About the Journal

Focus and Scope

index.comunicación is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of applied communication, published by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos since January 2011. In a strict sense, the journal's mission is to encompass all forms of communication that, through a wide range of traditional or emerging information channels, pursue a pre-established objective or achievement.

We define applied communication as goal-oriented communication practice, encompassing techniques and methods designed to achieve specific outcomes. The journal is aimed at researchers, educators, and professionals in the field of communication, including specialists in advertising, journalism, organizational communication, digital media, and other related areas.

The journal prioritizes original research articles on applied communication, aligned with the following objectives:

  • To publish original and relevant research on applied communication, highlighting its uses, strategies, and results.
  • To promote academic debate and critical reflection on new trends and challenges in the communication field.
  • To ensure quality and methodological rigor through an impartial and transparent peer review process.
  • To support open access to scientific knowledge without financial barriers for authors or readers.
  • To foster the internationalization of the journal by encouraging collaboration among researchers from diverse institutions and countries.

index.comunicación is a refereed academic journal that follows an external peer review system using a double-blind methodology, in accordance with the publication guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA). This system ensures authors an objective, impartial, and transparent review process.

The journal is published under a diamond open access model, which means no fees are charged at any stage of the editorial process (commonly referred to as APCs), either to authors or to readers.

Peer Review Process

The journal is committed to ensuring a swift review process, to the extent that contributors facilitate its progression.

All submitted manuscripts will undergo an initial review by the Editorial Committee to assess:

  • Their originality.
  • Their alignment with the academic scope of the journal.
  • Their relevance and significance.
  • Their compliance with the journal’s style guidelines.

Once this preliminary review is successfully passed, and the authors' identities are removed, the manuscripts will be submitted to the Reviewers Committee. This committee is composed of faculty members from Ibero-American, Portuguese, and Spanish universities, recognized for their academic excellence in their respective fields and independent from the publishing entity. The review criteria include: originality, novelty, timeliness, interest, quality, methodological rigor, and relevance.

The Reviewers Committee is supported by the Scientific Committee. The review process is conducted through a double-blind peer review system: submitted manuscripts are anonymized prior to evaluation. The entire process is managed using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, which ensures automated and auditable electronic tracking of all interactions. This guarantees a transparent workflow and facilitates the improvement of manuscripts when their publication is deemed appropriate.

Each article may be assigned to up to three reviewers. Editorial production begins once two favorable reports have been received.

The editorial team meets biweekly to review submitted manuscripts. Consequently, if a submission is rejected, the author will be notified within a maximum of 15 days. The estimated timeframe for communicating the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript following peer review is 60 days. If accepted, the copyediting and layout process will take a maximum of 30 days.

Reviewer reports containing comments or suggestions will be sent to the author for consideration. A revised version of the manuscript, incorporating the indicated changes or suggestions, will be resubmitted for a second round of peer review. This process may continue until the manuscript is accepted, if applicable. Only two rounds of peer review will be conducted, in addition to the initial pre-review by the Editorial Committee.

The review process diagram is shared by all journals belonging to the Plataforma Latina de Comunicación and can be consulted at the following link:
http://plataformarevistascomunicacion.org/proceso-de-revision-de-articulos/

Failure to comply with the editorial style guidelines outlined in this manual will result in non-publication of the manuscript.

Publication Frequency

Each calendar year, index.comunicación publishes a single volume composed of two semiannual issues. Since 2021, Issue 1 is published on January 15 and Issue 2 on July 15.

Each issue is divided into two sections: six articles on a monographic theme, along with one invited introductory text, and six miscellaneous articles—comprising a total of 13 articles per issue.

Open Access Policy

The content of this journal is freely available without embargo.

No article submission or processing fees are charged to authors.

The journal does not apply a waiver policy (for authors from developing countries, etc.). Authors from all countries are welcome.

All content is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Licencia CC BY-NC

index.comunicación adopts a broad definition of open access: users are entitled to “read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles.”

Editorial Statistics for 2024

In 2024, index.comunicación received a total of 184 manuscript submissions. Of these, 25 were accepted and 159 were rejected (60 prior to peer review). This results in a rejection rate of 86.41%. During the editorial process, 340 review invitations were issued, of which 226 were completed. Ultimately, a total of 26 articles were published.

Indicator Value
Manuscripts received 184
Manuscripts accepted 25
Manuscripts rejected before review 60
Manuscripts rejected after review 99
Review invitations sent 340
Reviews received 226
Average days to first editorial decision 16
Acceptance rate 13,59%
Rejection rate 87,41%

Download Statistics for 2024

View and download statistics are available for all articles published in index.comunicación. These metrics can be accessed on the individual article pages.

Publication Ethics Guidelines

index.comunicación subscribes to and adheres to the ethical principles and best practices established as international standards by organizations such as the Council of Science Editors (CSE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These include the standards outlined at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity (Singapore, 2010): 

  • Editors are responsible and accountable for all content published.
  • Editors must make fair and impartial decisions, independent of commercial considerations, and ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process.
  • Editors should promote transparency and complete and honest reporting.
  • Editors must maintain the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions as necessary, and by pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct.
  • Editors should take action against editorial or reviewer misconduct.
  • Editors must critically assess the ethical conduct of studies involving human or animal subjects.
  • Reviewers and authors must be clearly informed of their roles and expectations.
  • Editors must have publicly available policies to manage conflicts of interest.

In case of conflict of interest, authors may submit claims via email to the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. The journal also follows the editorial best practice protocols provided by Elsevier (PERK – Publishing Ethics Resource Kit) and Wiley (Ethics Guidelines), which support decision-making in situations involving:

  • Authorship disputes
  • Plagiarism
  • Duplicate or simultaneous submissions
  • Misappropriation of research findings
  • Research fraud or error
  • Violations of research ethics
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Reviewer bias

Self-Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy

index.comunicación encourages its authors to increase the visibility, reach, and impact of their published articles by self-archiving them on:

  • Their personal websites (blogs, social networks, academic forums, etc.)
  • Institutional open archives and university repositories
  • Academic and scientific platforms such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Mendeley, etc.

Self-archiving is not permitted prior to the completion of peer review, layout formatting, or galley proof correction (see The Effect of Open Access).

Additionally, the journal is preserved in the digital repository of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos:

BURJC Digital

The journal also uses the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archive among participating libraries, allowing them to create permanent preservation and restoration records.

Gender Policy

index.comunicación is strongly committed to equity and maintains gender parity in its editorial and scientific boards (Editorial Team and Scientific Committee). Promoting diversity strengthens academic quality and fosters a more just and representative environment. The journal also encourages the use of inclusive language through explicit editorial guidelines.

Privacy and Cookie Policies

Identification Data

The data collected from both registered and non-registered users of index.comunicación fall within the standard operational scope of peer-reviewed journals.

The editorial team uses this data to guide its editorial work and to improve the journal. Authors whose work is published are responsible for any data about individuals contained in their manuscripts.

The editors comply with industry privacy standards, specifically the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with respect to data subject rights, including: (a) breach notification; (b) right of access; (c) right to be forgotten; (d) data portability; and (e) privacy by design. The GDPR also acknowledges the “public interest in the availability of data,” which is particularly relevant for maintaining the integrity of the academic record.

Data Controller

  • Legal Entity: Belén Puebla Martínez - Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

  • Trade Name: index.comunicación

  • Address: Camino del Molino, nº 5 - 28942 Fuenlabrada - Madrid - España  

  • Phone: +34 914887305

  • Email: belen.puebla@urjc.es

  • Domain: https://indexcomunicacion.es/

What Information We Collect and Why

  • To send communications related to the editorial process
  • To assist authors with publishing and improving the journal
  • To inform readers about authorship and content publication
  • To enhance information retrieval through aggregated data analysis
  • To manage editorial correspondence
  • To distribute updates related to scientific research in areas aligned with the journal's focus
  • To conduct statistical research in the field of communication studies
  • Automated decision-making or profiling is not performed

Data Retention Period

Personal data will be securely retained and blocked once the relationship concludes, and deletion will occur in accordance with:

  • Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Art. 17.1a
  • Spanish Historical Heritage Law 16/1985
  • Madrid Regional Law 4/1993 on Archives and Documentary Heritage

In academic publishing, data about authors, editors, reviewers, and contributors may remain part of the record under Article 85 of the GDPR, which allows for data retention for public interest, scientific or historical research, or statistical purposes.

Legal Basis for Processing

The legal basis for processing your data is the provision of services and/or the data subject’s consent.

Email communications are sent with informed consent. Cookie usage is also based on informed consent, in accordance with current legislation.

Data Sharing

Data supporting the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform may be shared anonymously and in aggregated form with the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), except for exceptions such as article metrics.

Personal metadata associated with published articles (author names, institutional affiliations, country) are deposited and distributed for DOI assignment via Crossref, LOCKSS archival distribution, and open science indexing.

No data will be sold or shared outside these purposes.

Obligation to Provide Data

Failure to provide the requested data may prevent registration, manuscript submission, or editorial follow-up.

Data Protection Measures

The journal’s website uses industry-standard security measures (firewalls, access control, encryption) to prevent unauthorized access. All data transmissions use secure communication protocols (HTTPS, SSL).

All personal data are stored in compliance with the EU GDPR (Regulation 2016/679).

Your Rights

  • Confirm whether index.comunicación is processing their data
  • Access, rectify, or request deletion of their data
  • Request restriction of processing in certain cases
  • Object to processing for specific personal reasons
  • File a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD)

How to Exercise Your Rights

Cookie Policy

index.comunicación uses cookies to manage user sessions. These are required for authors, reviewers, or editors, but not for unregistered readers.

Cookies are used on some pages to remember: a) display preferences; b) article submission status; c) notifications related to editorial workflow; d) cookie consent status; e) article access history.

Cookies are not essential for basic site functionality, but enabling them improves navigation. Some features may not function properly if cookies are disabled. Cookies are essential for manuscript submission and tracking.

Cookies are not used to personally identify users, and all data is used solely for the purposes outlined here.

Web Analytics

The website servers may automatically detect the user's IP address and domain name. An IP address is a number automatically assigned to a computer when it connects to the internet. All this information is recorded in a server activity log, which allows the subsequent processing of the data to obtain purely statistical measurements—such as the number of page impressions, the number of visits to the web services, the order of visits, and the access point.

For this purpose, the internal analytics system of Open Journal Systems (OJS) is used.

Editorial Team

Members of the Editorial Team are appointed for renewable five-year terms, subject to approval at the annual board meeting. Selection is based on academic trajectory, editorial management experience, and specialization in the journal’s areas of focus. This approach encourages the inclusion of new perspectives while ensuring continuity of the project under criteria of academic excellence.

Scientific Committee

Members of the Scientific Committee are not subject to term limits. Their commitment to the journal is expressed through regular meetings in which editorial policies are reviewed and proposals for strengthening the academic standing of the publication are discussed. Selection is based on academic excellence, international representation, and gender parity. The committee comprises highly regarded experts in the journal’s areas of knowledge to ensure scientific rigor and quality.

Reviewers Committee

The Reviewers Committee consists of contributors with recognized expertise in the specific subject matter of each article. Reviewers are selected based on their academic alignment, scholarly recognition, and research experience in the field addressed by the manuscript.

Functions of reviewers include ensuring the quality of published manuscripts and providing well-founded justifications for editorial decisions.

The Editorial Team monitors each reviewer through a quality control process that guarantees adherence to deadlines, preservation of anonymity, clear reasoning for evaluations, and proper communication with the author.

All review contributions are certified annually at the end of the evaluation cycle. Several reviewers have contributed to more than one manuscript.

We sincerely thank all reviewers for their selfless and rigorous work, which significantly enhances the quality of the content we publish.

View reviewers 2024

View reviewers 2023

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View reviewers 2021

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View reviewers 2019

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View reviewers 2017

View reviewers 2016

View reviewers 2015

View reviewers 2014

View reviewers 2013

View reviewers 2012

View reviewers 2011

 

Journal History

index.comunicación was founded in 2011 as an annual publication, with the goal of serving as a support platform in the field of scientific journals focused on Applied Communication.

The journal is part of the Plataforma Latina de Revistas de Comunicación (pLatCom), an initiative of Revista Latina de Comunicación Social. This is a well-established project formed by Latin American and Spanish digital journals, primarily aimed at serving emerging scholars in the Spanish-speaking communication research community.