Journal profile · Medicine, Research & Experimental
Clinical Trials
ISSN 1740-7745 · eISSN 1740-7753 · SAGE Publications Ltd · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 2004
Clinical Trials: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,150; review about 168 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 70 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Clinical Trials is published by SAGE Publications Ltd and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials, Ethics in Clinical Research and Meta-analysis and systematic reviews, together about 46.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Statistics and Probability. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Clinical Trials is dedicated to advancing knowledge on the design and conduct of clinical trials related research methodologies. Covering the design, conduct, analysis, synthesis and evaluation of key methodologies, the journal remains on the cusp of the latest topics, including ethics, regulation and policy impact. View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine, Research & Experimental
Editor-in-chief Colin BeggPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 49, United Kingdom 12, Canada 4, Australia 2, France 1 (69 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Statistical Methods in Clinical TrialsMathematics20.3%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine14.8%
- Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsDecision Sciences11.5%
- Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesMathematics9.9%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.9%
- Statistical Methods and Bayesian InferenceMathematics5.6%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine2.8%
- Optimal Experimental Design MethodsDecision Sciences2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | 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
- 2.3LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.47LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 55LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,019OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.47OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.09%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 61LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,378 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 55 | 42 | 24 |
| 2025 | 70 | 47 | 126 |
| 2024 | 84 | 68 | 367 |
| 2023 | 106 | 73 | 709 |
| 2022 | 85 | 50 | 918 |
| 2021 | 88 | 57 | 1,001 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
168 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports 6–12 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 11.5%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 168 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 60 daysPublisher 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 | No APC | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- letters to the editorletters to the Editor (500 or fewer words)main text ≤ 500 words
- original research paperith scientific meetings. In addition to original research papers (maximum 3,500 words excepting abstract, references, tables and figures; maximummain text ≤ 3,500 words
- original research papersIn addition to original research papers (maximum 3,500 words excepting abstract, references, tables and figures; maximum 6 tables or figures)main text ≤ 3,500 words
- research lettersResearch Letters (1000 or fewer words, 12 or fewer references, 1 table or figure)main text ≤ 1,000 words
- short communicationsShort Communications (manuscripts of 2000 or fewer words, excepting references, tables and figures; maximum 3 tables/figures)main text ≤ 2,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship 2.2 Authorship
Recommends following ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Model summary
Papers should have no more than 20 authors and only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 3.1 Publication ethics
Member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Model summary
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 3.3 Open access and author archiving
Optional open access via Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements (discounted or free depending on agreement). Model summary
Clinical Trials offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 2.1 Peer review policy
At least two independent reviews per article under serious consideration; single-anonymized peer review (reviewer names concealed from authors). Model summary
The journal's policy is to obtain at least two independent reviews of each article under serious consideration for publication. It operates a reviewing policy in which the reviewer’s name is always concealed from the submitting author. Referees are encouraged to provide substantive, constructive reviews that provide suggestions for improving the work and distinguish between mandatory and non-manda…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines 2.8 Reporting guidelines
The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the comple…
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 Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2004
- ISSN
- 1740-7745
- Electronic ISSN
- 1740-7753
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Clinical Trials
What CAS zone is Clinical Trials in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Clinical Trials is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Medicine, Research & Experimental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Clinical Trials?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.3; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at Clinical Trials?
The publisher reports about 168 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 11.5%. 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 Clinical Trials?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Vancouver; Templates: LaTeX and Word. 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 Clinical Trials based?
Of the 69 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (49), United Kingdom (12) and Canada (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Clinical Trials?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Clinical Trials is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Clinical Trials open access, and what is the APC?
Clinical Trials is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,150.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .