Journal profile · Multiple
Social Indicators Research
ISSN 0303-8300 · eISSN 1573-0921 · Springer Nature · 18 issues per year
Social Indicators Research: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.15; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 303 days to acceptance (55 articles, last 24 months); 258 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social Indicators Research is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction, Health disparities and outcomes and Income, Poverty, and Inequality, together about 42.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Founded in 1974, Social Indicators Research is a leading journal for research on quality of life. A long-standing focus is the measurement of well-being and quality of life (and related concepts), encompassing studies that offer insights via novel application of existing indicators as well as generation and validation of new approaches. The journal welcomes research that investigates people’s quality of life by identifying ‘factors’ (situations, initiatives, characteristics, processes, etc.) that contribute to higher or lower quality of life. The engagement with quality of life in a broad sense is complemented by interest in studies that consider well-being in various relevant domains (work, family, places/communities, politics, etc.), as well as proposals for new methods for analysis and measurement of social phenomena and their transformation in accordance with economic, political, and sociological theories. For additional information regarding our focus and detailed guidance on how we evaluate manuscripts, please consult the following editorial article: Towards the Next Fifty Years of Social Indicators Research: Some Guidance for Authors
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief David BartramPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 8%); most named Italy 9, United States 7, Spain 5, Australia 5, Mainland China 4 (52 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPsychology19.2%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences12.4%
- Income, Poverty, and InequalitySocial Sciences10.6%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions7.1%
- Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesSocial Sciences4.3%
- Social Capital and NetworksSocial Sciences3.5%
- Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsSocial Sciences3.4%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEPsycINFOCAB AbstractsEconLitERIH PLUSCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
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
- 3.15LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.53LetPub ·
- h-index
- 206OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,175OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.25OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 50.15%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 243LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,100,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,570 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 181 | 118 | 77 |
| 2025 | 258 | 160 | 589 |
| 2024 | 226 | 116 | 1,493 |
| 2023 | 221 | 126 | 2,554 |
| 2022 | 195 | 126 | 3,441 |
| 2021 | 283 | 160 | 6,297 |
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
303 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 222 days – 355 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 323 days
- Sample
- 55 articles with submission and acceptance dates (498 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
- 7 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 papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- APA
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
Article length 5,000-10,000 words including references Model summary
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 Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
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 Social Indicators Research, 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
Double-blind peer review Model summary
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
- 18 issues per year
- ISSN
- 0303-8300
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-0921
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social Indicators Research
What CAS zone is Social Indicators Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social Indicators Research is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary / Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Social Indicators Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.15; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 206.
How long does peer review take at Social Indicators Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 55 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 303 days (interquartile range 222–355 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 Social Indicators Research?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; 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 Social Indicators Research based?
Of the 52 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (9), United States (7) and Spain (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Social Indicators Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social Indicators Research is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts, EconLit, ERIH PLUS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Social Indicators Research open access, and what is the APC?
Social Indicators Research 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .