ImpaQ Ecosystem•Clarivate, Scopus & CORE Data
Clarivate WoS 2024 / 2025 Data
IMPAQ
WoS SCIE Q1Scopus Q1SCImago #817Top JournalHybrid

Communication Theory

Identifier (ISSN):1050-3293(Print)/1468-2885(Online)
•
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
Clarivate JCR Index Advisory: Active (SSCI)
Clarivate IF (2026)
7.5↑ +1.3
Journal Impact Factor
IF Trend↓
WoS Quartile
Q1
WoS SCIETop Tier
Clarivate WoS JCR
WoS Categories↓
JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2022–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Communication Theory

WoS Q1
257104.1120223.720234.720246.220257.52026
Annual Impact Factor Metric
Current (2026):7.5
Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1
2.794
#817

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025
H-Index (2025)
108

108 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier
Self-Citation Rate2.1%
Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)
Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.
Volume & Open AccessHybrid
55articles/year
54.17% Gold OA•100% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Communication Theory is an international forum publishing high quality, original research into the theoretical development of communication from across a wide array of disciplines, such as communication studies, sociology, psychology, political science, cultural and gender studies, philosophy, linguistics, and literature. A journal of the International Communication Association, Communication Theory especially welcomes work in the following areas of research, all of them components of ICA: Communication and Technology, Communication Law and Policy, Ethnicity and Race in Communication, Feminist Scholarship, Global Communication and Social Change, Health Communication, Information Systems, Instructional/Developmental Communication, Intercultural Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Journalism Studies, Language and Social Interaction, Mass Communication, Organizational Communication, Philosophy of Communication, Political Communication, Popular Communication, Public Relations, Visual Communication Studies, Children, Adolescents and the Media, Communication History, Game Studies, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies, and Intergroup Communication. The journal aims to be inclusive in theoretical approaches insofar as these pertain to communication theory.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)
Sociology72%Philosophy70.6%Political science50.4%Psychology50.2%Law46.2%Epistemology42.9%Computer science42%Linguistics27.5%Art26.7%Mathematics23.6%Social psychology23%Biology22.8%Economics21.6%Social science20.9%
Primary Research Areas

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI
JCRSSCI2026

COMMUNICATION

Q1
Rank3/227
IndexSSCI
JCISSCI2026

COMMUNICATION

Q1
Rank1/227
IndexSSCI

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year
2026Latest
IF7.5
Articles / Year15
Total Citations1
2025
IF6.2
Articles / Year38
Total Citations116
2024
IF4.7
Articles / Year25
Total Citations356
2023
IF3.7
Articles / Year17
Total Citations544
2022
IF4.111
Articles / Year22
Total Citations435

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #817Scopus Q1SCImago Profile
Scopus Coverage:1991-2026
Scopus Broad Areas:Social Sciences
Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1
2.794

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1
Citations / Doc (2 years)
9.48

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window
Estimated Publication Fee (APC)
$3,778 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations554
3-Year Documents72
Citable Documents71

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)0

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate48.9%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

CommunicationQ1
Linguistics and LanguageQ1
Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth
Self-citation: 2.1%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):
1区 (Zone 1)Literature
Minor Category (Specific Field):
1区COMMUNICATION
CAS Early Warning List History:
Updated annually: 2020 – 2024
2020
Not warned
2021
Not warned
2022
Not warned
2023
Not warned
2024
Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Communication Theory (ISSN: 1050-3293) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of COMMUNICATION, published by Wiley-Blackwell in United States. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 7.50, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 2.794 (Q1), an H-index of 108.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with an annual output of approximately 55 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with an estimated APC of $3,778 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.

Publishing & Editorial Information

Detailed publisher, peer-review turnaround, and publication cycle specifications

Open Access Model
Hybrid
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publication Language
English
Frequency
Periodic
Indexing & Databases
SSCIScopusPubMed

Similar Journals in Discipline

Journals in the same research field with comparable impact metrics

Record UUID: 08a10400-60f4-499b-9438-54286fc0caab
Database Updated: 2026-10-01