Journal profile · History & Philosophy Of Science
Social Studies of Science
ISSN 0306-3127 · eISSN 1460-3659 · SAGE Publications Ltd · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1975
Social Studies of Science: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 328 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 43 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social Studies of Science is published by SAGE Publications Ltd and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Philosophy and History of Science, Climate Change Communication and Perception and Information Systems Theories and Implementation, together about 29.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are History and Philosophy of Science and Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Since 1970, Social Studies of Science has been a central journal for the field of Science and Technology Studies, serving as a venue for the articulation and development of key ideas and findings in the field from its early years to the current day. The journal is multi-disciplinary, welcoming contributions that advance our understanding of science, … | View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): History & Philosophy Of Science
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 23, United Kingdom 9, Australia 3, Netherlands 3, Taiwan, China 2 (54 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Philosophy and History of ScienceArts and Humanities14.1%
- Climate Change Communication and PerceptionSocial Sciences7.7%
- Information Systems Theories and ImplementationSocial Sciences7.6%
- scientometrics and bibliometrics researchDecision Sciences7.6%
- Geographies of human-animal interactionsSocial Sciences5.6%
- History of Science and MedicineArts and Humanities5%
- Race, Genetics, and SocietyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.9%
- Contemporary Sociological Theory and PracticeSocial Sciences4.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 1 |
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 | History & Philosophy Of Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
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
- 3.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.01LetPub ·
- h-index
- 78LetPub ·
- h-index
- 168OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,398OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.54OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 61.6%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 39LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,317 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 16 | 4 |
| 2025 | 43 | 30 | 67 |
| 2024 | 37 | 28 | 188 |
| 2023 | 49 | 38 | 547 |
| 2022 | 51 | 30 | 801 |
| 2021 | 37 | 22 | 1,064 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
328 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports over 12 weeks
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 7.7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 328 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 58 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 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — | |
| 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)
- Other fees
- Charged; see the journal's website for the amount
- Page charges
- No page charges
- 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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 12,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- discussion papersSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays.Length not stated
- original researchSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays. Research ar…Length not stated
- research articleSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays. Research ar…main text ≤ 12,000 words
- research articlesResearch articles are generally restricted to a maximum of 12,000 words.Length not stated
- reviewSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays. Research ar…Length not stated
- review essaysSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays.Length not stated
- short research notesSocial Studies of Science publishes articles representing original research, substantial discussion papers, short research notes, and review essays.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Author contributions
You will be asked to list the contribution of each author as part of the submission process. Please include the Author Contributions heading within your submission after the Acknowledgements section. The information you give on submission will then show under the Author Contributions heading later at the proofing stage.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the journal at no cost. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice pr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting guidelines
Your manuscript must follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines, depending on the type of study. The EQUATOR wizard can help identify the appropriate guideline. You will need to upload the appropriate checklist with your submission. Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives. If your research involves animals, you will be asked to confirm that…
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
- SAGE Publications Ltd
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1975
- ISSN
- 0306-3127
- Electronic ISSN
- 1460-3659
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social Studies of Science
What CAS zone is Social Studies of Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social Studies of Science is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category History & Philosophy Of Science. 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 Studies of Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.19; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 168.
How long does peer review take at Social Studies of Science?
The publisher reports about 328 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 7.7%. 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 Studies of Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–200 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 12,000 words; Reference style: APA; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: 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 Social Studies of Science based?
Of the 54 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (23), United Kingdom (9) and Australia (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Social Studies of Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social Studies of Science is indexed in SCIE, SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Is Social Studies of Science open access, and what is the APC?
Social Studies of Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .