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The institutional framework supporting Spanish Communication research has changed radically over the past 30 years, affecting the internal structure of the academic community and the characteristics of scientific production in this field. This paper reconstructs that process by attending to four factors: the increase since the early 1990s in universities offering Communication studies; the establishment of three distinct Communication degree programmes (1991); the deployment and consolidation of a culture of evaluation of research activity (1989-2008); and the recognition of Communication as a specific area in the National RD&I Plan (2010). Such institutional changes have had a significant impact on the structure of the scientific community (exponential growth, incorporation of women, growing internationalisation, etc.) and the general direction of scientific production (publication formats, collaborative research, methodological quality, etc.). The various identified indicators showed a turning point in Spanish Communication research in the mid-2000s, situating it within parameters that differed considerably from those of the previous period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose in this paper an approach to the history of Communication Research in Spain, taking into account the scientific production and the structure and historical context in which the scientific community interested in this field have performed their work. For this task we have established a temporary frame beginning from the moment communication became an autonomous field of research and education in Spain, during the mid-sixties, until present time. This period has been divided into three stages, typically defined as emergence, consolidation and development (or maturing) of communication studies in Spain. In each of these stages, the scientific community interested in communication research have worked in different social, academic and epistemic or scientific contexts. These particular conditions contribute to understanding the different orientations which have inspired historical communication research in Spain (research objects, theoretical and methodological approaches, contributions and limitations). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]