Our Publishing Model: The Audiovisual Article
At the Journal of Socio-Cultural Narratives, we have reimagined the traditional journal article for a digital-native, multi-modal world. Each entry in this journal is designated as an audio-visual article, a self-contained scholarly work where all the learning needs: text, video and audio are accounted for. This model is not merely a repository for media files; it is a structured academic format designed to confer scholarly legitimacy upon non-textual works. By framing these works as articles, we assert their value as citable, peer-reviewed contributions to the academic landscape, equivalent in rigor to their text-based counterparts.
Our format is intentionally multi-modal, designed to be accessible and deeply engaging for a wide range of learners and researchers. We recognize that knowledge is absorbed and processed in diverse ways, and our model caters to this cognitive reality. For visual learners, the video format provides essential context through non-verbal cues, body language, environmental details, and the dynamic interplay between speakers. For auditory learners, the audio track offers direct access to the tone, cadence, emotional emphasis, and subtle nuances of the spoken word. For traditional reading and writing learners, every article is supported by a robust set of textual metadata that provides the necessary framework for analysis and citation.
This multi-modal approach is a deliberate pedagogical and epistemological choice. It moves beyond the limitations of purely text-based scholarship to create a more inclusive, equitable, and impactful learning experience. We contend that an academic's reliance on text has historically excluded forms of knowledge and expression that are not easily transcribed. Our model seeks to rectify this by creating a space where embodied knowledge, oral traditions, and performance-based scholarship can be presented and preserved with the same level of academic seriousness as a written paper.
To ensure full academic rigor and referencing, every audio-visual article is published with a comprehensive set of metadata consistent with scholarly publishing standards. This includes a formal title for the work, the credited author(s)/guest contributor(s), and a concise, structured abstract that summarizes the article's topic and transcripts. Furthermore, a curated list of keywords, following established disciplinary taxonomies, is provided for indexing and discovery, allowing the work to be integrated into broader academic search ecosystems.
The citation data for each article also includes the formal publication date, the journal volume and issue number, and, most critically, a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The DOI, provided through our partnership with the Zenodo repository, is a permanent, citable link to the archived audio-visual file, ensuring its long-term accessibility and stability. Secondary information, such as the original recording date, location, and specific format, is also included within the article's descriptive notes to provide a complete and transparent context for researchers.
Ultimately, the audio-visual article represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of what constitutes a scholarly publication. It is a format that respects the integrity of the original performance or conversation, that embraces the richness of multi-sensory data, and that provides a robust framework for its inclusion in the ongoing project of academic inquiry. It is a format for the future of scholarship, and it is the foundational element of our journal.