Eastern European Journals in the Scopus Communication Category
Visibility, Performance, and Editorial Boards
Abstract
The present paper outlines a comprehensive quantitative analysis of Eastern European communication journals indexed on Scopus, a largely overlooked area of global research. Drawing on Scopus, SciVal, SCImagoJR, and manual editorial board data, we assess 36 journals over the past decade, focusing on performance, visibility, internationalisation, authorship patterns, and editorial composition. Results show modest growth in indexed journals, though most remain in the lower quartiles. Journals with a higher level of international and collaborative authorship tend to have a greater impact. A small cohort of prolific authors dominates output, often with low citation impact; some of these authors also sit on the editorial boards of their preferred journals, raising ethical concerns. Our editorial analysis reveals that journals with internationally diverse boards publish more globally and rank higher. The findings also highlight both progress and persistent structural challenges in integrating EEC journals into global scholarly networks.
Keywords:
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Funding: Project no. TKP2021-NKTA-51 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the A TKP2021‑NKTA funding scheme. Gergely Ferenc Lendvai was supported by the EKOP-2025-NKE-3-003 university research scholarship program of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.