Journal profile · Medicine-Medicine (miscellaneous)
Pilot and Feasibility Studies
ISSN 2055-5784 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
Pilot and Feasibility Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.1 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,590; median 329 days to acceptance (111 articles, last 24 months); 173 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Pilot and Feasibility Studies is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Health Policy Implementation Science, Physical Activity and Health and Digital Mental Health Interventions, together about 21.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Pilot and Feasibility Studies encompasses all aspects of the design, conduct and reporting of pilot and feasibility studies in biomedicine. The journal publishes research articles that are intended to directly influence future clinical trials or large-scale observational studies, as well as protocols, commentaries and methodology articles. The journal also ensures that the results of all well-conducted, peer-reviewed pilot and feasibility studies are published, regardless of outcome or findings. Pilot and feasibility studies are increasingly conducted prior to a full randomized controlled trial. However, historically these studies have often lacked clear objectives, many remain unpublished, and there is confusion over the meanings of the words “pilot” and “feasibility”. Pilot and Feasibility Studies provides a forum for discussion around this key aspect of the scientific process, and seeks to ensure that these studies are published, thereby completing the publication thread for clinical research. For general guidance and resources on pilot and feasibility studies, please visit the PAFS Collaboration website
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Medicine (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Stephen BremnerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United Kingdom 21, United States 14, Canada 14, South Africa 3, Mainland China 2 (65 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions8.3%
- Physical Activity and HealthMedicine7.2%
- Digital Mental Health InterventionsPsychology6.3%
- Cancer survivorship and careMedicine6.1%
- Stroke Rehabilitation and RecoveryMedicine6.1%
- Diabetes Management and EducationMedicine5.2%
- Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsHealth Professions5%
- Obesity, Physical Activity, DietMedicine4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EmbaseCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic 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) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 696OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 167LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,500,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,914 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 165 | 165 | 26 |
| 2025 | 173 | 173 | 249 |
| 2024 | 154 | 154 | 523 |
| 2023 | 197 | 197 | 1,723 |
| 2022 | 267 | 267 | 2,431 |
| 2021 | 222 | 222 | 2,891 |
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
329 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 227 days – 436 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (111 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 347 days
- Sample
- 111 articles with submission and acceptance dates (367 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)
- about 9 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 9 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Open 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 | EUR 2,190 / USD 2,590 / GBP 1,890 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,490 / EUR 2,090 / GBP 1,790 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,690 / USD 2,390 / EUR 1,990 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- 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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteExcerpts 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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2055-5784
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- 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 Pilot and Feasibility Studies
What CAS zone is Pilot and Feasibility Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Pilot and Feasibility Studies is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Medicine, Research & Experimental. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Pilot and Feasibility Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 49.
How long does peer review take at Pilot and Feasibility Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 111 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 329 days (interquartile range 227–436 days); authors report an average review time of about 9 weeks. 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 Pilot and Feasibility Studies based?
Of the 65 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (21), United States (14) and Canada (14). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Pilot and Feasibility Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Pilot and Feasibility Studies is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Pilot and Feasibility Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Pilot and Feasibility Studies is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,590.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .