Social Forces Journal

Q: What is Social Forces?

Social Forces is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal of social research founded in 1922 at UNC Chapel Hill and published by Oxford University Press.

Social Forces is a premier quarterly peer-reviewed journal of social research, founded in 1922 by Howard W. Odum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published by Oxford University Press. It publishes foundational empirical and theoretical studies across sociology and related social sciences. Clarivate's Journal Citation Reports indexes the journal in the Social Sciences Citation Index, consistently ranking it in Quartile 1 (Q1) within Sociology.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 7 Nov 2026

Overview of Social Forces Journal

Established in 1922 by sociologist Howard W. Odum under the original title The Journal of Social Forces (shortened in 1925), Social Forces is one of the oldest and most respected general publications in sociology. The journal is housed within the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with editorial leadership drawn from UNC faculty, and is published quarterly under Print ISSN 0037-7732 and Online ISSN 1534-7605 by Oxford University Press.

Its intellectual mission emphasizes cutting-edge sociological research alongside interdisciplinary work intersecting with political science, history, economics, and anthropology, supporting cross-field insights in sociology vs anthropology while maintaining rigorous adherence to social science research ethics.

Social Forces Impact Factor and Journal Metrics

Clarivate tracks the journal’s citation record in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). The two-year Journal Impact Factor (JIF) for Social Forces measures citations received in a given calendar year to citable research articles and reviews published during the two preceding years, divided by that two-year citable item total.

In recent Clarivate releases, the journal’s two-year JIF has hovered between 2.6 and 2.7. Because foundational sociological studies and longitudinal analyses accumulate citations over extended periods, the journal’s five-year impact factor stands substantially higher at 4.2. In Scopus, the journal records a CiteScore of 6.2 across a four-year citation window. Within the Clarivate Sociology category, the social forces journal impact factor places the title firmly within the top quartile (Q1).

Responsible Assessment and Disciplinary Context

Per the DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment) and CoARA framework (DORA vs CoARA), journal-level metrics must not serve as evaluative proxies for the quality of individual articles or researchers. Aggregate citation metrics reflect journal volume and category citation density rather than individual paper merits. Academic committees should evaluate empirical rigor, methodological transparency, and intellectual significance directly.

Peer Review Workflow and Replication Policies

Submissions to Social Forces undergo double-blind peer review coordinated through the ScholarOne Manuscripts system. Authors must submit fully anonymized manuscripts to ensure uncompromised evaluation. The journal places high value on methodological transparency, requiring authors of quantitative and empirical papers to share data and replication scripts to verify published findings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Social Forces?

Social Forces is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal of social research founded in 1922 at UNC Chapel Hill and published by Oxford University Press.

Who publishes Social Forces?

The journal is published by Oxford University Press in partnership with the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What is the Social Forces journal impact factor?

Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports lists a two-year Journal Impact Factor of approximately 2.7 and a five-year impact factor of 4.2, ranking the journal in Quartile 1 (Q1) for Sociology.

Why is the five-year impact factor higher than the two-year figure?

Sociological scholarship exhibits an extended citation half-life, meaning significant empirical and theoretical works accumulate citations steadily over many years rather than immediately upon publication.

Sources

Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Social Forces Journal Profile and History.” URL: https://sociology.unc.edu/ (read 2026-11-07).
Oxford University Press. “Social Forces: About the Journal.” URL: https://academic.oup.com/sf (read 2026-11-07).
Clarivate Analytics. “Social Sciences Citation Index: Journal Citation Reports.” URL: https://mjl.clarivate.com/ (read 2026-11-07).

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