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The field of Communication in Spain is analyzed, contextualizing Spanish output at a global and local level between the years 2000 and 2020. Based on a descriptive bibliometric analysis of the Communication category of the Social Sciences Citation Index database, part of Web of Science, the impact of the main countries is identified. The weight of the output in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) database between 2015 and 2020 is also studied. An analysis of the output by universities in Spain for the period 2010–2020 is also carried out, comparing it with the impact and the works in the first quartile. The results reveal that Spain has been the fourth country in terms of output in Communication in the last decade and that Austria stands out as the country whose works have the greatest impact. It is also observed that 67% of Spain’s works in Communication are published in journals that are indexed in ESCI. The impact of Spanish universities is very close to the world average. The Universitat Pompeu Fabra stands out, publishing the most articles and, furthermore, being the Spanish university with most papers in the first quartile of the JCR in Communication between 2010 and 2020. The study of the Shanghai Ranking by area includes eight Spanish universities, only three of which have output in Communication that comes mainly from professors in this area. The role of the Spanish journals Comunicar and Profesional de la información is notable, as they publish a large fraction of the output by Spanish universities in the Communication field. Finally, this paper presents the challenges of research in Communication, as well as those related to its bibliometric analysis, and a reflection on the problems that affect scientific production and research in this subject area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the results obtained for the total count between 2007 and 2018 of (1) doctoral theses defended in the 55 universities with undergraduate and/or graduate studies in communication that offer doctoral degrees, (2) competitive projects in state calls in the social sciences and humanities areas where the object of study includes a socially significant dimension of "communication" practices, and (3) papers resulting from R&D projects published in reference journals in the area of communication. These documents are the most representative of the research activity of faculty, because they constitute the published results originating from research that is recognized and legitimized by academic life, without which such documents could not have been published. Thus, the articles collected here constitute a census of publications based on previous research, since all those articles whose object of study was not previous research were not selected, e.g., essays, or epistemological reviews of authors, schools, and/or theoretical or methodological trends. Papers presented at Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación (AE-IC) congresses, which are also being studied as part of the MapCom project, could also have been included; however, they are only considered tangentially herein because only a minority of them are expressly linked to research results. This overview of the productivity of communication research in Spain over a decade analyzes documents grouped by universities, Autonomous Communities, author gender, and years. A total of 4,158 documents have been analyzed. The results reflect the influence of the scientific policies of the research quality assessment agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the social structure of Spanish and Latin American communication researchers through the representation and analysis of three coauthorship networks at the national, institutional, and individual level. Such networks are built from papers indexed in the 'Communication' category by Web of Science and published between 2000 and 2019 by authors attached to a Spanish or Latin American institution (n = 5,040). The goal is to characterize the structural features of each network, identify the most central actors, and illustrate the most relevant relationships among nodes. The results show that the most central country is Spain, followed by the USA and other European nations. Among the Latin American states, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico are placed at the most relevant nodes. Latin American collaboration is preferentially addressed to the USA, especially since 2015. Regarding institutions, Spanish public universities in Madrid and Catalonia achieve the highest degrees of centrality. However, the most central Latin American institutions are private universities. The most relevant authors are Spanish researchers until 2015, when they are replaced at the top by Latin American scholars. Collaboration at both the individual and institutional levels shows a deep regional tendency, while the internationalization of researchers and universities is only more visible since 2015. This work identifies a tendency towards internal cohesion at different network levels as the number of connected nodes grows in each period. We conclude that a proper Spanish-Latin America community of communication researchers does not exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication studies in Spain have now become consolidated based on their evolution over the last 50 years. The aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the current state of Spanish higher education in Communication. To this end, an analysis is carried out of the structure and composition of the undergraduate and postgraduate degrees (master and PhD studies) in Communication at public and private universities in Spain, paying special attention to the centers that host these studies, the people who contribute to their operation, and their offerings and distribution. Using a descriptive methodology and the content analysis technique, an analysis form is applied to the universities composing the system of Communication studies in Spain, based on their offerings and the information available and accessible on their institutional websites. The results reveal the difficulty of accessing such data and the lack of common criteria (or compliance) for presenting such information on official websites. The results reveal a greater offering at the national level but a wide dispersion of the higher education offering in terms of type, location, type of university, and territorial distribution. We also highlight the gender gap in terms of faculty leadership as well as among teaching staff. We emphasize the phenomenon of double or combined degrees, especially at private universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging concept of university social responsibility (USR) consists in the fulfillment of the mission of the university in terms of ethical standards, community support, respect for human beings, and respect for the environment. Thus, universities must not only provide professional training but also instill ethical principles in students to allow them to behave as good citizens and help solve community problems. On the other hand, competition for students requires efficient management of university reputation and communication with their stakeholders, to demonstrate the accomplishment of the university's mission and attract potential students. The objective of this paper is thus to explain the causal relationship between communication about university social responsibility (USR) activities through institutional websites and university selection, as well as the role of reputation. Research work was carried out based on an explanatory cross-sectional design, with a sample of 356 subjects from a population of 11th-grade students from public and private schools in the City of Barranquilla (Colombia). The results revealed that USR communication through institutional websites has a significant influence on university selection, not only directly but also indirectly, through reputation as a mediating variable. These findings contribute at a theoretical level by providing empirical evidence to understand and explain the analyzed topic. Furthermore, the results provide useful information to evaluate USR disclosure and implement strategies to make progress on USR issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currently dominant model of scientific production in the field of communications research exhibits an over standardization of mainly empirical research, which is overwhelmingly carried out using quantitative techniques based on simple statistical analysis, in many cases limiting the presented results to an interpretation of the available data. This paper presents an innovative proposal in the field, designed as a new strategy for scientific dissemination and presentation. It puts forward the objective of building three composite indicators that, applied to European public service media, will allow the assessment of the perception of their social value, independence, and management efficiency. Moreover, a study that enables a comparative vision of these three issues in all the countries of the European Union, excluding Malta and Luxemburg, is also proposed. This methodology represents an innovation because it thoroughly explains the process and justifies the validity of the documentary sources used to facilitate their reproduction or questioning. It also reinforces the discussion of the results with the evaluation of the indicators' robustness before deciding which of them is most appropriate on each occasion for comparing the results using a multicriteria decision analysis technique, the Technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (Topis) method, proposed by Hwang and Yoon (1981). The results attest that synthetic indicators are an innovative, original, and validatable methodological tool that can contribute to the progress of research in the field of the communications sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific research in the communication field has experienced great growth in recent years. Recent technological changes, as well as the emergence of Web 2.0 and 3.0 and new forms of communication, such as social networks, have led to new and varied studies in the discipline. This paper analyzes the scientific production of the 27 countries with the greatest scientific production in the communication field in the period from 2003 to 2018. The results indicate that: the most productive countries are the USA, UK, and Spain; there is less international collaboration than in other disciplines, but there is a network of European collaboration that is quite dense and has great impact, and another network in Pacific countries (Asia + Oceania), albeit with lower density and impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the socioeconomic crisis of recent years in Spain, in which NGOs and social movements have had to face significant communication challenges and opportunities, this paper analyzes the case of Las Kellys, an organization for hotel maids created in 2016 that has used storytelling in its public relations actions with the media to successfully transfer to society its claims to improve their labor rights. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are combined to evaluate the communication tools used and the impact of their actions, providing useful insights to maximize the communicative effectiveness of other organizations, especially NGOs, through first-person narratives, with fully authentic, familiar and colloquial language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), effective in Spain since the 2008-2009 academic year, raised the need for universities to actively commit to employability, but the study of the work trajectory of the new graduates has been practically unattended in Spain. In this paper we analyze the employment details in the three years after graduation of the graduates from the communication programs who finished their studies at the Rey Juan Carlos University (Madrid) between the academic years 2012-13 and 2015-16. Employment period of the analyzed cohorts takes place between 2014 and 2017. The results indicate a deep deterioration of the labor market in the communication sector in 2014, when only 30% of the recent graduates had an occupation according to their training profile one year after graduation. Employment in the sector has been recovering since 2015. In the years following, around 50% of graduates accessed the specific labor market after one year, and specific employment reached almost 70% in the third year after graduation. However, even relying on the stability of their jobs, recent graduates see few options for improvement and professional growth in the communication sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The archaeological sites of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), declared World Heritage Site in 2000, stand out for their international repercussion due to the scientific results on human evolution. The aim of science socialization has lead to different communication policies, one for scientific dissemination and another for society dissemination. Although there is no specific transmedia communication plan, all communication resources are taken into advantage, to the extent of creating the Atapuerca Universe. This Universe works as a transmedia model, where prosumers acquire a leading role disseminating contents. The expansion generated from above by the producers is therefore complemented with the expansion from below made by the prosumers, sharing, expanding, modifying and generating new contents. This paper demonstrates that transmedia strategies are applicable to scientific projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of what is known as high technology, which is based on cyber-physical systems that, first and foremost, combine physic infrastructure with software, sensors, nanotechnology and digital technology of communication, sets the different ways of communicative mediation in a new setting. Cybernation has entered the communicative ecosystem and is becoming more and more prominent, which reshapes the models of infomediation (understood as mediation and intermediation) and demands renewed technological competences and skills to the professional profiles of information and communication. In this paper, the context of the technological development in the field of communication is, preferably, analized from the digital origin. The starting point is situated for this new panorama which, parallel to smart automation, can be foreseen for infomediation. Some of the main challenges that are distinguished in the immediate scenario for the professional mediators are also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction and consequent consolidation of information technology and telecommunications in audiovisual stories gives the receiver the ability to change from the traditional role of passive spectator to active user. In this scenario it is necessary that brands and creators work together in order to face the challenges of a new era. The creation of fictional characters, like Benito, can be used as a tool to tell stories and represent a brand (Cuétara). This paper uses the results of five work sessions carried out in the I Seminar of transmedia communication (between November 2014 and October 2015) at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) de Castellón, Spain and the interview with the creative team that participated in the creation of the character Benito to highlight the benefits of this initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last few years the role of the interactive communication professional has changed parallel to technological innovation and the introduction of new communication paradigms. Digital technology has facilitated the creation of the interaction designer, a professional position in many production teams and digital newsrooms that has yet to be fully defined. This paper presents an attempt to define the characteristics and necessary knowledge of the interaction communication expert. This is done by reviewing the skills needed for the practice of interaction design, looking at the career paths offered by graduate and undergraduate studies in interactive communication, and evaluating a case study in the field of interactive documentary. By comparing the results of the three analytical methods (literature review, comparative analysis, and case study) we present research that covers the differing perceptions that exist of this professional position. This analysis brings to the surface a lack of consensus in an emerging field that is still evolving and adapting since its appearance nearly twenty years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the information society where the volume of data grows exponentially, the blossoming of the big data has had an impact on several fields. The popularity of the expression has blurred the outlines of the concept that not only insists on the size but also on the value of the collected and processed data. Social media, which are characterized by a rapid expansion and by the diversity of interactions and contents that circulate in them, have been incorporated to the big data studies to become resource of useful data for researchers, organizations and companies. This paper observes the typical singularities of the social media analysis inside the big data and, after scrutinizing existing measuring tools, reflects on the opportunity and the necessity of a solution to examine trends and the impact of the profiles that get to set extensive networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]