Journal of Communication
Oxford University Press · US · ISSN 00219916
SJR Q1
What the numbers say
Fewer papers are appearing and each one is, on average, cited less than before.
Both output and citation impact declined. If you aim for high citedness, weigh this trend before submitting. Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics rose from 0.0% to 7.1% of what the journal runs. Authors of qualitative or ethics work may find the journal more receptive now. Recent titles increasingly carry partisan · persuasion · interdependence · message · longitudinal. Expect recent articles to engage with persuasion and partisan framing in longitudinal designs.
Citation metrics
SJR quartile
Q1
SJR score
2.08
Citations / doc (2y)
5.00
h-index
232
Based on the Scopus and OpenAlex citation graphs. We do not provide Clarivate’s JCR Impact Factor.
Output and citation impact
Whether citation performance keeps up as output grows.
PapersField-weighted impact
2018
88
20.62
2019
41
10.46
2020
51
21.96
2021
51
8.90
2022
52
8.59
2023
49
9.44
2024
52
8.06
2025
55
11.88
Topic shift
Share in the last 24 months (2024-09 – 2026-08) versus the previous 24 (2022-09 – 2024-08).
Rising
- Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics0.0%→7.1%+7.1%pPrevNow
- Communication in Education and Healthcare0.0%→5.4%+5.4%pPrevNow
- Cybernetics and Technology in Society0.0%→3.6%+3.6%pPrevNow
- Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies0.0%→3.6%+3.6%pPrevNow
- Privacy, Security, and Data Protection0.0%→3.6%+3.6%pPrevNow
Falling
- Social Media and Politics23.2%→16.1%−7.1%pPrevNow
- Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection4.3%→0.0%−4.3%pPrevNow
- Misinformation and Its Impacts14.5%→10.7%−3.8%pPrevNow
- Complex Network Analysis Techniques2.9%→0.0%−2.9%pPrevNow
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents2.9%→0.0%−2.9%pPrevNow
Terms appearing more often
Wording in recent paper titles that stands out against the journal's own baseline.
partisanpersuasioninterdependencemessagelongitudinaltalknewsmediatrust
Author countries
Last 24 months (2024-09 – 2026-08) against the previous 24 (2022-09 – 2024-08).
- US66.3%→61.9%−4.4%pPrevNow
- NL5.8%→8.3%+2.6%pPrevNow
- CA0.0%→5.9%+5.9%pPrevNow
- CH0.0%→4.8%+4.8%pPrevNow
- CN3.9%→4.8%+0.9%pPrevNow
- HK3.9%→4.8%+0.9%pPrevNow
Top 5 institutions
Top 5 institutions publishing in this journal, 2018 – 2026.
Recently published
20The 20 most recent papers — not the full list.
1
Article2026
Revisiting “Communication Theory as a Field”Andrew Chrystall*
History and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities
2
Article2026
Modes of dialogic communication, modes of realityBoris H J M Brummans*
Clinical PsychologyPsychology
3
Article2026
Technology and face-to-face integration in daily life: an intensive longitudinal study of communication interdependenceLiesel L. Sharabi*, Elizabeth Dorrance-Hall, John P. Caughlin, Alan K. Goodboy, Rebekah M. Chiasson
Social PsychologyPsychology
4
Article2026
Dataveillance inhibits legitimate communication: causal evidence for chilling effectsNoemi Festic*, Moritz Büchi, Michael Latzer, Céline Odermatt
OASociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
5
Article2026
Techno-refusal as a generative orientation to the futureAparajita Bhandari*
Computer Science ApplicationsComputer Science
6
Article2026
Blowing artificial intelligence bubbles: studies of technological hypeFenwick McKelvey*
Artificial IntelligenceComputer Science
7
Article2026
Correction to: An island of trust: public broadcasting in the United StatesCommunicationSocial Sciences
8
Article2026
Political polarization as a co-adaptive processStuart Soroka*, Georgia Kernell, P J Lamberson
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
9
Article2025
Walking the moral plank: using virtual reality to investigate moral decision-making under threatJoomi Lee*, Joshua Baldwin, Lindsay Hahn, Glenna L. Read, Sun Joo Ahn
Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
10
Article2025
Undocumented college students’ career-related communication with their parents and the ecological vocational anticipatory socialization modelKyungin Kim*, Jennifer A. Kam, Delmy Munguia
OASafety ResearchSocial Sciences
11
Article2025
Response to the 2025 ICA Presidential Address: Whose cosmopolitan imagination? African reflections on Silvio Waisbord’s call for global communication studiesGregory Gondwe*
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
12
Article2025
Time in communication research and theoriesTai-Quan Peng*, Zheng Wang
Social PsychologyPsychology
13
Article2025
Memory inception through gaze-contingent message exposure: using virtual reality to study media influenceHee Jung Cho, Sue Lim, María Jesús Sáenz, Ralf Schmälzle*
Human-Computer InteractionComputer Science
14
Review2025
Temporal dynamics of media and communication processes: a review of theories and meta-analysis of empirical studiesShan Xu, Wenbo Li, Yani Zhao, Michael D. Slater
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
15
Article2025
Toward a group theory of political communicationStewart M. Coles, Daniel Kreiss, Daniel S. Lane*, Shannon C. McGregor
OAEducationSocial Sciences
16
17
Article2025
Conceptualization, operationalization, and performance of longitudinal studies in communication research: a systematic reviewJonathan J H Zhu*, Wei Lin, Jingwei Gao, Heng Lu
EducationSocial Sciences
18
19
Article2025
Material intelligence, or, knowing by handLisa Gitelman*
OAHistory and Philosophy of ScienceArts and Humanities
20
Article2025
The cosmopolitan imagination: a call for global communication studiesSilvio Waisbord*
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
Most cited
20Top 20 most cited, 2018 – 2026.
1
paratextCitations 2,3122018
Journal of Communication2
ArticleCitations 6362018
#CommunicationSoWhitePaula Chakravartty*, Rachel Kuo, Victoria Netanus Grubbs, Charlton D. McIlwain
OASociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
3
ArticleCitations 5712018
Psychological, Relational, and Emotional Effects of Self-Disclosure After Conversations With a ChatbotAnnabell Suh Ho*, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Adam S. Miner
OASocial PsychologyPsychology
4
ArticleCitations 5152018
Rethinking Political Communication in a Time of Disrupted Public SpheresW. Lance Bennett*, Barbara Pfetsch
CommunicationSocial Sciences
5
ArticleCitations 2532018
“I Just Google It”: Folk Theories of Distributed DiscoveryBenjamin Toff*, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
6
ArticleCitations 2462020
Gender Differences in Political Media Coverage: A Meta-AnalysisDaphne van der Pas*, Loes Aaldering
OAGender StudiesSocial Sciences
7
ArticleCitations 2412021
Social Media Use and Adolescents’ Self-Esteem: Heading for a Person-Specific Media Effects ParadigmPatti M. Valkenburg*, Ine Beyens, J. Loes Pouwels, Irene I. van Driel, Loes Keijsers
OASociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
8
ArticleCitations 2352018
Newspaper Closures Polarize Voting BehaviorJoshua Darr*, Matthew P. Hitt, Johanna Dunaway
Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
9
ArticleCitations 2342018
Framing in a Fractured Democracy: Impacts of Digital Technology on Ideology, Power and Cascading Network ActivationRobert M. Entman*, Nikki Usher
CommunicationSocial Sciences
10
ArticleCitations 2272018
Self-transcendent Media Experiences: Taking Meaningful Media to a Higher LevelMary Beth Oliver*, Arthur A. Raney, Michael D. Slater, Markus Appel, Tilo Hartmann, Anne Bartsch, Frank M. Schneider, Sophie H. Janicke‐Bowles, Nicole C. Krämer, Marie-Louise Mares, Peter Vorderer, Diana Rieger, Katherine R. Dale, Enny Das
OALiterature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
11
ArticleCitations 2242020
An Agenda for Open Science in CommunicationTobias Dienlin*, Niklas Johannes, Nicholas David Bowman, Philipp K. Masur, Sven Engesser, Anna Sophie Kümpel, Josephine Lukito, Lindsey M. Bier, Renwen Zhang, Benjamin K. Johnson, Richard Huskey, Frank M. Schneider, Johannes Breuer, Douglas A. Parry, Ivar Vermeulen, Jacob T. Fisher, Jaime Banks, René Weber, David A. Ellis, Tim Smits, James Ivory, Sabine Trepte, Bree McEwan, Eike Mark Rinke, German Neubaum, Stephan Winter, Christopher J. Carpenter, Nicole Krämer, Sonja Utz, Julian Unkel, Xiaohui Wang, Brittany I Davidson, Nuri Kim, Andrea Stevenson Won, Emese Domahidi, Neil A. Lewis, Claes H. de Vreese
OAGeneral Social SciencesSocial Sciences
12
ArticleCitations 2072021
The Distorting Prism of Social Media: How Self-Selection and Exposure to Incivility Fuel Online Comment ToxicityJin Woo Kim*, Andrew M. Guess, Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
13
ArticleCitations 1832020
Antecedents and Effects of Parasocial Relationships: A Meta-AnalysisRiva Tukachinsky, Nathan Walter*, Camille J. Saucier
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
14
ArticleCitations 1712020
Instagram Inspiration: How Upward Comparison on Social Network Sites Can Contribute to Well-BeingAdrian Meier*, Alicia Gilbert, Sophie Börner, Daniel Possler
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
15
ArticleCitations 1692018
Pathways of Influence in Emotional Appeals: Benefits and Tradeoffs of Using Fear or Humor to Promote Climate Change-Related Intentions and Risk PerceptionsChris Skurka, Jeff Niederdeppe, Rainer Romero‐Canyas, David Acup
Literature and Literary TheoryArts and Humanities
16
ArticleCitations 1512022
Media Systems in the Digital Age: An Empirical Comparison of 30 CountriesEdda Humprecht*, Laia Castro, Sina Blassnig, Michael Brüggemann, Sven Engesser
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
17
ArticleCitations 1442020
“Anything that Causes Chaos”: The Organizational Behavior of Russia Today (RT)Mona Elswah, Philip N. Howard*
OASociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
18
ArticleCitations 1382019
Brevity is the Soul of Twitter: The Constraint Affordance and Political DiscussionKokil Jaidka, Alvin Zhou, Yphtach Lelkes*
OACommunicationSocial Sciences
19
ArticleCitations 1352018
Networks of Audience Overlap in the Consumption of Digital NewsSubhayan Mukerjee, Sílvia Majó-Vázquez, Sandra González‐Bailón*
Statistical and Nonlinear PhysicsPhysics and Astronomy
20
ArticleCitations 1312018
Materializing Communication: Making the Case for a Relational OntologyFrançois Cooren*
Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
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Data as of 2026-09-05