Quality Standards 

KOME uses a dual system consisting of internal editorial review and external double-blind peer-review as a quality control mechanism, in which every manuscript has to be evaluated before being published. According to the international standards, KOME publishes only and exclusively original articles that have not been published previously. If a related manuscript is submitted elsewhere while the manuscript is under consideration at KOME, a copy of the related manuscript should be sent to the editors. By submitting the manuscript, the author(s) definitely declares that his or her contribution has not been published elsewhere and that s/he accepts the publication in KOME.

The Manuscript

The total length of manuscripts should be 4-10.000 words (blanks and notes included, without abstract and bibliography). Authors considering sending longer or shorter pieces are advised to discuss the matter with the editors in advance of submission. The following types of manuscripts can be considered for peer-reviewed publication in KOME: original research or review articles, data papers, and conference papers (only in special issue proceedings). As of August 1, 2020, opinion articles, notes, letters, short communications and book reviews are no longer considered for publication. Manuscripts should be submitted in a commonly accepted word processing format, preferably .pdf (without restrictions), .doc or .rtf. An abstract of 100-150 words, covering the main purpose, topics, and findings addressed in the article must be supplied, with a list of at least five keywords. Standard type formatting (12-point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 1.0 inch margins) should be used throughout. Endnotes must be kept to a minimum and appear at the end of the article, before the list of references. In line with the interdisciplinary profile of the Journal, articles should be accessible to those not specialized in their particular subjects. Excessive technicality, overuse of jargon and methodological protocols are advised to be avoided in favor of direct and clear language. Footnote referencing is not accepted; referencing – in the main text as well as in the bibliography − should follow the Harvard system. Authors should cite their previous works in the same way as they cite other authors. It is discouraged to cite works of a particular author excessively, as this may cause problems with blind reviews. Manuscripts citing more than six distinct work with at least one author in common with those of the submitted manuscript will be reviewed for possible excessive self-citation, and the authors may be asked to keep the number of references to their own previous works below the treshold, keeping only those which are truly essential to the submitted manuscript. Failure to comply with this request may result in the rejection of the manuscript without further review.

Book Reviews 

KOME welcomes proposals for books to be reviewed, but reviews submitted without prior request will be automatically rejected by the editors.

Submission

All submissions to KOME must be sent as e-mail attachments to the address of the Editorial Office.
Authors should not be identified in the attachment itself, but only in the body of the e-mail to which the document is attached. Other editorial correspondence may be sent to the editors with the same email. Please do not submit more than one manuscript at a time. KOME accepts a maximum of three submissions per author in each year, and will only publish one article per author in each regular issue.

Peer Review Process

Submissions are first reviewed by an assigned editor who decides in advance to send the manuscript out for peer review or reject it without further review. This decision normally takes about one to two weeks. Rejection by an editor can be based on a variety of reasons, among others but not limited to:

- manuscripts which do not represent the profile of KOME (see profile)
- manuscripts which do not meet our editorial criteria
- obvious similarities with a recently published article
- plagiarism
- major grammatical and/or interpretational problems

In case of an ambiguous situation, editors are encouraged, but not obliged to invite the authors to revise their manuscript to address specific concerns before a final decision is made or indicate to the author the type of further work that is required to justify a resubmission.
Editors may decide to send out the manuscript for external peer review and identify potential reviewers based on their expertise and scientific reputation. Each submitted manuscript will be given to at least two reviewers. Reviewers are not permitted to know the author(s)' name and the reviewers’ names are also unknown to the author(s) of the manuscript. The time frame available to reviewers for making their decision is a maximum of four weeks. After the reviewing process, a decision with written justification will be sent to the editors and conveyed to the authors. Decisions can be summed as follows: accepted, accepted with minor modifications, accepted with major modifications, rejected. Accepted with major modifications will always imply a second round of peer review with the same expert (if possible) who requested major modifications. Maintaining that the co-EiCs base their decision mainly on the experts' and the assigned editor's suggestions without being bound to them, manuscripts will be accepted if a final positive feedback is obtained from the external experts and the handling editor. This usually requires the author to modify the manuscript in accordance with the received suggestions, but editors are open to the author's arguments if they want to justify why they are unwilling to make the requested modifications.

Copyright Assignment

Once their article has been accepted for publication, the author(s) will be asked to transfer the ownership of his or her article to the Hungarian Communication Studies Association. Transfer of copyright is the precondition of publication in KOME; however, the author(s) will retain the following non-exclusive rights:

a.) To make the article available in any medium provided that the article is not sold for a profit, and the first publication by KOME, with a URL link and complete bibliographic details, is referenced.

b.) To use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works and display publicly, the article in electronic, digital, or print form in connection with the author’s academic, teaching, and other professional activities, provided that the first publication by KOME, with a URL link and complete bibliographic details, is referenced.

Open Access Policy 

KOME does not charge readers or their institutions for access. All authors and readers have the right to download, copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works and display publicly the articles in electronic, digital, or print form, provided that the post-print version of the articles are not sold for a profit and the first Publication by KOME, with a URL link and complete bibliographic details, is referenced. KOME have no APC's, page charges or submission charges; we do not charge authors or their institutions for publishing their work and do not solicit or accept payment for contributions.

Archiving and Preservation Policy

KOME has partnered with the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to preserve our journal content. By archiving all published material in REAL, the Repository of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, we are ensuring that all our content remains accessible to a future generation of researchers.

KOME’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

KOME GDPR Notice