Journal profile · Multiple
Social Science Quarterly
ISSN 0038-4941 · eISSN 1540-6237 · Wiley-Blackwell
Social Science Quarterly: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.56; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,010; median 171 days to acceptance (90 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 12% (journal website); 149 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social Science Quarterly is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Electoral Systems and Political Participation, Social Media and Politics and Social and Intergroup Psychology, together about 34.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Connecting the Social Sciences... 'Good coverage of contemporary social questions from a research standpoint.'--Magazines for Libraries Nationally recognized as one of the top journals in the field, Social Science Quarterly (SSQ) publishes current research on a broad range of topics including political science, sociology, economics, history, social work, geography, international studies, and women's studies. SSQ is the journal of the Southwestern Social Science Association.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences20.3%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences7.9%
- Social and Intergroup PsychologySocial Sciences6.3%
- Gender Politics and RepresentationSocial Sciences5.9%
- Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesSocial Sciences5.8%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting4%
- Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsSocial Sciences3.9%
- Crime Patterns and InterventionsSocial Sciences3.6%
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 | Political Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPsycINFOEconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, 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
- 1.56LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- h-index
- 129OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,680OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 39.84%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 129LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 130Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 340,701Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,297 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 87 | 57 | 11 |
| 2025 | 149 | 90 | 137 |
| 2024 | 157 | 102 | 472 |
| 2023 | 112 | 67 | 534 |
| 2022 | 128 | 40 | 1,035 |
| 2021 | 190 | 42 | 2,200 |
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
171 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 120 days – 238 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (90 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 196 days
- Sample
- 90 articles with submission and acceptance dates (258 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 207 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 16 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 3,010 / EUR 2,560 / GBP 1,980 | — | — | |
| 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)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted2
- original articleArticle Type Description Word Limit Abstract / Structure Other Requirements Original Articles reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make …Length not stated
- original articlesOriginal Articles reports of new research findings or conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to knowledgeLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
ORCID required. Model summary
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
Data sharing encouraged; authors select a data availability statement per Wiley's Data Sharing policy. Model summary
This journal encourages data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
Open access articles published under CC-BY/CC-BY-NC/CC-BY-NC-ND licenses. Model summary
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
This is a subscription journal that offers an open access option. You will have the option to choose to make your article open access after acceptance, which will be subject to an APC, unless a waiver applies. For more information on this journal's APCs, please see the Open Access page.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
Double-blind peer review; manuscripts reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers and an Associate or Assistant; papers sent to review only if Editor-in-Chief determines quality and relevance requirements are met. Model summary
Submission Once the submission materials have been prepared in accordance with the author guidelines, new submissions should be made via the Wiley Authors submission portal: https://authors.wiley.com/journal/SSQ. You may check the status of your submission at any time by logging on to submission.wiley.com and clicking the "My Submissions" button. For technical help with the submission system, plea…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints accepted; journal will consider articles previously available as preprints; submitted versions may be posted to a preprint server at any time. Model summary
This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers. Social Science Quarterly will consider for review articles previously available as preprints. You may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to a preprint server at any time.
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
- ISSN
- 0038-4941
- Electronic ISSN
- 1540-6237
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 107, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social Science Quarterly
What CAS zone is Social Science Quarterly in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social Science Quarterly is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Political Science / 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 Science Quarterly?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.56; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 129.
How long does peer review take at Social Science Quarterly?
Based on the dates recorded on 90 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 171 days (interquartile range 120–238 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12% (2025). 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 Science Quarterly?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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.
Which databases index Social Science Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social Science Quarterly is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed, PsycINFO, EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Social Science Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Social Science Quarterly is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,010.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .