Author Instructions

Scope of the Journal
Publication Ethics
Manuscript Preparation and Submission
Peer Review Process
Copyright
Permissions for Illustrations and Figures
Research Data Policy
Open Science Badges
Open Access

Scope of the Journal

Communication, Culture & Critique (CCC) publishes high-quality, original scholarship. We are specifically interested in scholarship that is historically grounded, theoretically informed and addresses the role of media, technology and culture in relation to the myriad “crises” that critical scholars across the academy are increasingly attentive to, whether political, economic, environmental or humanitarian. CCC remains committed to publishing scholarship from the vantage point of subjugated communities based geographically in the North and South.

To ensure timely publication, we encourage authors to carefully consider whether their manuscripts fit the scope of CCC before they submit. For more information on the scope and expectations of the journal please refer to the journal overview.

All submitted manuscripts must be prepared in strict accordance with the 7th of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Style). The journal asks that authors follow the general principles for reducing bias. The American Psychological Association (APA) provides guidance for writing about all people and their personal characteristics without bias.

Publication Ethics

Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out by the Commission on Publication Ethics (COPE). Falsification or fabrication of data, plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the authors’ own work without proper citation, and misappropriation of the work are all unacceptable practices. Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with the COPE guidelines.

Submissions to CCC must not have appeared in any other published form and must not be submitted to any other publication while the manuscript is under review with CCC. All work must be original and studies involving human subjects must have received authorization from the relevant authorities. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that NO versions of the manuscript being submitted are accessible online, namely, other academic and commercial sites. The International Communication Association’s and the publisher’s policy is that the original submitted work can be archived on any university repository only after acceptance.

Manuscript Preparation and Submission

Communication, Culture & Critique is committed to a transparent, equitable, and rigorous peer-review process. Before submitting your original, unpublished research to CCC, please take a few minutes to read over the following information.

Original Work: Work submitted to CCC must follow the scope of the journal. Please be sure to read recent issues of Communication, Culture & Critique before you submit your work so that you can develop a clearer sense of the kinds of research the journal publishes. Please see recent issues. Further, CCC’s readership is international and interdisciplinary. Thus, submissions should provide ample explanations for terms, texts, and practices that may be unfamiliar to readers outside the author’s local context. Please take a moment to understand what reviewers are looking for.

If you have questions about submitting original articles please email: ([email protected]).

Thematic Issues: The CCC Editorial Collective will publish regular thematic issues of original research that cohere around a particular topic and forums that consist of short, timely commentary or interview pieces (approximately 2000 words) exploring contemporary issues. Thematic issues will focus on scholarship that is historically grounded, theoretically informed and addresses the role of media, technology and culture in relation to the myriad “crises” that critical scholars across the academy are increasingly attentive to, whether political, economic, environmental or humanitarian. Typically, special issues contain 6-8 original articles, 5-10 forum essays, or a combination of both.

Current calls for thematic issues can be found on the journal’s homepage. We are currently not accepting unsolicited proposals for thematic or special issues.

CCC will publish select and occasional book reviews. Book reviews will be 1000-2000 words and reflect thematic interests of CCC’s Editorial Collective. We are not soliciting any book review suggestions at this time.

Style: Submitted manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition. Please see APA style and grammar guidelines.

Word Count: Manuscripts, including revised versions, should be no more than 7000 words in length (inclusive of references, tables, figures, appendices, and endnotes).

Manuscript Files: Files should be in WORD format only (.doc or .docx extension). Please submit the following:

1. A separate title page: The title page should provide the title of the paper, the names and affiliations of each author of the paper, and any author notes.
2. The main manuscript document: The main document should include the abstract, manuscript, tables, figures, and appendices. Please follow these guidelines:
   1. Please do not include your name or other identifying information in your main document. This ensures that your identity will be anonymous to reviewers.
   2. The first page of your document should include an abstract (maximum of 150 words) and 5-8 keywords.
   3. Page 2 should begin with title and main text.
   4. Use standard type (12-point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 1.0-inch margins) throughout.
   5. References should start on a new page and should also be double-spaced. If a publication has a DOI, it should be included in the format https://doi.org/xxxxx, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmaa014.
   6. All tables, figures, appendices, and endnotes should be placed after references.
3. Optional cover letter: Authors may choose to submit a cover letter with their submission. This document offers authors the opportunity to share with the Editor the submission’s strengths and fit with the journal’s scope. Please see guidance on preparing a cover letter.

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal’s submission site.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

 

Peer Review Process

The Editor will determine if a submission is appropriate for the journal. If the Editor determines your submission is not appropriate for the journal, it will be rejected and not sent out for peer review. In this case, you will typically be notified within two weeks of submission.

If the Editor determines that the submission is appropriate for the journal, the manuscript will be sent out for peer review. All articles will be double anonymously reviewed by at least two reviewers. Reviewers will evaluate if the manuscript,

• Asks critically oriented and clearly articulated questions that make a meaningful scholarly contribution.
• Presents a compelling analysis with appropriate methods, sound reasoning, and evidence. 
• Incorporates scholarly literature with appropriate breadth and depth.
• Is thoughtfully organized with a clearly communicated purpose.
• Is reflexive about the author’s positionality, and addresses issues of power and inequality.
• Engages meaningfully and ethically with marginalized communities and cultures when they are the subject of the submission and/or referenced in citations. 

Turnaround Time: Authors of submissions selected for double anonymous peer review typically receive a first decision in 2-3 months. Because the extent of revision and additional review varies from 6 weeks to several months, it is difficult to provide an accurate turnaround time for submissions that are selected for revision. Authors can check the status of their submission via their Author Dashboard on CCC’s submission site. Contact the Editor with any question; it is helpful to include the manuscript identification number.

Accepted Submissions: Accepted manuscript are forwarded on to OUP and go through the production process, which includes copyediting, until final versions are ready to publish. Authors will receive a link to the PDF proof of their manuscript on our online system by email, and it is essential that a current email address is supplied with all manuscripts. Proofing instructions will accompany the PDF file but the proof should be checked immediately upon receipt and uploaded in accordance with covering instructions. Only essential corrections should be made at the proof stage.

Copyright

It is a condition of publication in Communication, Culture & Critique that authors that authors grant an exclusive license to the International communication Association. This ensures that all of the necessary rights needed for publication of the article are in place including provision for any requests from third parties to reproduce content from the journals are handled efficiently and consistently by OUP, enabling the content to be as widely disseminated as possible. No article will be published unless the license agreement has been received at Oxford University Press. Any queries about the license agreement should be sent as soon as possible to Rights and Permissions so that any issues can be resolved quickly and to avoid any delay in publication.

As part of the terms of the license agreement, authors may use their own material in other publications written or edited by themselves provided that the journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication and Oxford University Press as the publisher. As the author(s), copyright of the article remains yours (or your employer’s if your employer claims copyright in your work). See full details of Oxford Journals' copyright policy and the rights retained by you/your institution under the terms of the license.

On acceptance of your article for publication, the license agreement should be filled out online immediately. If we have not received the agreement by the time the manuscript arrives, publication may be delayed.

Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published figures, tables or parts of text are to be included, the copyright-holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission. For information on how to obtain permissions, please consult Rights and Permissions.

Permissions for Illustrations and Figures 

Permission to reproduce copyright material, for print and online publication in perpetuity, must be cleared and if necessary paid for by the author; this includes applications and payments to DACS, ARS and similar licencing agencies where appropriate. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights-holder must be made available to the editors. It is also the author's responsibility to include acknowledgements as stipulated by the particular institutions. Oxford Journals can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see Guidelines for Authors. Information on permissions contacts for a number of main galleries and museums can also be provided. Should you require copies of this then please contact the editorial office of the journal in question or the Oxford Journals Rights department.

Research Data Policy

Data Availability Statement

The inclusion of a Data Availability Statement is a requirement for articles published in Communication, Culture & Critique. The statement may refer to original data generated in the course of the study or to third-party data analyzed in the article. The statement should describe and provide means of access, where possible, by linking to the data or providing the required unique identifier.

The Data Availability Statement should be included under the heading ‘Data availability’. See more information and example Data Availability Statements.

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, Communication, Culture & Critique strongly encourages authors to make all data on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, is available here. 

Data Citation

Communication, Culture & Critique supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite: 

               [dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier

*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.

Preprint policy

Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

Self-Archiving policy

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

Funding

Certain funders, including the NIH, members of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) and Wellcome Trust require deposit of the Accepted Version in a repository after an embargo period. Details of funding arrangements are set out at the following website: Complying with funder policies. Please contact the Journal production editor if you have additional funding requirements.

Open Science Badges

Communication, Culture & Critique supports Open Science Badges to acknowledge open science practices. These voluntary badges are offered for those who would like to share data and materials and preregister research, and signal to the reader that the content has been made available in a persistent location. These badges will feature in the published article as well as the website. When submitting a manuscript, authors should indicate the desired badge, and include a completed Open Science Badge application form and eligibility will be confirmed upon acceptance.

The three badges are as follows:

• Open Materials Badge: This badge acknowledges authors who deposit research materials in an Open Access repository; for example, the Open Science Framework (for other repositories please consult the Registry of Research Data Repositories). See Open Materials Criteria, and a link should be given in the submitted paper with a link to the deposited materials.
• Open Data Badge: This badge acknowledges authors who deposit their data in an Open Access repository (either an entire dataset or part of it, or a transformed dataset, as long as an independent researcher can reproduce the reported results). See Criteria, and a link to the deposited data should be included in the paper.
• Preregistered Badge: This badge acknowledges preregistered research in an institutional registration system (e.g. Open Science Framework). Registration should predate the intervention, and the design and analysis plan should correspond directly to the design and analysis. Full disclosure of results is needed in accordance with the preregistered plan. See More Information.

Please note that for all three badges, manuscripts should contain a link to data, materials, or preregistered research in the Open Science Framework or other recognized repository.

Open Access

Communication, Culture & Critique offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.

Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.

Details of the open access licences and open access charges.

OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.

Please note that you may be eligible for a discount to the open access charge based on society membership. Authors may be asked to prove eligibility for the member discount.

Disclaimer

The International Communication Association (ICA) is committed to advancing the scholarly study of communication by encouraging and facilitating excellence in academic research worldwide. As part of this commitment, ICA provides a platform for diverse perspectives through its publications. The views, opinions, and statements expressed by the editors, authors, and content contributors in the journals published by ICA are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ICA, its members, officers, or its governing bodies. ICA respects the autonomy of its journal editors and upholds the principles of academic freedom and integrity. The content published in ICA journals is subject to peer review and adheres to the highest standards of scholarly ethics. However, ICA does not endorse or take responsibility for the individual viewpoints presented in these publications.