contributions will be reserved for early-career researchers or early-career practitioners. For the purpose of this call for papers, an early-career researcher is someone who has obtained a PhD in the last five years, and an early-career practitioner is someone who has started to work as a science communication practitioner within the last ten years. 

Important Dates and Timeline

2025
    • March 31: Deadline for submission of proposals
    • April 30: Response from editors to authors of submitted abstracts
    • August 31: Deadline for first draft of all articles
    • October 15: Receipt of peer reviews and communication of decision to authors
    • November 30: Submission of revised articles
2026
    • January 15: Final decision on articles.
    • January 31: Submission of final articles to JCOM for processing.