Abstract

An analysis evaluating electronic journals published by Spanish universities was performed, taking into account both formal aspects and cybermetric indicators. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact and visibility of these web-based publications. The number of publications, their formal and content-related characteristics, and their use of features and tools provided by the electronic medium were all considered. The results fall below expectations, due to formal problems in the structure and contents of the journals' websites, resulting in low visibility and, therefore, low impact.

Abstract

Quantification of the university research since the convergence towards the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) began. The university system represents the 66,43% on the total Spanish scientific production with international visibility in the five-year period 2000-04, measured through the Web of Science. Seventy Spanish universities have an internationally visible production. Of them, 36 have more than 1,000 documents. The universities located in three Spanish regions: Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia, accumulate the 58% of the academic total.

Abstract

Spain’s academic web space is diagrammed, together with its relationship with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with the goal of determining the topology, the outstanding universities, and our standing with respect to other European web spaces. Several co-link maps and network graphs visually represent these relationships among universities and web spaces. The results show that the Spanish network is rather isolated from other European universities, because the out- and inlink percentages are quite low considering the volume of content and the number of Spanish universities. On the other hand, Spain’s academic web space is quite cohesive, with a significant nucleus that is strongly interconnected. We conclude that the limited use of the English language and minimal electronic publication of quality research in accessible repositories could explain this isolation. In addition, Spanish universities have a more local than international emphasis.

Abstract

This paper analyzes communication management in Spanish public universities by interviewing communication directors of these institutions. Results show that, in addition to the shortcomings identified in the management of communications in public universities, which undermines the achievement of the exact marketing objective, the diffusional model is dominant, playing a negative influencing role. The diffusional model obscures other alternative models that would show more democratic institutions.

Abstract

The presence of Spanish universities in the foreign press is analyzed. We developed a quantitative analysis of the texts published in the international press, indexed in the ProQuest® News & Newspapers database, in which appear some of the 81 universities of Spain. We analyze 37,080 texts published in 1,119 international newspapers from 80 countries. The main results show how United States of America and Mexico are the countries where Spanish universities have a greater presence in foreign press. In addition, it is observed that there is a strong correlation between the number of news and the first-class scientific production developed in the universities.

Abstract

We analyze the perceptions of Social Sciences faculty about their own information and digital competence and that of their students, as well as the changes that have occurred as a consequence of the virtualization of learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). The methodology used is qualitative, being based on the application of two techniques: discussion groups carried out with experienced faculty from three Spanish universities, and interviews carried out with the same sample after the suspension of face-to-face teaching. The results show that the faculty members participating in this study have a critical vision of the information and digital competence of the student body, indicating that they lack capacity for evaluation, critical use, and communication of information despite their mastery of technological tools and extensive use of mobile devices. In addition, they doubt their own ability to train students in this competence, and attribute the difficulty in achieving and promoting such learning to various factors of the university culture: a lack of coordination among teaching staff, who are sometimes in situations of job insecurity, or the way in which the European Higher Education Area has been applied in universities. Faculty recognize the basic and transversal nature of this competence and advocate its incorporation into the real work methodology of all subjects, not in a segregated way. Finally, the effort made towards the “virtual” development of teaching as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a shock for faculty, who declare a positive attitude towards reviewing their own digital-informative practices to adapt their teaching, but believe that this has hardly resulted in any improvement in the information and digital competence of their students so far.

Abstract

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

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.