Journal profile · COMMUNICATION
Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa
ISSN 0259-0069 · eISSN 2957-7950 · University of Johannesburg · South Africa
Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa: CAS Zone 4 · Literature (2025 upgraded edition); fully open access; APC about USD 320; review about 20 weeks (community reports); 26 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa is published by University of Johannesburg and is in Zone 4 of Literature in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Media Studies and Communication, Public Relations and Crisis Communication and Graph Theory and Algorithms, together about 29.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa facilitates scholarly discussion on communication phenomena in Africa and how these are in conversation with other regions. Communicare is a non-profit, open-access journal, in existence since 1980, published biannually by the School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Communicare aims to serve as a point of reference for continental academic debate and geo-specific theorising. It thus invites articles that complement, test, refine or counter global theoretical perspectives by amplifying and consolidating African research and scholarship. The journal publishes original theoretical-conceptual and empirical articles regardless of paradigm, perspective or context and welcomes a wide range of methodological approaches. Communicare publishes original articles in a broad spectrum of communication sub- and related disciplines, including organisational communication, strategic communication, marketing communication, corporate communication, development communication, social change, political communication, gender communication, postcolonial studies, identity politics and politics of everyday life, celebrity studies, visual communication, internet studies, gaming, digital communication, digital media, film studies, media studies, cultural studies, popular culture, and journalism. Communicare also publishes generic (non-region specific) research articles on topics relevant to contemporary scholarly conversations on communication in Africa. Communicare uses a double-blind peer review system and is accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. Online ISSN2957-7950Print ISSN0259-0069
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): COMMUNICATION
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences13%
- Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationSocial Sciences8.9%
- Graph Theory and AlgorithmsComputer Science7.2%
- Discourse Analysis in Language StudiesArts and Humanities7%
- Marketing and Advertising StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences4.3%
- Corporate Identity and ReputationBusiness, Management and Accounting3.9%
- Leadership, Human Resources, Global AffairsSocial Sciences3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Literature Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Literature | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Communication | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 13OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 21OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.93OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 95.35%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 14LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 729 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 26 | 26 | 17 |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 33 |
| 2023 | 20 | 20 | 34 |
| 2022 | 570 | 570 | 878 |
| 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | ZAR 6,000 / USD 320 | Yes | CC BY-NC | |
| LetPub | ZAR 6,000 / USD 320 | Yes | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 200–250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- book reviewsBook reviews (1000-2500 words)Length not stated
- editorialhould be 2500-4000 words. The length of editorial, commentaries and book reviews 750-2500 words Contributions should follow the spelling rules of South Afrmain text ≤ 2,500 words
- editorials and commentariesEditorials and commentaries (750-2500 words).Length not stated
- practice-based case studiesPractice-based case studies (3000-4500 words).Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Self-archiving
- AI use
AI use must be disclosed; AI bots cannot be authors Model summary
Communicare conforms to the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) recommendations on chat bots, ChatGPT and scholarly manuscripts and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)’s position statement on Authorship and AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Archiving policy: LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, PKP PN Model summary
Communicare is preserved using LOCKSS, CLOCKSS and PKP PN.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics ETHICAL STANDARDS
Communicare is committed to upholding the integrity of the scholarly record. The journal editors, peer reviewers and authors are expected to follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on professional publishing standards available from https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Communicare articles are published with open access under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain the copyright of their articles. Authors (and not Communicare, the hosting institution, the publisher, the editors, the editorial board, the reviewers, or any collaborators) a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access OPEN ACCESS POLICY
Open access under CC BY-NC 4.0 Model summary
Communicare articles are published with open access under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open-access journal, which means that all content is freely available to the user or his/her institution without charge. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Double-blind peer review system. Model summary
Research articles and review articles are subject to double peer review, whereby the authors' and reviewers' identities are concealed. Practice-based studies, commentaries and editorials are subject to editorial reviews and/or limited peer reviews.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism PLAGIARISM POLICY
Plagiarism screening; similarity index should not exceed 15% Model summary
Manuscripts submitted to Communicare will be scanned for potential plagiarism, which occurs when a person uses someone else's words, concepts, ideas, data or other work, whether written or visual, as their own original intellectual work, without adequately acknowledging the original author. For submitted manuscripts The Editor-in-Chief will analyse manuscripts suspected of plagiarism in consultati…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Repository policy: authors may deposit published version in any repository Model summary
This journal allows authors to deposit the published version of their work in an institutional or any other repository of their choice.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- University of Johannesburg
- Country or region
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0259-0069
- Electronic ISSN
- 2957-7950
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 45, Issue 1 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa
What CAS zone is Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa is in Zone 4 of Literature, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Communication. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Literature. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa?
Authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 200–250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ.
Is Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa open access, and what is the APC?
Communicare-Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 320.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .