Evolution of the paradigms, methodologies and fields of communication in Revista Latina de Comunicacion Social during the decade 2004-2013

Introduction: Both scientific production in the field of communication in Spain and the scientific publishing environment have experienced considerable changes in recent years. Methodology: The objective of this research is to analyse through content analysis and bibliometric analysis the evolution of a set of epistemological indicators found in 339 articles published by the RLCS in the period 2004-2013. The indicators include the paradigms, methods and research techniques used, the origin and affiliation of the authors and the fields of communication. Results and conclusions: The results show there has been a considerable change in the epistemological indicators analysed and elicit a reflection on communication research in Spain and in the Latin American cultural environment. That research is moving towards convergence with international standards in communication-focused scientific journals, in which a series of strengths and weaknesses is apparent in their current epistemological and methodological foundations.