[Commlist] CfP "Comparison as Method and Heuristic in Communication Reserach" - Global Media Journal - German Edition

*GLOBAL MEDIA JOURNAL - GERMAN EDITION*

**Call for Papers: Special Issue “Comparison as Method and Heuristic in 
Communication Research” – Winter 2027**

Guest Editors:

Maren Beaufort, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Tobias Eberwein, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Andreas M. Scheu, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Eva Tamara Asboth, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Matthias Karmasin, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Krisztina Rozgonyi, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of Klagenfurt

Andreas Schulz-Tomančok, Austrian Academy of Sciences & University of 
Klagenfurt

Comparison is fundamental to how communication research generates 
knowledge. It can operate at different levels of analysis, relate 
communication phenomena across a broad range of contexts, and examine 
continuity and change over time. Yet its significance extends beyond 
research design. As a heuristic, comparison provides a means of 
questioning established assumptions, revealing patterns and contextual 
contingencies, and generating new insights.

Since the 1990s, comparative research has become increasingly prominent 
in communication studies (Livingstone, 2003; Pfetsch & Esser, 2004; 
Melischek, Seethaler & Wilke, 2008) and has developed into a 
consolidated and differentiated field of research (Esser & Hanitzsch, 
2012; Esser, 2016; Chan & Lee, 2017; Holtz-Bacha, 2021; Melischek & 
Seethaler, 2017; Volk, 2021). At the same time, this consolidation has 
coincided with substantial changes in the conditions under which 
comparative research is conceived and conducted. The phenomena and 
contexts under study are becoming increasingly complex, dynamic, and 
interconnected, while new forms of data and analytical approaches are 
expanding the scale and scope of comparative inquiry. These developments 
create new opportunities for comparison but also accentuate longstanding 
methodological and epistemological challenges concerning the 
construction of cases, the establishment of comparability, the 
consideration of context, and the interpretation and generalization of 
comparative findings. They also raise questions about inequalities in 
resources and research capacities within international comparative 
collaborations. 

*This Special Issue invites scholars to reconsider comparison as both 
method and heuristic in communication research.*It seeks to critically 
assess the possibilities, challenges, and implications of comparison for 
contemporary communication research, with particular attention to the 
methodological and epistemological questions that comparative inquiry 
raises. It also examines how changing research practices and approaches 
are reshaping comparative research and how comparative findings can 
contribute to methodological and theoretical development as well as to 
insights of societal relevance.

We welcome conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and empirical 
contributions from the full breadth of comparative media and 
communication research. Submissions should engage explicitly with the 
rationale, conceptualization, and consequences of comparison, 
approaching comparison as a method, methodological principle, or 
heuristic rather than merely as a feature of the research design.

*Key Areas*

/Innovations and Emerging Approaches in Comparative Communication Research/

The first key area of the Special Issue focuses on methodological 
innovation and new approaches to designing and conducting comparative 
research. We invite contributions that discuss emerging tools and forms 
of data, develop innovative comparative designs, or reconsider 
established methods in light of technological, societal, and 
communicative transformations.

/Conditions and Limits of Comparison: Methodological, Epistemological, 
and Critical Perspectives/

Comparison can increase sensitivity to context, challenge assumptions 
derived from individual cases, support theory development, and help 
identify relationships between social structures and communication 
processes. Yet comparisons are never neutral. They depend on decisions 
about concepts, cases, categories, units of analysis, standards of 
equivalence, and relevant differences. The second thematic area 
therefore invites critical reflection on the epistemological 
assumptions, methodological limitations, and power relations embedded in 
comparative research.

/From Comparison to Knowledge: Explanation, Theory, and Transfer/

Comparative research goes beyond identifying similarities and 
differences. Its scientific contribution depends on how comparative 
findings are interpreted, explained, and connected to broader conceptual 
and theoretical questions. Comparative findings may also generate 
unexpected insights, challenge established explanations, and point to 
the scope and limitations of existing concepts and theories. The third 
thematic area therefore considers how comparative research can advance 
explanation and theory development, contribute to methodological 
development, and generate insights of relevance within and beyond academia.

*Formats for Contributions*

The Special Issue welcomes different types of manuscripts, including 
original empirical research articles, conceptual and theoretical 
contributions, methodological articles, literature reviews, and research 
notes presenting innovative comparative designs, infrastructures, 
datasets, or tools.

All submissions should make an explicit contribution to the discussion 
of comparison as a method, methodological principle, or heuristic. 
Manuscripts that merely report results from several countries or cases 
without reflecting on the logic, construction, or implications of the 
comparison are unlikely to fit the scope of the Special Issue.

All contributions to the Special Issue are subject to quality assurance. 
Contributions may be submitted in one of the following formats:

·Peer-reviewed Article: Theoretical, methodological, or research 
articles; max. 60,000 characters, including spaces and references; 
subject to double-blind peer review.

·Media Practice and Research Reports: Shorter research notes; max. 
30,000 characters, including spaces and references; subject to 
double-blind peer review.

·Essay: Reflections on current issues stimulating scholarly discussion; 
max. 30,000 characters, including spaces and references. Before 
submitting an essay, authors are asked to send a brief pitch to the 
guest editors ((cmc /at/ oeaw.ac.at)) for pre-approval. Essay submissions will 
be reviewed by the guest editors.

*Manuscript Submission*

Full manuscripts must comply with the submission guidelines and the 
style guide of Global Media Journal – German Edition and be submitted 
via the journal’s website by 31 January 2027. You will find all the 
necessary information here: 
https://globalmediajournal.de/index.php/gmj/en/submission 
<https://globalmediajournal.de/index.php/gmj/en/submission>

When submitting, authors should select the submission category “Special 
Issue: Comparison as Method and Heuristic in Communication Research.”

The Special Issue is scheduled for publication in December 2027.

*Indicative Timeline*

·Full manuscript submission deadline: 31.1.2027

·First-round review decisions: 31.5.2027

·Revised manuscripts due: 30.6.2027

·Final decisions: 30.9.2027

·Publication: December 2027

Further information: https://www.globalmediajournal.de and 
https://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc

If you have any questions about content-related aspects, please contact 
the guest editors ((cmc /at/ oeaw.ac.at)); for editorial queries, please 
contact the GMJ-DE editor Katharina Nötzold ((gmj /at/ polsoz.fu-berlin.de)).

*References*

·Chan, J. M., & Lee, F. L. F. (Eds.). (2017). Advancing comparative 
media and communication research. Routledge. 
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315179285

·Esser, F. (2016). Komparative Kommunikationswissenschaft: Ein Feld 
formiert sich [Comparative communication science: A field takes shape]. 
Studies in Communication Sciences, 16(1), 54-60. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scoms.2016.03.005

·Esser, F., & Hanitzsch, T. (Eds.). (2012). The Handbook of Comparative 
Communication Research. Routledge.

·Holtz-Bacha, C. (2021). Comparative media research. European Journal of 
Communication, 36(5), 446-449. https://doi.org/10.1177/02673231211043179

·Livingstone, S. (2003). On the challenges of cross-national comparative 
media research. European Journal of Communication, 18(4), 477-500. 
https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323103184003

·Melischek, G., Seethaler, J., & Wilke, J. (Eds.). (2008). Medien & 
Kommunikationsforschung im Vergleich: Grundlagen, Gegenstandsbereiche, 
Verfahrensweisen [Media and communication research in comparison: 
Foundations, areas of study, methods]. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

·Melischek, G., & Seethaler, J. (2017). Die Institutionalisierung der 
Kommunikationswissenschaft an der Österreichischen Akademie der 
Wissenschaften: Geschichte und Aufgabenbereiche des Instituts für 
vergleichende Medien- und Kommunikationsforschung [The 
institutionalization of communication science at the Austrian Academy of 
Sciences: History and areas of responsibility of the Institute for 
Comparative Media and Communication Studies]. Geistes-, sozial- und 
kulturwissenschaftlicher Anzeiger, 152(1), 65-98. 
https://doi.org/10.1553/anzeiger152-1s65

·Pfetsch, B., & Esser, F. (Eds.). (2004). Comparing political 
communication: Theories, cases, and challenges. Cambridge University Press.

·Volk, S. C. (2021). Comparative communication research: A study of the 
conceptual, methodological, and social challenges of international 
collaborative studies in communication science. Springer VS.

**Aims and Scope**

The GLOBAL MEDIA JOURNAL – GERMAN EDITION (ISSN 2196-4807) is a diamond 
open access, peer-reviewed journal for the publication of scholarly 
contributions dealing with issues of international, transnational, 
intercultural and transcultural communication and media, published in 
English and German twice a year. No article processing charges (APCs) 
are incurred. The journal is indexed in DOAJ, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, EuroPub, 
BASE and Ulrich’s.

Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. This means that your 
articles can be submitted any time for our various sections 
(peer-review, essays, media practice & research reports, graduate 
section, book reviews). We are also open to discuss guest-edited issues.

We would be pleased if you could circulate this announcement widely in 
your academic network. Please do not hesitate to contact us for 
feedback. You can get in touch with the managing editor Katharina 
Nötzold via gmj(at)polsoz.fu-berlin.de

 
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