Journal profile · INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Journal of Documentation
ISSN 0022-0418 · eISSN 1758-7379 · Emerald
Journal of Documentation: CAS Zone 3 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.8; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,750; review about 30 days (submission to first decision, publisher); acceptance rate 26.2% (journal website); 111 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Documentation is published by Emerald 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 Information Retrieval and Search Behavior, Library Science and Administration and Library Science and Information Literacy, together about 27.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Documentation provides a unique focus on theories, concepts, models, frameworks and philosophies related to documents and recorded knowledge.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief David BawdenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United Kingdom 8, United States 5, Denmark 3, Finland 3, Italy 2 (27 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Information Retrieval and Search BehaviorComputer Science10.4%
- Library Science and AdministrationSocial Sciences10%
- Library Science and Information LiteracySocial Sciences7.5%
- Semantic Web and OntologiesComputer Science6.5%
- scientometrics and bibliometrics researchDecision Sciences6.1%
- Advanced Text Analysis TechniquesComputer Science5.2%
- Digital and Traditional Archives ManagementArts and Humanities5%
- Library Collection Development and Digital ResourcesComputer Science4.1%
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 | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Management Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | 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
- 1.8LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.63LetPub ·
- h-index
- 122OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,381OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.32OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 15.53%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 104LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 417,904Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,087 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 134 | 30 | 43 |
| 2025 | 111 | 41 | 255 |
| 2024 | 86 | 38 | 469 |
| 2023 | 80 | 40 | 777 |
| 2022 | 87 | 35 | 1,347 |
| 2021 | 115 | 48 | 1,792 |
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 26.2%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 29.5 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 2,750 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- articleArticle — up to 10000 wordsLength not stated
- editorialArticle — up to 10000 words Review — up to 10000 words Short Review — up to 4500 words Editorial — up to 3000 words Please see the article types and word counts…main text ≤ 3,000 words
- reviewArticle — up to 10000 words Review — up to 10000 words Short Review — up to 4500 words Editorial — up to 3000 words Please see the article types and word counts…main text ≤ 10,000 words
- short reviewArticle — up to 10000 words Review — up to 10000 words Short Review — up to 4500 words Editorial — up to 3000 words Please see the article types and word counts…main text ≤ 4,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
Only accepts manuscripts written in UK or US English. Model summary
This journal only accepts manuscripts written in UK or US English.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access options
Hybrid journal offering open access publication option. Model summary
This is a hybrid journal. Hybrid journals are subscription journals but offer all authors the option to publish their work open access. If you choose to publish open access you will be required to pay an article processing charge (APC). Alternatively you can opt for the green open access route and self-archive your article (at no cost to the author). Read more about our open access options.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review type
Double anonymous peer review with at least 2 independent and anonymous reviewers. Model summary
Double anonymous peer review. All submissions are sent to at least 2 independent and anonymous reviewers.
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
- Emerald
- ISSN
- 0022-0418
- Electronic ISSN
- 1758-7379
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 82, Issue 5 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Documentation
What CAS zone is Journal of Documentation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Documentation is in Zone 3 of Management, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Information Science & Library Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Management. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Documentation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.8; CiteScore 5.7, h-index 122.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Documentation?
The publisher reports about 30 days (submission to first decision); first decisions include desk rejections; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 26.2%. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Documentation based?
Of the 27 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (8), United States (5) and Denmark (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Documentation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Documentation is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Documentation open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Documentation is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,750.
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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .