Journal profile · Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary
Applied Network Science
ISSN 2364-8228 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
Applied Network Science: CAS Zone 4 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.9 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 1,790; median 155 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); 77 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Applied Network Science is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Complex Network Analysis Techniques, Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence and Advanced Graph Neural Networks, together about 52.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Applied Network Science (ANS) is an open access, strictly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing the application of network science methodologies to understand, model, and solve real-world problems across all domains of science, technology, medicine, and the humanities. ANS welcomes original research articles, reviews, and case studies that demonstrate novel applications of network science concepts, including but not limited to: Core Network Science Topics: Network structure and topology (degree distributions, clustering, motifs, modularity) Community detection and mesoscale organisation Centrality measures and node importance Network dynamics and temporal networks Network formation, growth, and evolution Spreading phenomena (epidemics, information diffusion, cascades) Network resilience, robustness, and vulnerability Multilayer and multiplex networks Spatial and embedded networks Network inference and reconstruction Generative network models (random graphs, scale-free networks, small-world networks) Network comparison and alignment Application Domains: Social networks and online social media Biological networks (metabolic, protein-protein interaction, gene regulatory, neural connectivity) Ecological networks (food webs, species interactions) Infrastructure networks (transportation, power grids, water systems, supply chains) Economic and financial networks Communication and information networks Urban systems and smart cities Epidemiological networks and disease spreading Organisational and collaboration networks Knowledge and citation networks Climate and environmental networks Methodological Contributions: Novel network analysis algorithms and computational methods Network visualisation and data representation techniques Machine learning and network science integration Statistical methods for network data Network-based optimisation approaches Causal inference in networks What is considered out of scope To ensure submissions align with the journal's focus, we clarify that the following topics, whilst potentially valuable, fall outside the scope of Applied Network Science unless they explicitly incorporate network science principles: · Neural Networks and Deep Learning: Research focused solely on artificial neural networks, machine learning architectures, or deep learning applications without analysing them through a network science lens (e.g., studying the topology of neural architectures, information flow in deep networks, or connectivity patterns).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multidisciplinary-Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief Sabrina GaitoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United Kingdom 4, France 3, Italy 3, United States 2, Spain 2 (21 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Complex Network Analysis TechniquesPhysics and Astronomy32.4%
- Opinion Dynamics and Social InfluencePhysics and Astronomy12.7%
- Advanced Graph Neural NetworksComputer Science7.4%
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.4%
- Human Mobility and Location-Based AnalysisSocial Sciences3.7%
- Mental Health Research TopicsPsychology3.7%
- Complex Systems and Time Series AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECCASDBLPPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.48LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 45OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 301OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.1OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 76LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 787,700Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 822 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66 | 66 | 9 |
| 2025 | 77 | 77 | 128 |
| 2024 | 79 | 79 | 329 |
| 2023 | 82 | 82 | 529 |
| 2022 | 86 | 86 | 819 |
| 2021 | 99 | 99 | 1,371 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
155 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 95 days – 232 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 28 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 200 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (159 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 5 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 5 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 1,490 / USD 1,790 / GBP 1,240 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,690 / EUR 1,390 / GBP 1,190 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,090 / USD 1,490 / EUR 1,290 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,240 / USD 1,790 / EUR 1,490 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
- Networks for everyday lifeDeadline
- Temporal NetworksDeadline
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Not considered
- Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Article types accepted3
- case studyResearch Review Case StudyLength not stated
- researchResearch Review Case StudyLength not stated
- reviewResearch Review Case StudyLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
Only authors may submit manuscripts. Model summary
Please note that a manuscript can only be submitted by an author of the manuscript and may not be submitted by a third party.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
Data sharing strongly encouraged or required. Model summary
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY licence; authors retain copyright. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Applied Network Science articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2364-8228
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Applied Network Science
What CAS zone is Applied Network Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Applied Network Science is in Zone 4 of Computer Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Computer Science, Theory & Methods / Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Applied Network Science?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 45.
How long does peer review take at Applied Network Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 155 days (interquartile range 95–232 days); authors report an average review time of about 5 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Applied Network Science based?
Of the 21 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (4), France (3) and Italy (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Applied Network Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Applied Network Science is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, INSPEC, CAS and DBLP; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Applied Network Science open access, and what is the APC?
Applied Network Science is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 1,790.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .