Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Sections

Research Article

We publish original studies with clear questions, sound methods, verifiable evidence, and a defined theoretical or policy contribution. Manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review. Provide sufficient methodological detail and robustness checks. We encourage data and code availability (state access restrictions and compliance where relevant) and require a brief data availability statement. Studies involving humans or animals must include ethics approval and consent. Preprints are welcome; disclose the preprint at submission and link DOIs after acceptance. We also consider replications and negative results if the design is rigorous. Authors must use CRediT for contributions, disclose funding and conflicts of interest, and include an AI-use statement limited to permissible support (e.g., language editing). For style, citation format, licensing, and APCs, see the journal’s Instructions for authors and Policies.

Thematic Section: Surrounding Communications Research

Peripheral communication studies (special section)

This section welcomes research and commentary on “peripheral communication,” including regional communication patterns, cross-cultural dialogue, geo-media networks, and the reconfiguration of global communication orders at the intersection of technology, policy, and social change. We encourage cross-country comparisons, multi-language sources, and mixed methods (quantitative, qualitative, computational).

Manuscript types and review

Research and reviews: double-blind peer review. Typical length 6,000–10,000 words for research; 8,000–12,000 words for reviews. Follow the policies for “Research article” and “Review article” where applicable.
Perspectives, commentaries, forum pieces: evidence-based short articles, typically 1,500–2,500 words; editorially reviewed (some items may be invited).

Ethics, transparency, and data

For work involving sensitive regions, vulnerable groups, or cross-border data, state risk assessment, de-identification, and compliance measures; provide controlled access where needed.
Use a data and materials availability statement and share data/code when possible; explain any restrictions.
Disclose use of preprints at submission; link DOIs upon acceptance. Optional open peer review is supported.

Authorship and disclosures

Use CRediT to list author contributions.
Disclose funding and conflicts of interest.
If language tools or other assistance were used, include a brief statement and remain responsible for the content.

For formatting, citation style, licensing, APCs, and other general requirements, see Instructions for authors and Journal policies.

Review Article

We consider systematic, scoping, narrative, and bibliometric reviews that define a focused question, search strategy, and inclusion criteria, and that map advances, debates, methodological differences, and gaps. Manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review. The typical length is 8,000–12,000 words. Systematic/scoping reviews should follow PRISMA or an equivalent guideline, include the search strings, screening flow, and core evidence tables; bibliometric reviewsshould specify data sources, indicators, and reproducibility steps and, where possible, share scripts and datasets. Reviews should move beyond description to propose an analytical framework and future agenda; we do not consider opinion pieces without evidence. Preprints are welcome with disclosure. Provide a data/methods transparency statement, use CRediT for contributions, and disclose funding and conflicts; include an AI-use statement where applicable. For formatting, citation style, licensing, and APCs, see the Instructions for authors and Policies.