Article types and specific guidelines
The Journal of Science Communication (JCOM) welcomes submissions falling within the scope of the Journal, at any time in any of the following forms:
Articles (i.e, research articles) present new empirical research using quantitative and/or qualitative methods. Your research article should be supported by a comprehensive literature review, a thorough theoretical grounding, enough detail within the methodology section to orient readers to how the authors plan to address the aims of the study, strong and original findings, and a conclusion with implications for the research and practice communities. Research articles are peer-reviewed. Your manuscript should be 5,000 – 8,000 words long, including an abstract of 100 – 150 words and literature references.
Practice insights reflect on project evaluations, action/research projects, or similar case studies, taking a critical perspective on practical examples of science communication. A practice insight is expected to deal with a widespread science communication practice issue or problem and provide enough detail to orient readers to how a science communication practice is innovative and applicable beyond the current context. The practice issue/problem must be well defined so that the contribution to science communication is clear. The approach to evidence-based practice must be transparent (e.g. evaluation methodology or action research – or the potential for this), and the submission needs to describe how the project or approach contributes (or could contribute) to innovation in global science communication practice. Practice insights are peer-reviewed. Your text should be 3,000 – 5,000 words long, including an abstract of 100 – 150 words and literature references.
Editorials (invited contributions only)
Essays explore and reflect on current issues, e.g. a policy, theory, or emerging trend in science communication. We aim to stimulate discussion in science communication communities, and such essays may be specifically designed for that purpose. Therefore, authors should be prepared for critical responses. Essays must be original and relevant, and authors' views and opinions must be grounded in robust science communication research or practice scholarship. Essays are peer-reviewed. Your text should be 3,000 – 4,500 words long, including an abstract of 100 – 150 words and literature references.
Review articles (i.e, research reviews) provide a comprehensive review of a topic pertinent to science communication. Reviews are commissioned based on a proposal. Authors wishing to propose a research review should contact the Editorial Office with a proposal that outlines the area to be explored and explains why this topic is pertinent to science communication and why a review is needed. The reporting of systematic review contributions in JCOM is guided by the standards of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) Statement. The systematic review should present a clear supporting context and motivation and a thorough critique, including the major themes and gaps relevant to the reviewed science communication topic. Research reviews are peer-reviewed. Your review should be up to 9,000 words long, including an abstract of 100 – 150 words and literature references.
Book reviews draw attention to current and impactful scholarly and non-fiction books in the field of science communication, thereby helping JCOM readers stay up to date on the latest book titles in the field. A book review includes a broad overview, a summary of its contents and an introduction to the authors. Reviewers should reflect critically on the book's argument and contribution to the field, including a perspective on its strengths and weaknesses. Before writing a book review, please get in touch with Marina Joubert, the deputy editor of JCOM (email: marinajoubert@sun.ac.za). The JCOM Editorial Board reviews book reviews. A book review should be at most 1,000 words, including a short abstract (about 50 – 100 words) and a list of references.
Conference reviews share the outcomes of science communication events relevant for JCOM readers. JCOM publishes a limited number of conference reviews annually and aims to achieve geographical diversity in the events covered. Conference reviewers should not be involved in organizing the conference. Conference organizers or delegates are welcome to suggest possible events for review by contacting Marina Joubert, the deputy editor of JCOM (email: marinajoubert@sun.ac.za) at least three months before the event. The JCOM Editorial Board reviews conference reviews. Please don’t submit a conference review before we have reached an agreement about the relevance and timing of the event and the subsequent review. A conference review should be at most 1,000 words, including a short abstract (about 50 – 100 words) and a list of references.
Letters may be submitted as responses to published papers or to comment on topical issues. They should make a scholarly and reflective contribution. The JCOM Editorial Board reviews letters. A letter to JCOM should be at most 1,000 words, including a short abstract (about 50 – 100 words) and a list of references.
Commentary sets (invited contributions only). They comprise several author perspectives on a shared topic. We welcome topic proposals and possible contributors, but these commentaries will be commissioned directly by the journal's editors. The JCOM Editorial Board reviews contributions to commentaries.
Manuscript style and template
Please use the following template to prepare your manuscript: Author template
Technical guidelines:
Contributions should be submitted as a doc, docx, rtf or odt file. If the submission comprises many files, a compressed archive (.zip, .tar.gz or .tgz) should be uploaded.
Language:
The first language of the journal is English. Papers may be submitted in other languages, but the editors reserve the right to ask for an English translation if editors or reviewers in the particular language are not available. If the paper can be processed in the original language and it is accepted, the journal will provide the English translation and will publish the paper in both versions.
Length:
See above: Article types and specific guidelines
Font:
Text files should be presented in Arial, 12pt, without page headers or footers, and with minimum variation of typeface, e.g. bold, italic, etc.
Please ensure that your file is formatted to include line numbering.
Structure:
Title of the paper: centered at the top of the first page.
Authors: do not insert the name(s) of the author(s) in the source file. Please do so only in the submission form in the JCOM web page.
Abstract: the abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the purpose, basic methodology and procedures, main results and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations. Regarding their size, see above Article types and specific guidelines
Keywords: identify 1-3 keywords from the list in the submission web page that capture the main topics of the paper.
Text: if the submission is in the form of an article it should preferably be divided into sections with the headings such as: Context, Objective, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions.
Practice insights should present the context for the case study, reviewing relevant academic or other literature used to support the development of the project. Details of any data collection methods should be included and data collection instruments can be included as supplementary material. However, the focus of Practice Insights is to draw critical learning from case studies, and as such the presentation of data may be more informal than for an academic paper. It is essential to discuss implications for future projects. Contributions should present a deep reflection on experience and allow lessons learnt to emerge. Although an extensive bibliography is not required, Practice Insights should refer to relevant literature.
Review articles (Research reviews) should present the context for the case study, reviewing relevant academic or other literature used to support the development of the project. Details of any data collection methods should be included, and data collection instruments can be included as supplementary material. A detailed bibliography should be included.
Notes: only numbered text notes will be accepted; a source must be referred to in the text by a numbered apex;¹ notes should be placed at the bottom of the page where they are cited; i.e. "The decision was at first left with the scientific community.² Everyone agreed ..."
Figures: Please number figures sequentially in the text. Figures must be placed at the point where they are referred to in the text and also uploaded as separate files. Figures should be accompanied by a suitable figure legend.
Authors of Practice Insights and research reviews are particularly encouraged to include images (e. g. photographs or materials) that enhance the description of the case study. Authors are also encouraged to include figures, tables or other graphics to present data when appropriate.
Tables: Please number tables sequentially in the text. Tables must be placed at the point where they are referred to in the text and also uploaded as separate files. Tables should have an appropriate descriptive title.
References: JCOM uses APA citation and reference list style, please refer to the official web page for details and examples: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references.
JCOM strongly encourages citations to non-traditional research objects available in external repositories. Citations should follow the repository style (i.e, the “cite as” notice) and should include persistent identifiers such as DOIs wherever possible.
Acknowledgements: should include funders and grants ids, any use of AI tools, etc.
Data/Software/Code Availability Statements should be included at the end of articles submitted to JCOM to improve their discoverability.
Submission
The submission link is available on the JCOM home page. Submission requires registration and login. The step-by-step submission procedure guides authors through the process. Partial submissions can be saved and completed at a later time.
JCOM policy on data files and similar supplementary material
JCOM strongly encourages posting data files and similar supplementary material to publicly-accessible, discipline-specific, community-recognised repositories that comply with the FAIR principles as much as possible.
In cases where a suitable discipline-specific resource does not exist, such files may be submitted to a generalist repository (for example, Zenodo), including any such repositories provided by universities, funders or institutions for their affiliated researchers.
Authors may also wish to explore repository registries such as FAIRsharing.org and re3data.org.
Revisions, appeals, corrections and withdrawals
Revised versions can be submitted only if requested by the editor, contributions must therefore be submitted originally in their final form.
Authors that have been asked to revise their manuscripts must attend to the requested modifications and provide a new version within the specified deadline. Extensions may be agreed upon by contacting the editor and explaining the reasons for your request of a new deadline.
Revised manuscripts must be uploaded from the manuscript page by clicking "submit revision". Authors who object an editor’s request for revision can confirm the previous version to be reconsidered for publication. A cover letter must be included in both cases describing in details the revisions made or providing the reasons why revisions have not been made. By default, cover letters are received by the editor and the reviewer(s). Confidential communications for the editor should be sent by using the “write a message” button.
Contributions are considered, processed and reviewed as fairly as possible. Authors of contributions that have been rejected may appeal for reconsideration and reply to the editor report. Appeals must be scientifically justified and not polemic. Please send your rebuttal letters by connecting to the manuscript page and writing a message addressed to the JCOM Editorial Office.
In case corrections or additions to published papers are needed, authors should contact the Editorial Office from their paper’s web page.
Authors may withdraw their contributions at any time during the review process, by clicking on the appropriate button on the manuscript web page. As a matter of publication ethics, withdrawal is necessary before the manuscript is eventually submitted to another journal.
Proofreading and publication
After the contribution has been accepted and typeset, you will be notified and be able to:
- view the typeset version of your document;
- reply to any typesetter’s query and proofread the document for mistakes or minor changes before publication. The only corrections acceptable at this stage are the following:
- layout (i.e., wrong floating of figures or tables),
- spelling mistakes
- mistakes or updating in references
Any replies to the queries and request for correction must be sent out from the manuscript web page, explaining where they occur in the document (page number, paragraph and line) and specifying both the old (wrong) version and the correction.
Please note that if the corrections you request are not minor, the article will be shown to the Editor in charge for approval. If they reckon that they affect the content significantly, you may be requested to submit a revised version of the manuscript for which a new review process will begin.
- Send a short description and an image to be used for posting on social media;
- approve the document for publication, unless there are typesetter’s queries that need your reply.
Please note that publication date and article ID will be temporary until the manuscript is actually published, so please do not use any such data that you may read on your paper before then.
When you approve the document for publication, or after your requested corrections have been implemented, the document is ready to be published in pdf, epub and html formats. Publication will take place acording to the journal schedule. Please subscribe to the JCOM publication alert on the JCOM home page to be notified about publication. At the time of publication the article will receive a definitive publication ID and a DOI.
Terms and policies
Submission to JCOM implies that the corresponding author accepts all the JCOM policies and in particular the conditions available in the Editorial policy, Ethical policy and Access and copyright sections of the JCOM help pages.