GENDER STUDIES IN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC PAPERS PUBLISHED IN SPANISH JOURNALS INDEXED IN THE JOURNAL CITATION REPORTS (JCR) AND THE SCIMAGO JOURNAL RANK (SJR) (1988–2017)

This paper describes the evolution of gender-related research in indexed communication journals in Spain, on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of all those papers relating to gender studies that were published between 1988 and 2017. Specifically, it analyses the scientific production of Spanish journals indexed in the “communication” category of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), in which the presence and development of works relating to gender and women’s studies have been assessed. The study time frame covers a period from 1988, when the first journal appeared, to 2017, with a set of 8,300 papers. The results highlight the following: 1. Gender studies are thin on the ground in Spanish communication journals; 2. The majority of these studies were conducted by one author and when more than one was involved, the co-authors were normally Spanish; 3. Most of the studies were performed by women; 4. Mainly qualitative methodologies were employed; and 5. Thematically speaking, they focused on the study of identities and stereotypes. Notwithstanding the gradual increase in the number of studies of this type, considering the far-reaching legislative changes and the social progress in gender and equality that have occurred over the past 15 years in Spain, the results pose a potential contradiction between the social, political, and academic interest that gender issues currently awaken and their underrepresentation in Spanish communication journals.