Methods

Methods is published by Academic Press Inc. and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, RNA Research and Splicing and RNA modifications and cancer, together about 25.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)

Methods publishes original review and research articles that cover emerging methodology in many areas of life and health sciences. The research areas covered by Methods include, but are not limited to,• Biochemistry and biophysics • Cell, molecular, and developmental biology and genetics • Computational biology and bioinformatics • Medicinal chemistry, biological chemistry, and biophysical chemistry • Microbiology, immunology, and virology • Physiology and pathology • Bioengineering, biomedical engineering, and biochemical engineering • Biomaterials, natural products, and materials science • Therapeutics and diagnostics, biosensors, and devicesMethods publishes original research on methodologies with a significant experimental component. Computational, AI, and machine learning approaches should uncover novel biological insights and must be experimentally validated. Purely theoretical studies or computational work with minimal experimental support are outside the journal’s scope. Methods remains a key resource for advancing innovative, experimentally driven scientific techniques. Review articles are also considered for publication in Methods, and all review manuscripts must accompany 1) a summary of previous reviews on relevant topics and 2) a statement of the timely needs of the review, significant contributions and new insights offered by the submission, and experts’ opinions and perspectives in a new and innovative point of view. These must be provided in the “Highlights” page as well as in the opening section of the manuscript itself. Lacking these components will lead to an administrative rejection of the submission.Methods especially welcomes contributions from Guest Editors or authors who are underrepresented in regard to gender, career stage, or geographical location and contributions focused on underrecognized areas of research.There are several types of issues published by Methods:Thematic issues are organized by a Guest Editor who is a recognized expert in the research area. The Guest Editor may have co-Guest Editors. The issues consist solely of invited review articles or original research articles of high quality by authors with expertise in the field. Issues are devoted to specific methods or a variety of methods to investigate a particular research question, with emphasis on clear descriptions of recent advances. Background information is provided in the articles to further an understanding of the principles underlying the methods. Other sections of the articles include key protocols, comparisons of alternative methods, the advantages and disadvantages of particular methods, guidance on avoiding potential pitfalls, and suggestions for troubleshooting.Geographical, institutional/organizational, and event issues publish articles that cover advances in research methods at universities, research institutes, and scientific societies in a particular geographical region, by a notable institution and society anywhere worldwide, or at a conference of significant interest. These issues are organized by a Guest Editor (sometimes with co-Guest Editors) who is a research leader in the geographical region, at the institution/society, or involved with the event. As in the thematic issues, the articles in these issues consist of concise overviews of methodology, comparisons of alternative methods with advantages and limitations, research questions to give further consideration, and perspectives.Editor's Collections publish non-solicited, high-quality review or research articles in any of the research areas that are within the scope of Methods. It is open for non-invited authors to submit directly to the journal and choose the article type “VSI: Open for all—Editors’ Collection” from the drop-down menu. Similar to the articles in thematic or geographical/institutional/organizational/event issues, these contributions will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief or an Editor, depending on the topic. Nonsolicited articles are usually publ

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): Biochemical Research Methods

Editor-in-chief Young Jik KwonPublisher website

Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 15%); most named United States 12, Mainland China 4, Australia 4, United Kingdom 2, India 1 (26 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CAS Journal Ranking

Database indexing

SCIEScopusLetPub

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.

Impact

Impact factor

3.39LetPub · 2026-09-13

Impact factor (publisher)

3.6Publisher website · 2026-10-01

CiteScore 2026-06

9.3LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher)

9.3Publisher website · 2026-10-01

SJR 2026-06

0.82LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP 2026-06

0.97LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

132LetPub · 2026-09-13

h-index

206OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

3,982OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

3.84OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

11.1%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

21.64%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

160LetPub · 2026-09-13

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.

Other sources

Average review time (community reports)

3–8 weeksLetPub · 2026-09-13

Average acceptance (community reports)

Fairly easyLetPub · 2026-09-13

Submission to first decision

4 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

First decision after review

45 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Submission to acceptance

82 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

Acceptance to publication

3 daysPublisher website · 2026-10-01

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.

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.

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.

Publisher

Academic Press Inc.

Country or region

UNITED STATES

Language

English

Frequency

Monthly

Founded

1990

ISSN

1046-2023

Electronic ISSN

1095-9130

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Special issues ↗Publisher website