Journal profile · COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Applied Ontology
ISSN 1570-5838 · eISSN 1875-8533 · SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press) · NETHERLANDS · Founded 2005
Applied Ontology: CAS Zone 3 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.52; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,150; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 22 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Applied Ontology is published by SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press) and is in Zone 3 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Semantic Web and Ontologies, Biomedical Text Mining and Ontologies and Service-Oriented Architecture and Web Services, together about 59.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Artificial Intelligence. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Applied Ontology focuses on information content in its broadest sense. As the subtitle makes clear, two broad kinds of content-based research activities are envisioned: ontological analysis and conceptual modeling. The former includes any attempt to investigate the nature and structure of a domain of interest using rigorous philosophical or logical tools; the latter concerns the cognitive and linguistic structures we use to model the world, as well as the various analysis tools and methodologies we adopt for producing useful computational models, such as information systems schemes or knowledge structures.Applied Ontology is the first journal with explicit and exclusive focus on ontological analysis and conceptual modeling under an interdisciplinary view. It aims to establish a unique niche in the realm of scientific journals by carefully avoiding unnecessary duplication with discipline-oriented journals. For this reason, authors will be encouraged to use language that will be intelligible also to those outside their specific sector of expertise, and the review process will be tailored to this end. For example, authors of theoretical contributions will be encouraged to show the relevance of their theory for applications, while authors of more technological papers will be encouraged to show the relevance of a well-founded theoretical perspective. Moreover, the journal will publish papers focusing on representation languages or algorithms only where these address relevant content issues, whether at the level of practical application or of theoretical understanding. Similarly, it will publish descriptions of tools or implemented systems only where a contribution to the practice of ontological analysis and conceptual modeling is clearly established.Applied Ontology aims at being a major publication forum for theoretical and applied research in a variety of topics, tentatively grouped together in research areas, examples of which are indicated in the list below.Submit your manuscript today at https://www.editorialmanager.com/ao/default.aspx.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): COMPUTER SCIENCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Editor-in-chief John A. BatemanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 19, Italy 19, Germany 5, Canada 5, United Kingdom 4 (74 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Semantic Web and OntologiesComputer Science33.8%
- Biomedical Text Mining and OntologiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology17.6%
- Service-Oriented Architecture and Web ServicesComputer Science8.5%
- Natural Language Processing TechniquesComputer Science4.6%
- Advanced Database Systems and QueriesComputer Science3.7%
- Business Process Modeling and AnalysisBusiness, Management and Accounting3.6%
- linguistics and terminology studiesArts and Humanities3.2%
- Logic, Reasoning, and KnowledgeComputer Science3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | 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, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Information Systems | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 1.52LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.67LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 26LetPub ·
- h-index
- 41OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 171OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.41OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 12.24%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 397 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | 22 | 12 | 45 |
| 2024 | 18 | 8 | 87 |
| 2023 | 14 | 8 | 97 |
| 2022 | 15 | 9 | 253 |
| 2021 | 18 | 4 | 510 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,150 / GBP 3,043 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted8
- brief ontology reportThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report.Length not stated
- brief reportThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
- perspectiveThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
- perspective articleThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report.Length not stated
- research articleThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
- reviewThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
- review articleThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
- surveyThe following four article types are possible: Research Article, Review Article, Perspective Article and Brief Ontology Report. Research articles report primary…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use The Artificial Intelligence Ontology: LLM-Assisted Construction of AI Concept Hierarchies
Marcin P Joachimiak Mark A Miller J Harry Caufield Ryan Ly Nomi L Harris Andrew Tritt Christopher J Mungall Kristofer E Bouchard
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
You will be asked to list the contribution of each author as part of the submission process. Please include the Author Contributions heading within your submission after the Acknowledgements section. The information you give on submission will then show under the Author Contributions heading later at the proofing stage.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
Authors encouraged to share research data in a public repository, include a data availability statement, and cite the data. Model summary
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. If you wish to have color figures in the printed version, fees will be determined and applied at production stage. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice program, and Open Access agreements, where …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Single anonymized peer review. Model summary
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Single-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
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
- SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press)
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1570-5838
- Electronic ISSN
- 1875-8533
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Applied Ontology
What CAS zone is Applied Ontology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Applied Ontology is in Zone 3 of Computer Science, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence / Computer Science, Theory & Methods / Computer Science, Information Systems. 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 Ontology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.52; CiteScore 10.6, h-index 41.
How long does peer review take at Applied Ontology?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Applied Ontology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Applied Ontology based?
Of the 74 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (19), Italy (19) and Germany (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Applied Ontology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Applied Ontology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Applied Ontology open access, and what is the APC?
Applied Ontology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,150.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .