Journal profile · Multiple
International Review for the Sociology of Sport
ISSN 1012-6902 · eISSN 1461-7218 · SAGE
International Review for the Sociology of Sport: CAS Zone 3 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.88; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 124 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 17.1% (journal website); 110 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Review for the Sociology of Sport is published by SAGE and is in Zone 3 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Sports, Gender, and Society, Sport and Mega-Event Impacts and Sports Analytics and Performance, together about 67% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Social Psychology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The International Review for the Sociology of Sport (IRSS) is a peer-reviewed academic journal that is indexed on ISI. Eight issues are now published each year. The main purpose of the IRSS is to disseminate research and scholarship on sport throughout the international academic community. The journal publishes research articles of varying … | 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
Editor-in-chief Brent McDonaldPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 8, United Kingdom 8, New Zealand 7, Canada 6, Australia 6 (72 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sports, Gender, and SocietySocial Sciences31.6%
- Sport and Mega-Event ImpactsSocial Sciences29.8%
- Sports Analytics and PerformanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.5%
- Physical Education and PedagogyHealth Professions5%
- Doping in SportsSocial Sciences4.2%
- Sport Psychology and PerformancePsychology2.7%
- Adventure Sports and Sensation SeekingPsychology2.6%
- Nonprofit Sector and VolunteeringSocial Sciences1.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Education Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Education | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism | 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
- 2.88LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 96OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,019OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.08OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 59.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 105LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,107 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 89 | 60 | 18 |
| 2025 | 110 | 75 | 156 |
| 2024 | 90 | 68 | 427 |
| 2023 | 57 | 46 | 523 |
| 2022 | 53 | 28 | 769 |
| 2021 | 70 | 39 | 974 |
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
124 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)
- 17.1%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 40 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 124 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 31 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 3,650 / 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)
- Other fees
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
- Page charges
- No page charges
- 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 prepare10 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 100–200 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- disclosure of previous publication
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- articlesArticles of standard length that report on original research or analysis are normally of 5000-8000 words in length, inclusive of references, notes, tables, and …Length not stated
- book and media reviewsIn addition, the IRSS publishes book and media reviews.Length not stated
- commentaryInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- hypothesisInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…Length not stated
- letterInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…Length not stated
- original researchInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- research articleInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…Length not stated
- research paperInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…Length not stated
- reviewInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport publishes research articles and commentary of varying lengths. This ranges from the standard length research pap…main text ≤ 2,000 words
- shorter articlesArticles of shorter length may report on the results of a pilot study, present a case study, or provide a brief commentary on a methodological, theoretical or e…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
Data sharing policy: authors encouraged to share data in public repositories, include data availability statement, cite 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
Publication ethics: member of COPE; follows ICMJE recommendations; AI use must be disclosed. 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 fee will be determined at Production. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice program, and Open Access agreements, where authors can pub…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-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
Preprint policy: preprint-posted manuscripts considered; DOI entered at submission; no updated versions during review. 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 ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting guidelines
Your manuscript must follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines, depending on the type of study. The EQUATOR wizard can help identify the appropriate guideline. You will need to upload the appropriate checklist with your submission. Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.
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
- 1012-6902
- Electronic ISSN
- 1461-7218
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Review for the Sociology of Sport
What CAS zone is International Review for the Sociology of Sport in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Review for the Sociology of Sport is in Zone 3 of Management, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Sociology / Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of International Review for the Sociology of Sport?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.88; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 96.
How long does peer review take at International Review for the Sociology of Sport?
The publisher reports about 124 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 17.1%. 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 International Review for the Sociology of Sport?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 100–200 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: 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 International Review for the Sociology of Sport based?
Of the 72 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (8), United Kingdom (8) and New Zealand (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Review for the Sociology of Sport?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Review for the Sociology of Sport is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is International Review for the Sociology of Sport open access, and what is the APC?
International Review for the Sociology of Sport 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: .