Journal profile · Multiple
Field Methods
ISSN 1525-822X · eISSN 1552-3969 · SAGE
Field Methods: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.48; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 205 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 16.8% (journal website); 21 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Field Methods is published by SAGE and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Survey Methodology and Nonresponse, Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods and Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics, together about 39.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Field Methods, peer-reviewed and published quarterly, focuses on empirical tests of new methods for collecting, analyzing, and presenting data on human thought and human behavior and on new uses for existing methods. The data can be qualitative or quantitative, as can the methods for analysis and presentation, but articles for FM should … | 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): Multiple
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 24, Australia 2, United Kingdom 1, India 1, Germany 1 (37 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Survey Methodology and NonresponseSocial Sciences24.1%
- Focus Groups and Qualitative MethodsSocial Sciences8.9%
- Qualitative Research Methods and EthicsSocial Sciences6.9%
- Categorization, perception, and languagePsychology5.5%
- Social and Intergroup PsychologySocial Sciences5.4%
- Qualitative Research Methods and ApplicationsSocial Sciences4.5%
- Survey Sampling and Estimation TechniquesMathematics3.7%
- Community Health and DevelopmentHealth Professions3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
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
- 1.48LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.53LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 411OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.07%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 21LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 885 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| 2025 | 21 | 14 | 10 |
| 2024 | 24 | 13 | 77 |
| 2023 | 26 | 19 | 128 |
| 2022 | 42 | 22 | 360 |
| 2021 | 22 | 9 | 181 |
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
205 dayssubmission to acceptance
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 16.8%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 205 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 232 daysPublisher website ·
- 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 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — | |
| 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.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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
- ≤ 150 words
- Templates
- Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- original articleResearch articles should focus on empirical tests of new methods, new uses for existing methods, or rigorous comparisons of the performance of different methods…main text ≤ 6,000 words
- original article - briefOriginal Article - Brief: Any research article below 3,000 words should be submitted under this article type.Length not stated
- research articleResearch articles should focus on empirical tests of new methods, new uses for existing methods, or rigorous comparisons of the performance of different methods…Length not stated
- reviewResearch articles should focus on empirical tests of new methods, new uses for existing methods, or rigorous comparisons of the performance of different methods…Length not stated
- review articleResearch articles should focus on empirical tests of new methods, new uses for existing methods, or rigorous comparisons of the performance of different methods…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews: Method Review articles review front-edge work on existing methods. Method Reviews are solicited by invitation only.Length not stated
- short takesShort Takes: Short Takes are brief articles on the application of methods that provide step-by-step instructions that are meant to fill in the gaps in the liter…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- 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
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
COPE member Model summary
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, the following fees apply: $800 for the first color image, $200 for any additional color images. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice prog…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Single anonymized 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
Preprints accepted Model summary
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
- ISSN
- 1525-822X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1552-3969
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Field Methods
What CAS zone is Field Methods in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Field Methods is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Anthropology / Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Field Methods?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.48; CiteScore 3, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at Field Methods?
The publisher reports about 205 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 16.8%. 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 Field Methods?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 150 words; Templates: Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; 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 Field Methods based?
Of the 37 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (24), Australia (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Field Methods?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Field Methods is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Field Methods open access, and what is the APC?
Field Methods is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .