Journal profile · Multiple
Qualitative Research
ISSN 1468-7941 · eISSN 1741-3109 · SAGE
Qualitative Research: CAS Zone 1 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.72; fully open access; APC about USD 3,650; 153 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Qualitative Research is published by SAGE and is in Zone 1 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics, Participatory Visual Research Methods and Focus Groups and Qualitative Methods, together about 51.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Qualitative Research Methods and EthicsSocial Sciences28.3%
- Participatory Visual Research MethodsSocial Sciences16.7%
- Focus Groups and Qualitative MethodsSocial Sciences6.6%
- Data Analysis and ArchivingSocial Sciences5%
- Qualitative Research Methods and ApplicationsSocial Sciences4.7%
- Language, Discourse, Communication StrategiesArts and Humanities4.4%
- Children's Rights and ParticipationSocial Sciences4.4%
- Mental Health and Patient InvolvementHealth Professions2.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
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.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.72LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.97LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 134OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 818OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.28OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.48%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 68LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,835 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 66 | 66 | 17 |
| 2025 | 153 | 153 | 136 |
| 2024 | 85 | 85 | 540 |
| 2023 | 112 | 112 | 482 |
| 2022 | 76 | 76 | 1,142 |
| 2021 | 122 | 122 | 2,619 |
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.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 1468-7941
- Electronic ISSN
- 1741-3109
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Qualitative Research
What CAS zone is Qualitative Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Qualitative Research is in Zone 1 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary / Sociology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Qualitative Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.72; CiteScore 10.5, h-index 134.
Which databases index Qualitative Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Qualitative Research is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Qualitative Research open access, and what is the APC?
Qualitative Research is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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: .