The Communication and Journalism Department at the University of Kerala is the oldest department in the state. Research plays a key role in both the programs (MCJ and Ph.D) offered by the department. For the completion of MCJ programme, each student has to do a small scale research on any media related topic and submit a thesis of the same. The thrust areas of research include uses and gratification studies, research on media user perceptions and research on media history. As a part of publicizing our research works we publish ‘Communication and Media Studies - An Indian Research Journal’, a quarterly devoted to communication and media research.

General Guidelines for Publishing in CMS Research Journal

Communication and Media Studies welcomes submissions of research articles/creative writing /translations / reviews from writers and scholars, for publication in the journal.

There is no preset number of papers that will be accepted for publication in the Journal. All papers that meet our standard of excellence, regardless of how many there are and what disciplines they are from, will be published. If no submitted papers are judged to be worthy of publication, the Journal will not be published.

Documents for publication may be sent by two methods

1. By e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Preferred)

Documents should be in standard .doc/ .docx format, PDF format should be avoided

1. By post: Editor, CMS Journal, Dept. of Communication & Journalism, Kariavattom Campus, Kariavattom P. O., Thiruvananthapuram-695 581, Kerala, India.

Three double spaced copies, typed on one side of the paper should be sent.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Regardless of the field of study, all papers published in the Journal have these items in common:

• The purpose and significance of the research is described clearly for the Journal's multidisciplinary audience.
• The research is original and relevant to its field.
• The research project was well designed and executed.
• The results are thoughtfully interpreted and thoroughly analyzed.
• Conclusions are logically supported through results and cited sources.
• Supporting materials—including illustrations, graphs, and references—reinforce the descriptions and claims made in the text.
• The paper is well written, efficiently organized, and easy to follow.
• The paper is free from spelling, punctuation, grammatical, and other writing errors.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Scientific research must begin with a defined research question, which results in a well designed research protocol that plans the overall approach. This foundation should lead to a set of data from which the manuscript can be constructed. Manuscripts submitted to journals for consideration for publication typically have the following components.

• Title
• Authors’ Name, affiliation and complete address
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• References
• Tables and Table Captions
• Figure and Figure Captions

Submit a short résumé of the contributor (100-200 words) along with the article.

Submitted papers must conform to these standards:

• 25 page maximum
• 12-point Times New Roman
• Double spaced (Abstract may be single spaced)
• One-inch margins, single column
• References in MLA format

Submission Checklist

• I have reviewed the Paper Submission Guidelines, and my paper conforms to them.
• My paper answers the question, “What is the significance of my research?”.
• I have checked that my abstract and conclusions accurately reflect the content of my paper.
• I have explained all technical or scientific terms unique to the topic of my research.
• My paper includes applicable in-text citations, graphs, and data.
• I have verified that the sources listed in the Works Cited section correspond to the in-text citations.
• People from other disciplines have read and critiqued my paper.
• My mentor has read my paper, and I have asked my mentor to suggest improvements.
• I have spell-checked and read my paper thoroughly, resolving all grammatical and other writing errors

DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS

• Number and title all figures, including graphs, drawings and photos. Place figure captions below the figures.

Tables: Number and title all tables. Place table captions above the tables.

Equations: Number all equations. Place equation numbers in parentheses to the right of the equations.

Footnotes: In general, avoid the use of footnotes. If, however, there is critical supporting text that does not fit in the main text flow, a few footnotes may be appropriate. Never use footnotes to cite references.

STYLE GUIDELINES

Language : Articles should be written in clear and jargon-free language. Care must be taken to avoid un-gendered language.

Spelling: British spelling to be adhered to consistently. Abbreviations, acronyms, technical or specialised terms should be expanded/defined when used for the first time.

Italics: Avoid the frequent use of italics. Words in languages other than English are to be italicized at the first occurrence and their translations given in brackets. In creative writing, however, words in regional languages need not be italicised, but in articles they should be.

Headings and sub-headings: Please make your article as reader-friendly as possible. Short headings and sub-headings as well as illustrations with examples, diagrams, charts, tables etc., may be used as and when necessary.

References: Reference material must be incorporated into the text wherever possible. In-text citations are to be done in the following manner: surname of author and page numbers in parentheses. e.g. (Kurup, 67-8). A complete alphabetical list of works cited, with bibliographical details, is to be provided at the end of the paper.

(a) Books: Surname, initials/first name. title of the book. place of publication: publisher, year of publication. medium consulted. e.g. Beevi, Zuhra. Gender Politics in Kerala. Thiruvanathapuram: Women’s Initiatives, 1989. Print.

(b) Articles in journals: Surname, initials/first name. “title of the article”, name of the journal, volume number. issue number, (year of publication): inclusive page numbers. medium of publication. e.g. Nair, Geetha. “Education in Travancore”, Samyukta, II. 1, (2002): 23-26. Print.

Unpublished reports and conference papers are also to be documented giving full details.

Notes: Endnotes may be used for substantive comments. These should be indicated by superscript figures in the text.

Quotations: Single quotes must be used throughout the article. Double quotes are to be used only within quotations. Quotations of more than forty-five words should be separated from the text with a line space above and below.

Table: Tables, charts, figures or illustrations should be placed in separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Label all the graphics clearly, using Arabic numerals. e.g. Rowse — table I. Graphics should be in the PDF format.

Reviews/translations: Note that we may not be able to accept unsolicited reviews and translations. If you are interested in reviewing or translating for Samyukta, please contact the editor.

Regarding translations, the translators must obtain permission from the copyright holders.

Copyright: Author retains the copyright of individual pieces, but the journal is licensed to reprint.

Commas in Lists

In a list of three single words (apples, pears and bananas), there is no comma before the and. Use a comma before and for lists with four or more single words (apples, pears, bananas, and kumquats) or if one or more of the items listed has more than one word (apples, pears, passion fruit, and kumquats).

Semicolons

Use to separate two closely related, independent clauses; independent clauses can stand on their own and have both a subject and a verb. Semicolons can also be used in lists of multiple phrases where commas are already used.

Space after Periods: Use a single space after periods. Do not use double spaces.

Space after Colons: Use a single space after colons. Do not use double spaces.

Em dashes: Do not insert a space before or after an em dash (double hyphen).

Slashes: Do not insert a space before or after a slash.

Italics: Italicize foreign words used in their original context, such as in vitro and in vivo. Italicize et al. in the text, but not as part of in-text references.

Acronyms: When defining acronyms, only capitalize proper nouns.

Unit Abbreviations

• Abbreviate units without periods
• Seconds: sec
• Grams: g
• Minutes: min
• Kilometers: km
• Hours: hr

Degree Symbols

• Angles: #º (no space before the degree symbol)
• Temperature: # ºF or # ºC (space before the degree symbol)

In Word, click Insert, then click Symbol to open the Symbol dialog. With the font set to Times New Roman, select the degree symbol from the table. Another way to insert a degree symbol is to hold down the Alt key and, on the numeric keypad, press 0 1 8 6, then release the Alt key.

GRAPHICS

Use graphics, including figures, tables, graphs, etc., to illustrate and support your text. Graphics should be able to be understood on their own and must:

• Be of high resolution, at least 350 DPI (dots per inch). Note that many screenshots and pictures from the Web are 72 DPI, which is not suitable for print.
• Have neat, legible labels.
• Be simple. Avoid forcing too much information into a single graphic.
• Be clearly formatted.
• Indicate error. Include standard deviation information in tables and use error bars in graphs.
• Have detailed captions.

CITING REFERENCES

All references should be in MLA format. This section gives an overview and examples of the reference format. For more details or other examples, please consult the MLA Handbook (available in the UROP Office) or search online for other MLA guides.

In-Text Referencing

In-text referencing depends on whether the reference deals with a specific section or the conclusions of an entire work.

1. Specific section: Cite the name of the author(s) and page number(s) only (James 115). There is no comma before the page number.

2. Entire work: Cite the name of the author(s) and year of publication (James, 1984). There is a comma before the year.

Format multiple-author references according to the number of authors:

3. Two authors: (Collins and Fremont, 1977)

4. Three authors: (Collins et al., 1988)

 

CMS Journal: Submission Policy

All submitted manuscripts are independently refereed by readers recommended by the Editors. Anonymity is assured. Decisions to publish or not, to request revisions, if necessary re-submission, and/or extra adjudication, are entirely at the discretion of the Editors. Formal acknowledgement may take up to one month, full consideration may take up to six months.

Note:
a) Contributions are considered for publication only on the understanding that they are not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, that they are the original work of author(s).
b) The views expressed in the articles will be that of the individual authors and may not necessarily represent that of the publishers.
c) We do not offer payment, but six off-prints of each contributed piece will be sent to the contributor.
d) The Editorial Board and the publishers accept no responsibility for any lapses or infringements.

Editorial Board

Chief Editor- Dr. M.S Harikumar

Head, Department of Communication and Journalism,

University of Kerala

Members

Prof (Dr) Subash Kuttan, Former Head and (Retd. )Professor, DCJ.

Ms. Maggie.J, Asst. Professor, DCJ

Dr. Lal Mohan. P, Asst. Professor, DCJ

Sri. Suresh. K.S , (Asst. Professor, DCJ)

Editorial Advisors

Prof. (Dr.) Syed Amjed Ahmed, Former Head, Department of Mass

Communication, University of Calicut.

Dr. Suchetha Nair, Associate Professor and Former Head, University of Calicut

Dr. Anilkumar Vadvathoor, (Acadmic Head, IIMC Regional Center, Kottayam)

 

 

COMPOSING STYLE
Abstract	100-200 Words
Keywords	3-8No.s
Paper Size	A4
Font	Times New Roman/Arial/Calibri
Content Font Size	12 Normal
Paper Title	16 Bold
Headings	14 Bold
Subhead	12Bold
Line Space	Double Spaced (1.5/2)
Alignment	Justified
File Format	Word (*.doc or *.docx)