The National Communication Association is committed to a fair, transparent, and professional review process in the 12 NCA journals. If a member of the public has concerns about a published article, they should refer to this best practice guideline to proceed. It is not a substitute for the Taylor and Francis (publisher) policies or for COPE guidance, which should be consulted directly for allegations of specific misconduct.
- Direct concern/s to the journal editor, who will assess whether the matter is a general inquiry or a potential issue impacting the integrity of the published research.
- If it raises substantive questions, the editor may request additional information to support the review. The member of the public has five business days to respond.
- Once sufficient details are received, the concern will be evaluated in consultation with appropriate editorial and publishing partners, following established publication ethics guidelines.
- To ensure a thorough and impartial process, NCA does not provide ongoing updates during reviews, but the individual who raised the concern will be informed when a final determination has been reached.
Response Timeframe at a Glance
Five Business Days
Once an editor or author has acknowledged a concern and requested additional detail or evidence from the member of the public, the member of the public has 5 business days to respond. If no response is received within that period, the matter is closed as not pursued further. Editors and authors are not obligated to respond further to repeated messages on the same unsupported claim. This timeframe applies only after the initial acknowledgment; it does not apply to the editor’s or author’s review, which proceeds on whatever timeline the investigation requires.
