Sociological Science Journal Metrics

Sociological Science (Journal)

Sociological Science is an independent, peer-reviewed, open-access academic journal published by the Society for Sociological Science (ISSN: 2330-6696). Evaluated in Clarivate’s Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) with a 2-year Journal Impact Factor of 2.8, a 5-year Impact Factor of 3.5, and a Scopus Q1 ranking, the journal operates an evaluative peer-review model with 30-day decision timelines under a Creative Commons CC BY license.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 7 Nov 2026

What Sociological Science measures and publishes

Founded in 2013 and publishing continuously since 2014, Sociological Science serves as a general-interest sociology journal dedicated to empirical rigor, theoretical clarity, and rapid dissemination. Unlike traditional subfield outlets, the journal publishes across all domains of sociology and neighboring social sciences, including social stratification, organizational behavior, cultural sociology, demography, and political sociology. For cross-disciplinary distinctions, researchers often examine how sociological methodologies align with related fields in sociology vs anthropology.

The journal accepts two distinct manuscript formats:

Original research articles: Full empirical investigations and theoretical contributions across all sociological subfields. Replication studies that substantively advance sociological knowledge are actively welcomed as original contributions.
Commentary: Structured scholarly dialogues published as “Reactions” (direct critical responses to specific articles published in the journal) and “Comments” (broader discussions of ongoing debates).

Sociological Science impact factor and citation metrics

Citation performance for the sociological science journal is tracked by international indexing databases, primarily Clarivate’s Web of Science and Elsevier’s Scopus:

Journal Impact Factor (2-Year): 2.8 in Clarivate’s Journal Citation Reports (SSCI), representing the ratio of citations received in a given data year to citable papers published during the two preceding years.
5-Year Impact Factor: 3.5, measuring the citation trajectory over an extended five-year window that accounts for the slower citation velocity typical of the social sciences.
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): Approximately 1.43, placing the journal firmly within Quartile 1 (Q1) for sociology and political science.
Alternative Metrics: Alongside Clarivate metrics, Scopus tracks the journal’s CiteScore, reflecting citations across a four-year window.

Editorial review model and open-access structure

A defining characteristic of Sociological Science is its operational departure from legacy publishing norms:

30-Day Decision Horizon: The editorial team commits to delivering an initial editorial decision within 30 days of submission.
Evaluative, Not Developmental Review: Editors and reviewers evaluate manuscripts as submitted. Rather than requesting rounds of developmental revisions, editors determine whether the manuscript as written makes a thoughtful, rigorous contribution to sociological knowledge. Decisions are primarily up-or-down.
Open Access and Copyright: All published works are immediately open access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing authors to retain full copyright.
Sustainable Fee Architecture: The journal is operated by the non-profit Society for Sociological Science. It charges a modest submission fee and an article publication fee to support copyediting, hosting, and DOI registration, with fee waivers granted for students, scholars from developing countries, and authors demonstrating financial hardship.

Responsible assessment and metrics context

While a 2.8 Journal Impact Factor situates Sociological Science among the leading general-interest journals in sociology, research evaluators must apply bibliometric indicators with caution. Under the principles of the DORA declaration and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), journal-level metrics do not measure the specific intellectual merit, methodological validity, or societal impact of any single paper. Evaluators, hiring committees, and funding panels should assess articles directly on their substantive contributions rather than substituting journal prestige or citation ratios for expert judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the sociological science impact factor?

The 2-year Journal Impact Factor for Sociological Science is 2.8 in Clarivate’s Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), alongside a 5-year Impact Factor of 3.5.

Who publishes Sociological Science?

Sociological Science is published by the Society for Sociological Science, an independent non-profit professional organization.

Is Sociological Science open access?

Yes. All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, providing immediate, unrestricted public access while authors retain copyright.

Sources

Sociological Science. “Journal Information & Principles.” sociologicalscience.com/about/journal-information/ (read 2026-11-07).
Sociological Science. “Editorial and Review Process.” sociologicalscience.com/for-authors/editorial-and-review-process/ (read 2026-11-07).
Clarivate. “Journal Citation Reports: Sociological Science (SSCI).” Clarivate Web of Science Core Collection (read 2026-11-07).
SCImago. “Sociological Science: Scopus Q1 Metrics.” scimagojr.com (read 2026-11-07).

Use in your systems

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