JoC Workflow Router (joc-workflow)

The orchestrator for a JoC submission. Figure out the stage and the format, then send the user to the matching skill. JoC is the flagship, field-wide journal of the International Communication Association — the router's first job is to make sure the paper is pitched to communication research broadly, not just one subfield or platform.

When to trigger

• Starting a new JoC paper and unsure where to begin
• Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
• Deciding which format fits (article, JoC Forum, special-issue call)
• Returning with a decision letter (route to joc-rebuttal)

First question: which format?

If the design is prospective, preregister and plan Open Science Badge materials before collecting data — note the preregistration in the cover letter at submission.

Routing map (stage → skill)

Idea / fit?                      → joc-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?  → joc-literature-positioning
What's the argument?             → joc-theory-building
Is the design defensible?        → joc-research-design
Are the analyses sound?          → joc-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear?          → joc-tables-figures
Does it read for the field?      → joc-writing-style
Data statement & open science?   → joc-open-science-and-transparency
How will it be judged?           → joc-review-process
Ready to submit?                 → joc-submission
Got an R&R / decision?           → joc-rebuttal

Default order

topic-selection → literature-positioning → theory-building → research-design → data-analysis → tables-figures → writing-style → open-science-and-transparency → review-process → submission → rebuttal

Iterate: most papers loop theory ↔ design ↔ analysis several times before writing-style.

Anti-patterns

• Treating JoC like a niche subfield outlet — the contribution must reach communication research broadly
• Forcing a quantitative template onto computational, qualitative, or critical work (JoC judges each on its own terms)
• Padding a short, focused argument into a full article when the JoC Forum would land harder
• Leaving the Data Availability Statement and badge materials until acceptance

Router pass for Journal of Communication

Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the communication process, platform/media setting, construct measurement, and study design; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: communication reviewers who balance theory, media context, measurement, and social implications.

• Do the pass: Run the pack as a sequence: fit gate, evidence gate, writing gate, source-map gate, and final output contract; stop when a gate lacks evidence.
• Return a ledger: give claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
• Sibling guard: compare against Communication Research for quantitative communication, New Media & Society for platform focus, Human Communication Research for theory testing; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
• Stop condition: do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's resources/official-source-map.md has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.

Output format

【Stage】idea / positioning / theory / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / transparency / review / submit / rebut
【Format】Original article / JoC Forum / Special issue
【Route to】joc-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — communication data + software by method
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official JoC URLs behind every fact in this pack