Journal profile · Multidisciplinary Sciences
Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
ISSN 0303-6758 · eISSN 1175-8899 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · NEW ZEALAND · Quarterly · Founded 1971
Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand: CAS Zone 3 · Multidisciplinary (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.26; hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 143 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 60 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Published by Wiley from 2026. Visit their website to find out more. Aims: New Zealand’s oldest learned periodical originated in the 1860s, as the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. Its modern descendant, the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, is a comprehensive multidisciplinary journal publishing high-quality research on themes represented by Royal Society Te Aparangi. Research published in the Journal targets diverse scientific audiences worldwide. Scope of submissions: The Journal reports excellent research from New Zealand and international authors from all branches of the Biological (including health and biomedical), Physical, and Social Sciences. Submissions from authors outside of New Zealand are welcome if the submission has relevance to New Zealand or the Pacific region. The Journal will not accept descriptive qualitative papers with long data quotes and little analysis, nor papers with a purely taxonomic focus. All contributions are peer reviewed. The Journal publishes original research papers, critical reviews, viewpoints, and letters to the Editor. We encourage the data underpinning the research to be deposited in a FAIR-aligned repository. Prospective contributors should consult recent issues of the journal and see whether a planned submission is appropriate. Eligible authors, from institutions participating in a Read & Publish agreement with Taylor & Francis, can publish Open Access in JRSNZ without the need to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). No page charges for publication under the subscription model Free colour printing Articles published online before quarterly print publication. All JRSNZ articles are freely available to all readers three years after the close of each annual volume. Electronic and printed issues are published quarterly (B5 format). Peer review policy: All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and single-anonymized refereeing. Sorry, there are currently no metrics available for this journal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multidisciplinary Sciences
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named New Zealand 11, United States 1 (12 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences13.9%
- Pacific and Southeast Asian StudiesSocial Sciences9.1%
- Marine Biology and Ecology ResearchEarth and Planetary Sciences6.8%
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.4%
- Geological and Geochemical AnalysisEarth and Planetary Sciences4.9%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science4.8%
- Isotope Analysis in EcologyEnvironmental Science3.9%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Multidisciplinary Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Multidisciplinary Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePMCINSPECGeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, CABI, EBSCOhost Academic Search Alumni Edition, Biological Abstracts (Online), Current Abstracts, Energy & Power Source, TOC Premier (Table of Contents), Elsevier BV GEOBASE, CORE, Clarivate Biological Abstracts (Online), BIOSIS Previews, Zoological Record Online, EBSCOhost Academic Search Alumni Edition, 3/1/2006-
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 2.26LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.57LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 35LetPub ·
- h-index
- 72OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 892OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.25OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 17.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.72%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 44LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,025 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 87 | 77 | 23 |
| 2025 | 60 | 53 | 115 |
| 2024 | 95 | 90 | 407 |
| 2023 | 49 | 44 | 405 |
| 2022 | 83 | 77 | 731 |
| 2021 | 44 | 31 | 720 |
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
143 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 99 days – 223 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 29 days (89 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 184 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (167 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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
- Page charges
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
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 prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Not considered
- papers with a purely taxonomic focus
Article types accepted4
- critical reviewsThe Journal publishes original research papers, critical reviews, viewpoints, and letters to the Editor.Length not stated
- letters to the editorThe Journal publishes original research papers, critical reviews, viewpoints, and letters to the Editor.Length not stated
- original research papersThe Journal publishes original research papers, critical reviews, viewpoints, and letters to the Editor.Length not stated
- viewpointsThe Journal publishes original research papers, critical reviews, viewpoints, and letters to the Editor.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
No page charges for publication under the subscription model. Model summary
No page charges for publication under the subscription model
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data underpinning the research should be deposited in a FAIR-aligned repository. Model summary
We encourage the data underpinning the research to be deposited in a FAIR-aligned repository.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
All articles are freely available to all readers three years after the close of each annual volume. Model summary
Overview Open journals Open Select Dove Medical Press F1000Research
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: initial editor screening and single-anonymized refereeing. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and single-anonymized refereeing.
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- NEW ZEALAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1971
- ISSN
- 0303-6758
- Electronic ISSN
- 1175-8899
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 55, Issue 6 (2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
What CAS zone is Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Multidisciplinary Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Multidisciplinary. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.26; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 72.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 143 days (interquartile range 99–223 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 the Royal Society of New Zealand based?
Of the 12 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are New Zealand (11) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PMC, INSPEC, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .