Journal profile · INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Publishing Research Quarterly
ISSN 1053-8801 · eISSN 1936-4792 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Publishing Research Quarterly: CAS Zone 4 · Management (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.3 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 165 days to acceptance (29 articles, last 24 months); 33 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Publishing Research Quarterly is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Management in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Publishing and Scholarly Communication, Library Collection Development and Digital Resources and Digital Games and Media, together about 41.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Literature and Literary Theory. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Publishing Research Quarterly is an international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to research and critical analysis across all sectors of the publishing ecosystem. The journal examines the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary publishing through interdisciplinary scholarship that addresses current challenges, innovations, and transformations in the industry. The journal serves as a bridge between scholarly research and industry practice. It provides valuable insights for publishing professionals, booksellers, researchers, librarians, and those studying media and communications. Scope: Contemporary research on trade publishing, educational publishing (K-12, higher education), scholarly publishing (university presses, commercial publishers, societies), magazine and professional publishing (legal, tax, regulatory, STM). Studies on emerging technologies and artificial intelligence applications in content creation, editing, translation, and personalization; machine learning in publishing workflows; automated content generation; and AI-driven recommendation systems. Current market dynamics, industry consolidation, financial models, revenue strategies, and economic impacts across publishing sectors. Modern editorial workflows, content development processes, peer review systems, and production methodologies for print, digital and audio formats. Contemporary approaches to bookselling, print and digital distribution, marketing strategies, audience development, and platform studies. Analysis of reading behaviors, audience engagement patterns, consumer preferences, literacy studies, and reading habit evolution across demographics and platforms. Analysis of current regulatory environments, copyright issues, open access developments, and publishing’s social impact. Research on publishing house operations, diversity and equity issues, and management practices. Research on publishing initiatives and practices on both a national and international level that may also address any of the other bullets in the scope listed above. Publishing Research Quarterly publishes original research articles, industry case studies, market analyses, book reviews, and critical essays examining contemporary publishing practices and trends. The journal does not publish bibliometric analyses, citation studies, scientometric research, or quantitative analyses of publication patterns and research impact metrics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): INFORMATION SCIENCE & LIBRARY SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Agata Mrva-MontoyaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 6%); most named United States 6, United Kingdom 4, Germany 2, Australia 2, Mainland China 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Publishing and Scholarly CommunicationArts and Humanities19.8%
- Library Collection Development and Digital ResourcesComputer Science12.4%
- Digital Games and MediaSocial Sciences8.9%
- scientometrics and bibliometrics researchDecision Sciences7.4%
- Copyright and Intellectual PropertyBusiness, Management and Accounting7.1%
- Academic Publishing and Open AccessDecision Sciences5.3%
- Digital Humanities and ScholarshipArts and Humanities4.2%
- Library Science and AdministrationSocial Sciences4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Management Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Management | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Information Science & Library Science | Zone 4 |
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)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSSPublisher website
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
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2024
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.51LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.54LetPub ·
- h-index
- 37OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 185OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.74OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 35.71%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 18LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 138,400Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,933 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 37 | 12 | 2 |
| 2025 | 33 | 13 | 21 |
| 2024 | 38 | 10 | 57 |
| 2023 | 40 | 7 | 105 |
| 2022 | 81 | 34 | 547 |
| 2021 | 72 | 23 | 336 |
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
165 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 121 days – 243 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (44 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 204 days
- Sample
- 29 articles with submission and acceptance dates (77 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
- Submission to first decision
- 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Publishing Research Quarterly, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials. Author names, affiliations and any other potentially identifying information should be removed from the manuscript text and any accompanying files (such as …
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1053-8801
- Electronic ISSN
- 1936-4792
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Publishing Research Quarterly
What CAS zone is Publishing Research Quarterly in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Publishing Research Quarterly is in Zone 4 of Management, and in Zone 4 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 Publishing Research Quarterly?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.3 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.5, h-index 37.
How long does peer review take at Publishing Research Quarterly?
Based on the dates recorded on 29 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 165 days (interquartile range 121–243 days). 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 Publishing Research Quarterly?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Optional. 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 Publishing Research Quarterly based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), United Kingdom (4) and Germany (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Publishing Research Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Publishing Research Quarterly is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Publishing Research Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Publishing Research Quarterly is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .