Journal profile · Education, Scientific Disciplines
Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research
ISSN 1554-9178 · eISSN 2469-9896 · American Physical Society · UNITED STATES · Semiannual
Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research: impact factor 3.5 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,000; median 173 days to acceptance (96 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 126 articles a year.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research is published by American Physical Society. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Science Education and Pedagogy, Educational Strategies and Epistemologies and Innovative Teaching Methods, together about 52.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Education. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
9 September, 2026By analyzing the dialogues of preservice physics teachers, the researchers identified the use of one classical ontology and four distinct quantum ontologies.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Education, Scientific Disciplines
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 11%); most named United States 5, Croatia 2, Mainland China 1, Germany 1 (9 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Science Education and PedagogySocial Sciences29.6%
- Educational Strategies and EpistemologiesPsychology12.3%
- Innovative Teaching MethodsSocial Sciences10.6%
- Visual and Cognitive Learning ProcessesPsychology7.2%
- Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsPsychology6.3%
- Experimental Learning in EngineeringEngineering5.8%
- Experimental and Theoretical Physics StudiesPhysics and Astronomy5.5%
- Education and Critical Thinking DevelopmentSocial Sciences3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEScopusINSPECPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar
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 (publisher)
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.8Publisher website ·
- SJR (publisher)
- 1.59Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 76OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 319OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 126Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 126,895Publisher website ·
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
173 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 129 days – 244 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 35 days (101 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 211 days
- Sample
- 96 articles with submission and acceptance dates (268 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 ·
- Desk decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 173 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication
- 213 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 31 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,000 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,000 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,000 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7
- editorialPhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
- original research articlePhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
- replication studyPRPER publishes detailed research articles, review articles, and replication studies.Length not stated
- research articlePhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
- reviewPhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
- review articlePhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
- surveyPhysical Review Physics Education Research offers the following Article Types: Research Articles (no length limit) Original research articles that meet Physical…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, Open access, Peer review, Self-archiving
- AI use Appropriate Use of AI Tools
AI tools may be used by authors and reviewers with human oversight and accountability. Model summary
AI tools may be used to assist with aspects of research and manuscript preparation, but AI tools cannot replace authors’ expertise, judgment, or accountability. An AI program cannot be held accountable and cannot be listed as an author. Authors are fully responsible for accuracy and must review and refine all AI-generated content. Moreover, they must disclose in the paper any substantive uses of A…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability Statements
Data Availability Statement required for all published articles Model summary
All published articles must include a Data Availability Statement (DAS) that explains whether and how authors are sharing their data. Authors are asked to enter a complete data availability statement during the submission process, including relevant citations. See Guidelines for Data Availability Statements in Physical Review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Fully open access journal. Model summary
This journal is fully open access with all articles freely available for readers anywhere in the world. This journal is funded through article publication charges (APCs), which are due once an article is accepted for publication. All articles are published with an open CC-BY (4.0 International) license with authors retaining copyright. This license permits anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Single-anonymized peer review Model summary
All APS journals follow the single-anonymized peer review procedures outlined in the Editorial Policies and Practices. Comments and Replies Comments are generally processed according to the following procedure. The Comment is sent to the authors of the critiqued work for their reaction. The authors of the object paper are not asked to review the Comment as anonymous referees. Rather, they are aske…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Press Office and Embargo Policy
APS issues a weekly tip sheet for reporters that highlights upcoming newsworthy research from the APS portfolio of journals. Unless otherwise noted, papers submitted to APS journals are not embargoed. Visit this information page about the APS Press Office to find out more about the tip sheet and the APS Embargo Policy.
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
- American Physical Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- ISSN
- 1554-9178
- Electronic ISSN
- 2469-9896
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 22 (December 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research
What is the impact factor of Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.5; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 76.
How long does peer review take at Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 96 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 173 days (interquartile range 129–244 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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 Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research based?
Of the 9 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 11%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (5), Croatia (2) and Mainland China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research is indexed in DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, Scopus and INSPEC; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research open access, and what is the APC?
Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,000.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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: .