Journal Policies

The Journal of Communications, Media and Society (JOCMAS) maintains a transparent policy framework aligned with the DOAJ Principles of Transparency & Best Practice. This page provides an overview of all key policies.

Open Access Policy

JOCMAS is a fully open access journal. All published articles are freely available to read, download, and share immediately upon publication, with no subscription or registration required. The journal supports the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and encourages openness in research outputs. Reuse of content is permitted in accordance with the Creative Commons license applied to each article.

No fees are charged.
JOCMAS does not charge submission fees nor Article Processing Charge (APC)

Digital Archiving and Preservation

JOCMAS is committed to ensuring the long-term preservation, accessibility, and integrity of its published content. To achieve this, the journal has implemented the following archiving and preservation measures:

  • DOI registration: All published articles are registered with Crossref and assigned a persistent Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure permanent discoverability and reliable citation.

  • Repository policy (self-archiving): JOCMAS permits authors to deposit published versions of their articles in institutional, disciplinary, or other repositories of their choice, in accordance with the journal’s open access policy and the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing interests

All authors are required to disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest related to the publication of the manuscript. This includes relationships with institutions, organizations, or products mentioned in the manuscript, as well as any factors that could influence the interpretation or outcome of the study.

Authors must also disclose any conflicts involving products or services that compete with those discussed in the manuscript. Conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

  • Financial relationships (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, or grants)
  • Personal relationships (e.g., family or close professional ties)
  • Academic or intellectual conflicts (e.g., competing research interests or positions)

Disclosures should be provided in a dedicated section of the manuscript titled “Conflict of Interest Statement” and must include a clear description of the nature of the conflict. If no conflicts exist, authors should explicitly state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction after publication.

Ethics and Misconduct Handling

Authors must confirm that their work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under consideration by another journal.

Suspected cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, redundant publication, or other forms of misconduct are investigated. Sanctions may include rejection, retraction, or notification of institutions.

Data falsification/fabrication

The fabrication, falsification, or deliberate manipulation of research data is considered a serious form of publication misconduct and a violation of accepted standards of scholarly integrity. Such practices mislead readers, compromise the reliability of the scholarly record, and damage trust in academic publishing.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that all data presented are accurate, original, and honestly represent the work performed. Authors are required to retain all original (raw) data and related documentation supporting the results reported in the manuscript and to make such data available to the journal upon reasonable request for the purposes of editorial assessment or investigation.

Confidentiality

Maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of the peer review and editorial decision-making process is essential at all stages. All personal data are processed responsibly and in full compliance with applicable data protection regulations.

Academic Journals will not disclose submitted manuscripts or associated personal information to anyone except individuals directly involved in the processing, evaluation, and preparation of the manuscript for potential publication. These individuals include editorial staff, corresponding authors, editors, and invited or appointed reviewers.

In cases of suspected research or publication misconduct, the manuscript and relevant information may be shared confidentially with members of the journal’s ethics committee and, where necessary, with appropriate institutions or regulatory bodies solely for the purpose of investigation and resolution. 

Duplicate submission/publication

Authors must declare at the time of submission that the manuscript is not under consideration by, nor has it been published in, another journal. Duplicate submission or duplicate publication is regarded as a serious breach of publication ethics and includes the publication of substantially similar content in another language without appropriate disclosure.

In cases of approved secondary publication, the article must clearly state that it is a translated or republished version, and a full and accurate citation of the original work must be provided to ensure transparency for readers.

Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals

JOCMAS is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. When necessary, the journal will take appropriate corrective actions in accordance with recognized publishing standards:

Corrections (Errata): Issued to address minor errors that do not affect the validity, interpretation, or overall conclusions of the work.
Retractions: Issued when published findings are demonstrated to be unreliable due to major errors, unethical research practices, or confirmed cases of scientific misconduct.
Expressions of Concern: Published when there is credible reason to question the integrity of a publication while an investigation is ongoing.
All correction notices, retraction statements, and expressions of concern remain permanently accessible and are clearly linked to the original article to ensure transparency and traceability.

Manuscript withdrawal is permitted only prior to formal publication and is considered on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies.

Plagiarism

The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism. Using others’ ideas, words, or work without proper acknowledgment is strictly prohibited. Submissions containing any form of plagiarism—whether in whole or in part, will be rejected. This includes:

  •  Duplicate or redundant publication
  • Self-plagiarism, whether in the same or a different language

Please note that posting a manuscript on a preprint archive is not considered duplicate publication.

The corresponding author bears full responsibility for the manuscript throughout the evaluation and publication process and is authorized to act on behalf of all co-authors.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using professional plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts with an unacceptable similarity index due to plagiarism will be immediately rejected.

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