Journal profile · MATHEMATICAL & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGYMULTID-MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
Research Synthesis Methods
ISSN 1759-2879 · eISSN 1759-2887 · Wiley-Blackwell · ENGLAND
Research Synthesis Methods: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 7.96; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,020; 93 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; the journal's website says it has moved to a new publisher.
The journal's website says it has moved to a new publisher: As of January 2025, Research Synthesis Methods is no longer published by Wiley. More information can be found on the new publisher’s website: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/research-synthesis-methods. Source ↗Publisher website ·
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Research Synthesis Methods is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Meta-analysis and systematic reviews, Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials and Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference, together about 50% of its articles. Its main subfields are Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty and Statistics and Probability. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Research Synthesis Methods (JRSM) is devoted to the publication of papers covering the development and dissemination of methods for designing, conducting, analyzing, interpreting, reporting, and applying systematic research synthesis.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MATHEMATICAL & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGYMULTID-MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
Editor-in-chief Dimitris MavridisPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3, Germany 2, Greece 2, United Kingdom 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsDecision Sciences32.4%
- Statistical Methods in Clinical TrialsMathematics9.8%
- Statistical Methods and Bayesian InferenceMathematics7.8%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.1%
- Reliability and Agreement in MeasurementDecision Sciences4.2%
- Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesMathematics4%
- Mental Health Research TopicsPsychology3.9%
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Mathematical & Computational Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Multidisciplinary Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
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.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 7.96LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 12.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.14LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.97LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 110OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 533OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.49OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 88.73%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 88LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 993 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 55 | 55 | 47 |
| 2025 | 93 | 93 | 449 |
| 2024 | 77 | 65 | 1,415 |
| 2023 | 84 | 70 | 1,624 |
| 2022 | 78 | 45 | 2,906 |
| 2021 | 78 | 55 | 2,104 |
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
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 3,020 / GBP 2,090 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- AMA
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- reviewt directly to an Editor-in-Chief. These reviews are limited to 1,000 words in length. Letters to the Editor entail focused concerns, cmain text ≤ 1,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteCode availability, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- Code availability
Custom computer code required to be provided/shared. Model summary
Authors are required to provide any previously unreported custom computer code used to generate the results described in the manuscript, including code for simulation studies.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data archiving in public repository expected; data accessibility statement required. Model summary
Research Synthesis Methods expects that data supporting the results in the paper will be archived in an appropriate public repository.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and Permissions
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper. For authors signing the copyright transfer agreement If the Open Access option is not selec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Open Access is available to authors of primary research articles who wish to make their article available to non-subscribers on publication, or whose funding agency requires grantees to archive the final version of their article. With Open Access, the author, the author's funding agency, or the author's institution pays a fee to ensure that the article is made available to non-subscribers upon pub…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Preprints on non-commercial servers considered for review. Model summary
Wiley believes that journals publishing for communities with established pre-print servers should allow authors to submit manuscripts which have already been made available on a non-commercial preprint server. Allowing submission does not, of course, guarantee that an article will be sent out for review. It simply reflects our belief that journals should not rule out reviewing a paper simply becau…
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1759-2879
- Electronic ISSN
- 1759-2887
- Society / sponsor
- Society for Research Synthesis Methodology
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Research Synthesis Methods
What CAS zone is Research Synthesis Methods in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Research Synthesis Methods is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Mathematical & Computational Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Research Synthesis Methods?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 7.96; CiteScore 12.1, h-index 110.
What are the manuscript requirements of Research Synthesis Methods?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: AMA; Templates: LaTeX and Word; Highlights: 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 Research Synthesis Methods based?
Of the 8 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3), Germany (2) and Greece (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Research Synthesis Methods?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Research Synthesis Methods is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Research Synthesis Methods open access, and what is the APC?
Research Synthesis Methods is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,020.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .