Direct Marketing Policy

COMMUNIA – Journal of Community Engagement and Development is committed to conducting all direct marketing, promotional, and manuscript solicitation activities in an ethical, transparent, professional, and responsible manner.

The journal's direct marketing activities are intended to communicate relevant information about the journal, its publications, calls for papers, special issues, editorial opportunities, and other legitimate scholarly activities to appropriate members of the academic and professional community.

COMMUNIA follows recognized principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing, including the principle that direct marketing should be appropriate, well targeted, and unobtrusive, and that information provided about the journal and publisher must be truthful and not misleading.

1. Purpose of Direct Marketing

Direct marketing activities may be conducted to:

  • inform researchers and academics about the journal;

  • announce calls for papers;

  • promote newly published articles or journal issues;

  • announce special issues or thematic calls;

  • invite qualified scholars to serve as reviewers;

  • announce editorial or academic opportunities;

  • disseminate information about conferences, seminars, or scholarly activities associated with the journal; and

  • increase awareness and visibility of the journal among relevant scholarly communities.

Direct marketing is intended to facilitate legitimate scholarly communication and must not be used to mislead or pressure potential authors.

2. Targeted and Relevant Communication

COMMUNIA seeks to ensure that direct marketing communications are relevant to the recipients.

Manuscript invitations and promotional communications should be directed primarily to researchers, academics, practitioners, and other professionals whose expertise or interests are reasonably related to the journal's aims and scope.

The journal avoids indiscriminate mass solicitation and excessive communication.

Marketing communications should be proportionate, professionally written, and limited to information that is relevant to the recipient.

3. Manuscript Solicitation

COMMUNIA may send invitations to submit manuscripts, including calls for papers for regular issues or special issues.

Such invitations must:

  • accurately identify the journal;

  • clearly state the journal's aims and scope;

  • provide accurate submission information;

  • clearly identify the journal's publication frequency;

  • accurately state applicable publication fees;

  • provide the official journal website or submission system;

  • avoid exaggerated claims regarding journal quality or impact; and

  • avoid language that guarantees acceptance or publication.

An invitation to submit a manuscript does not constitute an acceptance decision or guarantee of publication.

All submitted manuscripts remain subject to the journal's established editorial screening and peer-review procedures.

4. No Guaranteed Acceptance

COMMUNIA does not guarantee manuscript acceptance through direct marketing communications.

The following types of claims are prohibited:

  • guaranteed acceptance;

  • guaranteed publication;

  • guaranteed peer-review outcome;

  • guaranteed indexing;

  • guaranteed citation performance;

  • guaranteed publication within a specific number of days;

  • preferential treatment in peer review; or

  • any other statement that may create an inaccurate impression of the editorial process.

Editorial decisions are based on academic merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and the results of the journal's peer-review process.

5. Accuracy and Transparency

All direct marketing communications issued by or on behalf of COMMUNIA must contain truthful, accurate, and verifiable information.

The journal will not intentionally provide misleading information regarding:

  • journal indexing;

  • accreditation or recognition;

  • impact metrics;

  • publication frequency;

  • peer-review procedures;

  • acceptance rates;

  • publication timelines;

  • editorial board membership;

  • publication fees;

  • open access status;

  • licensing;

  • journal ownership or publisher information; or

  • other aspects of the journal's publishing practices.

Claims about indexing or recognition will only be made where such status has actually been obtained and can be verified.

6. Communication Channels

COMMUNIA may use appropriate scholarly and professional communication channels for direct marketing, including:

  • the official journal website;

  • official journal email;

  • academic mailing lists;

  • institutional networks;

  • professional social media;

  • academic networks;

  • newsletters;

  • scholarly events; and

  • other legitimate communication channels.

The official journal website remains the primary source of authoritative information concerning submissions, publication policies, fees, editorial procedures, and journal announcements.

7. Email Communication

Email invitations and promotional communications should be concise, relevant, and professionally written.

The journal will avoid excessive or repetitive emails to the same recipient.

Where recipients have the option to opt out of non-essential promotional communications, the journal will respect such requests.

Official editorial communications relating to manuscripts under consideration may continue where necessary for the proper administration of the editorial process.

8. Protection Against Misleading Solicitation

COMMUNIA does not engage in deceptive or misleading solicitation practices.

The journal will not:

  • impersonate another journal or publisher;

  • use misleading journal titles or identities;

  • falsely claim affiliation with academic institutions or organizations;

  • falsely claim indexing or accreditation;

  • misrepresent editorial board members;

  • use fabricated metrics or rankings;

  • make false claims about peer review;

  • promise publication in exchange for payment; or

  • conceal applicable publication fees.

The journal's website and promotional communications should provide sufficient information for potential authors to make informed decisions about submission.

9. Relationship Between Marketing and Editorial Decisions

Direct marketing activities are completely separate from editorial decision-making.

Participation in a promotional campaign, response to a call for papers, or receipt of an invitation to submit does not provide any advantage in the editorial or peer-review process.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by:

  • marketing activities;

  • promotional relationships;

  • financial considerations;

  • responses to solicitation campaigns; or

  • participation in journal promotional activities.

This separation supports editorial independence and scholarly integrity. DOAJ and COPE emphasize that journal business and communication practices should not compromise editorial decision-making.

10. Recruitment of Reviewers and Editorial Board Members

COMMUNIA may contact qualified scholars to invite them to serve as peer reviewers or members of the editorial board.

Such invitations must be based on relevant academic expertise and must contain accurate information about:

  • the journal;

  • the position or role;

  • expected responsibilities;

  • confidentiality requirements;

  • relevant publication-ethics standards; and

  • any applicable terms of appointment.

The journal will not falsely imply that an individual has agreed to serve as an editor, reviewer, or editorial board member without their explicit consent.

11. Promotion of Published Articles

COMMUNIA may promote published articles and journal issues through appropriate scholarly communication channels.

Article promotion may include:

  • publication announcements;

  • social media posts;

  • newsletters;

  • academic networks;

  • institutional communication channels; and

  • other legitimate scholarly platforms.

Promotional material must accurately represent the content of the published article and must not exaggerate its findings, significance, or implications.

12. Special Issues and Calls for Papers

Calls for papers for special issues must clearly identify:

  • the title or theme of the special issue;

  • the scope of the call;

  • relevant submission requirements;

  • submission deadlines;

  • peer-review procedures;

  • applicable publication fees;

  • expected publication schedule; and

  • contact or submission information.

Special issue invitations are subject to the same editorial standards as regular submissions.

Submission to a special issue does not guarantee acceptance.

13. Advertising and Promotional Relationships

Where COMMUNIA participates in promotional partnerships or scholarly events, such activities must remain separate from editorial decision-making.

Any advertising or promotional arrangement must not influence:

  • manuscript acceptance;

  • peer-review outcomes;

  • editorial appointments;

  • reviewer selection; or

  • the scholarly content of the journal.

The journal will maintain transparency regarding relevant business or promotional relationships where disclosure is necessary.

14. Data and Contact Information

COMMUNIA will use contact information for direct marketing responsibly and in accordance with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.

The journal will avoid obtaining or using personal contact information through deceptive, unauthorized, or inappropriate means.

Where applicable, recipients should be given a reasonable opportunity to discontinue non-essential promotional communications.

15. Monitoring and Compliance

The journal's editorial management is responsible for monitoring direct marketing activities conducted on behalf of COMMUNIA.

Any marketing communication that is found to be:

  • misleading;

  • inaccurate;

  • excessive;

  • inappropriate;

  • intrusive; or

  • inconsistent with this policy

may be withdrawn or corrected.

Individuals acting on behalf of COMMUNIA are expected to comply with this policy.

16. Complaints Regarding Direct Marketing

Recipients who believe that a direct marketing communication from COMMUNIA is misleading, inappropriate, or inconsistent with this policy may contact the journal's editorial office.

The journal will review legitimate concerns and take appropriate corrective action where necessary.

17. Commitment to Ethical Promotion

COMMUNIA recognizes that responsible communication is an important part of maintaining trust in scholarly publishing.

The journal therefore seeks to ensure that all promotional and direct marketing activities contribute to legitimate scholarly communication without compromising academic integrity, editorial independence, or the interests of authors, reviewers, and readers.

18. Direct Marketing Statement

COMMUNIA – Journal of Community Engagement and Development conducts direct marketing and manuscript solicitation activities in a professional, transparent, targeted, and non-intrusive manner.

All information communicated by or on behalf of the journal must be accurate, truthful, and not misleading. Invitations to submit manuscripts do not guarantee acceptance or publication, and all submissions remain subject to the journal's established editorial screening and double-blind peer-review process.

Direct marketing activities are independent of editorial decision-making and must never be used to provide preferential treatment or create misleading expectations regarding publication.

COMMUNIA is committed to maintaining responsible scholarly communication practices consistent with recognized principles of transparency and best practice in academic publishing.