Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures
ISSN 1834-6049 · eISSN 1834-6057 · Shima Publishing · Australia
Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 26 weeks (community reports); 36 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures is published by Shima Publishing and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Island Studies and Pacific Affairs, Maritime and Coastal Archaeology and Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies, together about 36.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Shima publishes: Theoretical and/or comparative studies of island, marine, lacustrine or riverine cultures Case studies of island, marine, lacustrine or riverine cultures Accounts of collaborative research and development projects in island, marine, lacustrine or riverine locations Analyses of "island-like" insular spaces (such as peninsular "almost islands," enclaves, exclaves and micronations) Analyses of fictional representations of islands, "islandness," oceanic, lacustrine and riverine issues In-depth "feature" reviews of publications, media texts, exhibitions, events etc. concerning the above Photo and Video Essays on any aspects of the above
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 4, Japan 4, Canada 4, Australia 4, United Kingdom 3 (30 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Island Studies and Pacific AffairsSocial Sciences22.5%
- Maritime and Coastal ArchaeologyArts and Humanities7.7%
- Pacific and Southeast Asian StudiesSocial Sciences6.2%
- Cultural Heritage Management and PreservationArts and Humanities4.6%
- Japanese History and CultureSocial Sciences4%
- Coastal and Marine ManagementEnvironmental Science4%
- Climate Change, Adaptation, MigrationSocial Sciences4%
- Geographies of human-animal interactionsSocial Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | 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
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- h-index
- 13OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 20OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.27OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 25%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.91%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 31LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 344 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 14 | 14 | 1 |
| 2025 | 36 | 36 | 12 |
| 2024 | 32 | 32 | 9 |
| 2023 | 35 | 35 | 46 |
| 2022 | 37 | 37 | 55 |
| 2021 | 43 | 43 | 120 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 26 weeksLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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
- Abstract
- 150–175 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- debates articlesIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
- feature reviewsIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
- photo and video essays on any aspects of the abovePhoto and Video Essays on any aspects of the aboveLength not stated
- photo essaysIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
- research notesIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
- reviewima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between 2,500–4,000 words) and photo essays…main text ≤ 4,000 words
- standard articlesIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
- ‘island reflection’ piecesIn addition to standard articles, Shima publishes debates articles, feature reviews, research notes and more personalised ‘island reflection’ pieces (of between…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Plagiarism
- Authorship Authorship of the paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons are included in the author list. The corresponding author will also …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by the editor or the members of the editorial board for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data access and retention
Authors could be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data c…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policies Model summary
Shima has the following Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Policies*
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license Model summary
Shima (2007–2026) is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Originality, plagiarism and acknowledgement of sources
Authors will submit only entirely original works, and will appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should also be cited.
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
- Shima Publishing
- Country or region
- Australia
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1834-6049
- Print ISSN
- 1834-6057
- Electronic ISSN
- 1834-6057
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures
What CAS zone is Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures?
Authors report an average review time of about 26 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–175 words; Keywords: ≤ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA. 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 Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures based?
Of the 30 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (4), Japan (4) and Canada (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures open access, and what is the APC?
Shima-The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
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: .