A systematic review on communication for social change (2015-2021)

This article aims to analyze the scope of research in Communication for Social Change, from a participatory approach to communication, through a systematic review of the literature on the production of scientific articles in the area of social sciences published in three databases (Scopus, WOS and Latindex) between 2015 and 2021. The relevance of the study is based on the need to identify the challenges to advance in the democratization of communication from plural approaches. The PRISMA Declaration guidelines are used as a methodological basis for the search criteria and selection of scientific articles. The results show a growing interest in a research production that articulates communication for social change with issues of content production, political incidence, community participation, and citizen empowerment. Conceptual approaches refer to communication for development and social change, participation, governance and citizenship, dialogue, empowerment, listening, culture, and power. Methodologically, hermeneutic methods prevailed with the use of techniques such as interviews and focus groups. It is inferred that communication for social change follows a slow path of epistemological expansion in the social sciences, but requires a greater effort to produce knowledge that articulates new areas and problems.