Journal profile · FILM, RADIO, TELEVISION
Studies in Documentary Film
ISSN 1750-3280 · eISSN 1750-3299 · Taylor & Francis
Studies in Documentary Film: CAS Zone 1 · Arts (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 0.6 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 171 days to acceptance (31 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 25% (journal website); 26 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Studies in Documentary Film is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 1 of Arts in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cinema and Media Studies, Italian Fascism and Post-war Society and Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration, together about 47.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Studies in Documentary Film is the first refereed scholarly journal devoted to the history, theory, criticism and practice of documentary film. In recent years we have witnessed an increased visibility for documentary film through conferences, the success of general theatrical releases and the re-emergence of scholarship in documentary film studies. Studies in Documentary Film is a peer-reviewed journal. All peer review is double anonymized and detailed Instructions for Authors can be found here.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): FILM, RADIO, TELEVISION
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cinema and Media StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance34.8%
- Italian Fascism and Post-war SocietySocial Sciences8.1%
- Memory, Trauma, and CommemorationPsychology4.8%
- Photography and Visual CultureArts and Humanities4.5%
- Media Studies and CommunicationSocial Sciences4.3%
- Visual Culture and Art TheoryArts and Humanities3.9%
- Radio, Podcasts, and Digital MediaSocial Sciences3.9%
- Hong Kong and Taiwan PoliticsSocial Sciences3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Arts Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Film, Radio, Television | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Arts Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Arts | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Film, Radio, Television | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Film & Television Literature Index, MLA International BibliographyPublisher website
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 (publisher) 2025
- 0.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.24LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.24Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.83Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 23OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 66OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.49%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 19LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 62,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 445 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 2025 | 26 | 8 | 16 |
| 2024 | 14 | 7 | 13 |
| 2023 | 18 | 8 | 50 |
| 2022 | 26 | 5 | 86 |
| 2021 | 20 | 7 | 127 |
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 113 days – 257 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (31 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 198 days
- Sample
- 31 articles with submission and acceptance dates (39 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)
- 25%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 42 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Studies in Documentary Film 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 discoverability…
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
- 1750-3280
- Electronic ISSN
- 1750-3299
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 20, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Studies in Documentary Film
What CAS zone is Studies in Documentary Film in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Studies in Documentary Film is in Zone 1 of Arts, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Film, Radio, Television; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Arts. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Studies in Documentary Film?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.6 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.4, h-index 23.
How long does peer review take at Studies in Documentary Film?
Based on the dates recorded on 31 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 171 days (interquartile range 113–257 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 25%. 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 Studies in Documentary Film?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Studies in Documentary Film is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Studies in Documentary Film open access, and what is the APC?
Studies in Documentary Film 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .