Journal profile · SOCIOLOGY
South African Review of Sociology
ISSN 2152-8586 · eISSN 2072-1978 · Taylor & Francis
South African Review of Sociology: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.5 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 113 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 26% (journal website); 38 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
South African Review of Sociology is published by Taylor & Francis 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 South African History and Culture, Legal Issues in South Africa and Gender Roles and Identity Studies, together about 26.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
South African Review of Sociology (SARS) publishes leading scholarship relevant to the South African sociological community and beyond, including original research articles, review papers, briefings and debates. Relevance is not defined in a narrow way and contributions on subjects of comparative or theoretical interest are welcomed. Moreover, the journal does not define 'sociological' restrictively, but as the study of society in the broader sense. Prospective guest editors may direct proposals for special issues to the editors. SARS is the official journal of the South African Sociological Association (SASA), previously published as the South African Journal of Sociology and subsequently as Society in Transition. The journal has a vision to increase the impact and reach of South African sociology under the co-publishing arrangements with Routledge / Taylor & Francis and UNISA Press. It captures the best of sociological scholarship and is committed to incorporating the work of first-time and established authors. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer review is double anonymized. Submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts and Instructions for Authors is available here.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIOLOGY
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences12.3%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences7.5%
- Gender Roles and Identity StudiesSocial Sciences6.8%
- Labor Movements and UnionsSocial Sciences5.4%
- African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ IssuesSocial Sciences5.4%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences5.2%
- LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyPsychology5%
- Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthHealth Professions4.8%
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 | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
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 (publisher) 2025
- 0.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.26LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.26Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.61Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 30OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 149OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.73OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10.94%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 18LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 70,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 558 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 | 19 | 0 |
| 2025 | 38 | 28 | 26 |
| 2024 | 40 | 19 | 51 |
| 2023 | 29 | 6 | 58 |
| 2022 | 30 | 5 | 164 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
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
113 daysfirst decision after review
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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 26%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 74 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 113 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 44 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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)
Article types accepted4
- briefingsincluding original research articles, review papers, briefings and debatesLength not stated
- debatesincluding original research articles, review papers, briefings and debatesLength not stated
- original research articlesincluding original research articles, review papers, briefings and debatesLength not stated
- review papersincluding original research articles, review papers, briefings and debatesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
South African Review of Sociology is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discovera…
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 2152-8586
- Electronic ISSN
- 2072-1978
- Society / sponsor
- South African Sociological Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 56, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Review of Sociology
What CAS zone is South African Review of Sociology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, South African Review of Sociology is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Sociology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of South African Review of Sociology?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.5 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.1, h-index 30.
How long does peer review take at South African Review of Sociology?
The publisher reports about 113 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 26%. 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.
Which databases index South African Review of Sociology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Review of Sociology is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is South African Review of Sociology open access, and what is the APC?
South African Review of Sociology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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: .