Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Geographical Research
ISSN 1745-5863 · eISSN 1745-5871 · Wiley-Blackwell
Geographical Research: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.99; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,350; median 269 days to acceptance (74 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 17% (journal website); 67 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Geographical Research is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Remote Sensing and Land Use, Environmental Changes in China and Regional Economic and Spatial Analysis, together about 32.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Geographical Research is the internationally-refereed publication of the Institute of Australian Geographers Incorporated (IAG). The Institute is the principal body representing geographers and promoting the study and application of geography in Australia. It was founded in 1958 and since then has promoted, supported and defended Australian geography. For more information about geography in Australia, see also Australian Academy of Science, National Committee for Geographical Sciences and the discipline's decadal plan.Aims and scopeGeographical Research aims to advance innovative, theoretically informed, methodologically rigorous, high-quality work that shows the strength and diversity of all parts of the discipline. Wiley publishes the journal as continuous online content, which is then curated into issues in February, May, August, and November.The journal includes editorials, original academic papers, commentaries, book panel papers, and book reviews, as well as festschrifts and obituaries. The Editor-in-Chief accepts special section proposals. She also organises specialist occasional essays entitled 'Antipodean Perspectives'. These essays are written by discipline leaders as high-level reviews of 'global' developments that show how Geographical Research and geographical scholarship add to and extend international knowledge affecting Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific. Short papers from practising (professional) geographers, and in geographical education, are also welcome.Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 3, Australia 2, Singapore 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Remote Sensing and Land UseEarth and Planetary Sciences11.8%
- Environmental Changes in ChinaEnvironmental Science10.3%
- Regional Economic and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.2%
- Rural development and sustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences8.1%
- Environmental and Agricultural SciencesEnvironmental Science5.4%
- Diverse Aspects of Tourism ResearchSocial Sciences4.7%
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science4.7%
- Australian History and SocietySocial Sciences4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
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
- 2.99LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,123OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.43OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 18.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 69.7%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 32LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 49Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 153,698Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,576 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 17 | 5 |
| 2025 | 67 | 47 | 92 |
| 2024 | 59 | 42 | 294 |
| 2023 | 58 | 50 | 338 |
| 2022 | 56 | 30 | 343 |
| 2021 | 71 | 34 | 815 |
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
269 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 135 days – 389 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 34 days (74 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 321 days
- Sample
- 74 articles with submission and acceptance dates (108 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 241 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 32 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 3,350 / EUR 2,780 / GBP 2,220 | — | — | |
| 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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- book review2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- commentary2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- editorial2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…Length not stated
- original paper2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…Length not stated
- perspective2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…Length not stated
- review2.1 Original papers Original papers should make substantive contributions to our thinking in the discipline and allied fields, and be based on original theoreti…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship 1.3 Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review Wiley's editorial standards, and note the following from COPE: "The minimum requirements for authorship, common to all definitions, are (1) substantial contribution to the work and (2) accountability for the work that was done and its presentation in a publication. It i…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability 1.8 Data sharing and data availability
This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 1.7 Reproduction of copyright material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access WALS + standard CTA or Open Access
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and peer review processes
By submitting your work to the journal, you are affirming that the content has not been submitted for publication or published elsewhere except as a brief abstract in the proceedings of a conference. We will consider reviewing papers that authors have already made available as preprints on other sites. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time. You ar…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 1745-5863
- Electronic ISSN
- 1745-5871
- Society / sponsor
- Institute of Australian Geographers Inc
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Geographical Research
What CAS zone is Geographical Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Geographical Research is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Geography. 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 Geographical Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.99; CiteScore 5.2, h-index 73.
How long does peer review take at Geographical Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 74 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 269 days (interquartile range 135–389 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 17% (2025). 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 Geographical Research?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: 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 Geographical Research based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (3), Australia (2) and Singapore (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Geographical Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Geographical Research is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Geographical Research open access, and what is the APC?
Geographical Research is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,350.
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: .