Journal profile · ETHNIC STUDIES
Spectrum
ISSN 2561-7842 · University of Alberta Library · Canada
Spectrum: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 34 weeks (community reports); 12 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Spectrum is published by University of Alberta Library 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 Literature: history, themes, analysis, Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights and Canadian Identity and History, together about 27% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Spectrum is a student-powered, collaborative undergraduate research journal supported by the Undergraduate Research Initiative at the University of Alberta. Spectrum is committed to publishing thought-provoking, insightful and dynamic interdisciplinary content. We seek to create an open-minded journal with a focus on connecting our readers with all areas of study and new methods of inquiry, from the liberal arts to the natural sciences.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ETHNIC STUDIES
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Literature: history, themes, analysisArts and Humanities9.5%
- Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsSocial Sciences9.5%
- Canadian Identity and HistorySocial Sciences7.9%
- Rhetoric and Communication StudiesArts and Humanities4.8%
- Gothic Literature and Media AnalysisSocial Sciences4.8%
- Asthma and respiratory diseasesMedicine3.2%
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychology3.2%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences3.2%
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 | Ethnic Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ethnic Studies | 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
ESCIDOAJLetPub
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
- h-index
- 4OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 0OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.44OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 103 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| 2024 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 2022 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| 2021 | 9 | 9 | 16 |
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 34 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 34 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- 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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
Article types accepted1
- editorialWhat do we publish: For journal aims & scope, a description of the types of work we publish, and who is eligible to publish in Spectrum, please see our About th…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use
AI use discouraged; if used, must be disclosed with system, user, time/date, prompts, and resulting content; AI output submitted as supplementary material; AI not an author. Model summary
Spectrum discourages the submission of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (such as chatGPT and similar tools).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship:
One submission per author per issue; max 2 per year. Model summary
To be published by Spectrum, you must be either: a current undergraduate student at any post-secondary institution in any faculty, or a recent alumnus of an undergraduate program (within the last 12 months), who has not yet started a graduate program. Authors must indicate on the title page of their submission the undergraduate program and year of study (or year of graduation, as applicable) for s…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Citation styles: APA/MLA encouraged; Chicago, MLA, APA, CSE acceptable. Model summary
Spectrum strongly encourages the use of APA or MLA format. However, any of the following citation styles are acceptable, provided only ONE style is used throughout the submission: Chicago MLA APA CSE
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Ethics approval required for human/animal research. Model summary
If your submission describes research on humans or animals, authors must provide a copy of their research ethics approval, and include a statement in their submission that indicates ethics approval has been obtained for the project.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Spectrum encourages authors to publish their work under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as they credit the Author(s) for the original creation. Authors may, however, choose to have their work distributed under any of the Creative Commons licenses currently availa…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access policy:
Immediate open access; no subscription required. Model summary
Spectrum provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports greater global exchange of knowledge. Authors will never be charged to submit or publish a manuscript through Spectrum, and all articles will be published under Creative Commons licences. No subscription is required to access work published in Spectrum.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Spectrum uses a double-anonymous peer review process. Submissions are normally reviewed by three reviewers: One undergraduate student in a related discipline One undergraduate student in an unrelated discipline One graduate student in a related discipline
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
- University of Alberta Library
- Country or region
- Canada
- Language
- English, French
- ISSN
- 2561-7842
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Spectrum
What CAS zone is Spectrum in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Spectrum is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ethnic Studies. 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.
How long does peer review take at Spectrum?
Authors report an average review time of about 34 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 Spectrum?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 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.
Which databases index Spectrum?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Spectrum is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ.
Is Spectrum open access, and what is the APC?
Spectrum is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-28). Last updated: .