“…Despite that, the meta-research studies based on the analysis of doctoral theses have been rather scarce; as a matter of fact, in the past years the study of research published on scientific journals has been prioritized because these constitute a fundamental element in the current scientific dissemination and even in the certification of the career of researchers. In the field of communication, there are worth mentioning the different studies that have recently dealt with the communicologic research in Spain since the study of the doctoral theses either about communication in general (Casanueva and Caro, 2013;Jones, 2000), or focusing instead on a specific geographic scope (Gallardo Vera, 2016;Gil Soldevilla, Galán Cubillo and Marzal Felici, 2016;Herrero Solana and Arboledas Márquez, 2011;Jones, 2007;Jones and Baró i Queralt, 1997;Landa Montenegro, 2004;Martínez García, 2016) or referring to some particular thematic area of communication (Díaz-Campo, 2016;Díaz-Campo, 2014; The changes in the Spanish regulation of doctorate studies are also positioned as background of the evolution in the analysis of doctoral theses. Currently, these studies are regulated by the Royal Decree 99/2011, 28 January, that govern the official doctorate studies.…”