World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Media and Communication
H-index 19

Media and Communication

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 376 21 24 11

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 47
Documents by Best Scientists*: 60
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 2
SCIMAGO H-index: 46
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.957
Impact Factor: 2.6

Overview

Top Research Topics at Media and Communication?

The journal covers a variety of subjects, including Social media, Media studies, Journalism, Politics and Public relations. Social media research presented in it encompasses a variety of subjects, including Context (language use), Social psychology, Narrative, Advertising and Internet privacy. The study on Media studies presented in Media and Communication intersects with the topics under New media.

The research on Journalism featured in the journal combines topics in other fields like Digital media, Field (Bourdieu), News media and Digital native. The research on Politics discussed in Media and Communication draws on the closely related field of Political economy. While the journal primarily focused on Public relations, it also opened dialogues on the discipline of Emerging technologies.

  • Social media (25.95%)
  • Media studies (23.47%)
  • Journalism (22.71%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Understanding Social Media Logic (448 citations)
  • Teens, Health and Technology: A National Survey (152 citations)
  • Narrative Agency in Hashtag Activism: The Case of #BlackLivesMatter (118 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Media and Communication:

The published papers mainly deal with areas of study such as Social media, Public relations, Digital media, Advertising and Social psychology. In addition to Social media research, the journal articles aim to explore topics under Health promotion, Marketing, Public life and Media studies. The published Advertising research zeroes in on concepts in Media relations and Mass media but also tackles themes under Psychological intervention.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Social science

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Media studies, Politics, Social media, Journalism and Digital media are among the topics commonly tackled in Media and Communication. The studies on Politics discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Context (language use) and Power (social and political). Media and Communication addresses concerns in Social media which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as The Internet, Fake news, Internet privacy and Value (ethics).

It holds forums on Journalism that merges themes from other disciplines such as Autonomy, Disinformation, News media and Public relations. The study of Public relations encompasses disciplines such as Public sphere, as well as fields such as Normative, all of which overlap with one another. Digital media research featured in the journal incorporates concerns from various other topics such as Affordance and Reputation.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • From Dark to Light: The Many Shades of Sharing Misinformation Online (7 citations)
  • The ‘Eudaimonic Experience’: A Scoping Review of the Concept in Digital Games Research (4 citations)
  • What is (fake) news? Analyzing news values (and more) in fake stories (4 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Media and Communication (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Oscar Westlund (6 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Epp Lauk (5 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Thorsten Quandt (4 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Leen d'Haenens (4 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Tim Wulf (4 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Media and Communication (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (15 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition,
  • University of Vienna (11 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Ghent University (11 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
  • Free University of Berlin (11 papers) published 8 papers at the last edition,
  • University of Jyväskylä (11 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 6.52% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 27.91% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.63% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 19.77% of all publications and 40.70% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Media and Communication

If you find the research topics in Media and Communication inspiring and would like to contribute to the field, there are numerous career opportunities to consider. One of these is becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist, a rewarding profession in the realm of social sciences. It allows you to apply the study of communication, social behavior and relationships in a practical way.

Minnesota, home to many advertising agencies, PR firms and major corporations, is one of the best places to foster a career in Media and Communication. It offers sound education programs focused on these subjects, meaningful internships, and many opportunities for job placement. If you are interested in leveraging your knowledge of Media and Communication to help families and couples, Minnesota might just be the place to jumpstart your career as a Marriage and Family Therapist.

To learn more about this career path have a look at this article on How to become a marriage and family therapist in Minnesota.

Top Publications

  • From Dark to Light: The Many Shades of Sharing Misinformation Online

    Miriam J. Metzger;Andrew J. Flanagin;Paul Mena;Shan Jiang

    (2021)
    63 Citations
  • Digital by Default: Children’s Capacity to Understand and Manage Online Data and Privacy

    Mariya Stoilova;Sonia Livingstone;Rishita Nandagiri

    (2020)
    61 Citations
  • What is (fake) news? Analyzing news values (and more) in fake stories

    Edson C. Tandoc;Ryan J. Thomas;Lauren Bishop

    (2021)
    57 Citations
  • Science Journalism and Pandemic Uncertainty

    Sharon Dunwoody

    (2020)
    54 Citations
  • The Slippery Path to Total Presence: How Omnidirectional Virtual Reality Treadmills Influence the Gaming Experience

    Lars-Ole Wehden;Felix Reer;Robin Janzik;Wai Yen Tang

    (2021)
    33 Citations
  • Cold Science Meets Hot Weather: Environmental Threats, Emotional Messages and Scientific Storytelling

    Rolf Lidskog;Monika Berg;Karin M. Gustafsson;Erik Löfmarck

    (2020)
    27 Citations
  • Strengthening Children’s Privacy Literacy through Contextual Integrity

    Priya C. Kumar;Mega Subramaniam;Jessica Vitak;Tamara L. Clegg

    (2020)
    27 Citations
  • What’s “Up Next”? Investigating Algorithmic Recommendations on YouTube Across Issues and Over Time

    Ariadna Matamoros-Fernandez;Joanne Elizabeth Gray;Louisa Bartolo;Jean Burgess

    (2021)
    22 Citations
  • Digital civic participation and misinformation during the 2020 taiwanese presidential election

    Ho-Chun Herbert Chang;Samar Haider;Emilio Ferrara

    (2021)
    19 Citations
  • Responding to “Fake News”: Journalistic Perceptions of and Reactions to a Delegitimising Force

    (2022)
    13 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

For students interested in Social Sciences and Humanities, exploring related online degrees can open diverse career paths in counseling, psychology, and mental health fields. Programs like school psychology programs online accredited by nasp offer specialized training for those aiming to support student populations in educational settings.

Alternatively, for those drawn to helping individuals overcome substance abuse, earning an addiction counseling degree online can provide the credentials needed to enter this growing field. Many students seek accessible options and may be interested in what is the easiest counseling degree to pursue, which can offer a more streamlined path into the profession without compromising quality education.

Another popular route is enrolling in online mft programs accredited to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. These programs are designed for flexibility and often accommodate working adults seeking to balance education with other responsibilities.

Exploring these related degree options can help students align their academic interests with career goals, making it easier to find fulfilling work in social services, education, and mental health support.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

Recently Published Articles