Journal rankings · indicator year 2022
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Domain ranking · 2022
Social Sciences journal rankings 2022
6,516 ranked journals · Domain
Social Sciences has 6,516 ranked journals in 2022. Its median journal scores above the world average: OJR 1.07 against 1.00, down 0.03 on 2021. A journal needs OJR 1.92 to reach Q1. The top three are Higher Education for the Future, International Journal of Information Management, and Journal of Educational Technology Systems.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2022. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2019–2021, the window the 2022 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Fields in Social Sciences (6)
Up to All journals6,516 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2021. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2019–2021, the window the 2022 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2019–2021 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2013 to 2022. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Higher Education for the FutureSAGE Publishing · India | 16.59Q1 | 25.63 22.90 up from 2021 | 40 | 0% | $3,400 | ||
2International Journal of Information ManagementElsevier BV · Netherlands | 13.85Q1 | 26.91 0.12 down from 2021 | 487 | 44% | $3,990 | ||
3Journal of Educational Technology SystemsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 13.46Q1 | 39.43 12.63 up from 2021 | 79 | 7% | $3,400 | ||
4Academy of Management AnnalsRoutledge · United States | 12.72Q1 | 16.74 4.73 down from 2021 | 73 | 37% | — | ||
5The Quarterly Journal of EconomicsOxford University Press · United States | 12.32Q1 | 13.28 6.26 down from 2021 | 136 | 38% | $7,619 | ||
6The Journal of Strategic Information SystemsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 12.07Q1 | 8.89 12.53 down from 2021 | 64 | 44% | $4,160 | ||
7California Management ReviewSAGE Publishing · United States | 12.03Q1 | 13.72 6.64 down from 2021 | 81 | 60% | $3,900 | ||
8Journal of Innovation & KnowledgeOAElsevier BV · Spain | 11.75Q1 | 25.92 9.43 up from 2021 | 63 | 100% | $2,200 | ||
9International SecurityThe MIT Press · United States | 11.63Q1 | 6.24 5.71 down from 2021 | 76 | 52% | — | ||
10American Sociological ReviewSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 11.27Q1 | 10.59 7.63 down from 2021 | 128 | 23% | $3,900 | ||
11Government Information QuarterlyElsevier BV · United States | 10.95Q1 | 11.59 1.75 down from 2021 | 214 | 54% | $4,360 | ||
12Contemporary Security PolicyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 10.53Q1 | 11.00 1.83 down from 2021 | 73 | 48% | — | ||
13European Journal of Teacher EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 10.33Q1 | 13.53 2.57 up from 2021 | 216 | 47% | — | ||
14The Review of International OrganizationsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 10.06Q1 | 3.51 4.73 down from 2021 | 98 | 65% | $2,990 | ||
15The Internet and Higher EducationElsevier BV · United States | 9.98Q1 | 13.42 0.89 down from 2021 | 70 | 29% | $4,120 | ||
16Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological ScienceOASAGE Publishing · United States | 9.95Q1 | 17.73 5.64 down from 2021 | 99 | 100% | $2,000 | ||
17Qualitative Research in PsychologyTaylor & Francis · United States | 9.93Q1 | 21.75 12.48 up from 2021 | 85 | 33% | — | ||
18International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher EducationOASpringer Nature · Switzerland | 9.74Q1 | 16.84 0.81 up from 2021 | 166 | 100% | $0 listed | ||
19The Journal of Economic PerspectivesOAAmerican Economic Association · United States | 9.73Q1 | 11.40 4.17 down from 2021 | 138 | 100% | — | ||
20Tourism GeographiesTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 9.45Q1 | 18.67 2.63 up from 2021 | 227 | 38% | — | ||
21European Journal of Political ResearchOAWiley · United Kingdom | 9.38Q1 | 6.38 0.79 down from 2021 | 184 | 79% | $3,550 | ||
22The Review of Asset Pricing StudiesOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 9.33Q1 | 15.30 6.64 down from 2021 | 62 | 32% | $4,028 | ||
23Tourism ManagementElsevier BV · Netherlands | 9.18Q1 | 16.12 2.47 up from 2021 | 507 | 38% | $4,690 | ||
24Modern Language JournalWiley · United States | 8.91Q1 | 6.13 1.83 down from 2021 | 166 | 35% | $3,800 | ||
25West European PoliticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 8.87Q1 | 7.93 2.64 up from 2021 | 235 | 93% | — | ||
26Policy and SocietyOAElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 8.83Q1 | 14.50 0.31 up from 2021 | 90 | 100% | $1,634 | ||
27Qualitative Research in Sport Exercise and HealthTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 8.79Q1 | 3.18 10.06 down from 2021 | 170 | 53% | — | ||
28Educational PsychologistRoutledge · United States | 8.71Q1 | 10.78 1.02 down from 2021 | 68 | 33% | — | ||
29American Economic ReviewAmerican Economic Association · United States | 8.60Q1 | 12.50 2.48 down from 2021 | 383 | 34% | — | ||
30Journal of African TradeOAAtlantis Press · Netherlands | 8.59Q1 | 9.00 7.87 up from 2021 | 30 | 100% | — | ||
31American Political Science ReviewCambridge University Press · United States | 8.56Q1 | 9.13 0.24 up from 2021 | 327 | 78% | $3,550 | ||
32Computers & EducationElsevier BV · United States | 8.41Q1 | 16.19 1.14 down from 2021 | 632 | 36% | $5,190 | ||
33Journal of MarketingSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 8.35Q1 | 13.83 2.29 down from 2021 | 181 | 41% | $5,400 | ||
34School Leadership and ManagementRoutledge · United Kingdom | 8.26Q1 | 6.17 3.88 down from 2021 | 62 | 52% | — | ||
35Journal of Interactive MarketingSAGE Publishing · United States | 8.26Q1 | 15.24 2.73 up from 2021 | 99 | 44% | $5,400 | ||
36Journal of the Academy of Marketing ScienceSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 8.21Q1 | 15.48 1.78 down from 2021 | 185 | 51% | $4,790 | ||
37Annals of Tourism ResearchElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 8.12Q1 | 13.80 2.04 up from 2021 | 533 | 44% | $4,060 | ||
38International Journal of Educational Research OpenOAElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 8.11Q1 | 14.61 23.02 down from 2021 | 115 | 100% | $1,890 | ||
39SystemElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 8.08Q1 | 8.64 3.09 up from 2021 | 439 | 26% | $3,980 | ||
40Communication Methods and MeasuresTaylor & Francis · United States | 8.01Q1 | 16.50 6.47 up from 2021 | 52 | 55% | — | ||
41Journal of Destination Marketing & ManagementElsevier BV · Netherlands | 7.93Q1 | 11.61 2.67 up from 2021 | 278 | 32% | $4,320 | ||
42American Journal of Political ScienceWiley · United States | 7.91Q1 | 6.54 0.05 up from 2021 | 257 | 42% | $4,100 | ||
43Journal of Second Language WritingElsevier BV · United States | 7.88Q1 | 6.67 0.54 up from 2021 | 105 | 12% | $3,830 | ||
44Policy Reviews in Higher EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 7.80Q1 | 9.27 4.79 up from 2021 | 34 | 45% | — | ||
45Journal of Sustainable TourismTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 7.75Q1 | 12.92 0.27 down from 2021 | 520 | 43% | — | ||
46Review of Research in EducationSAGE Publishing · United States | 7.71Q1 | 11.31 1.00 down from 2021 | 46 | 21% | $2,500 | ||
47Information and OrganizationElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 7.65Q1 | 10.32 1.36 up from 2021 | 49 | 38% | $3,590 | ||
48Human Behavior and Emerging TechnologiesOAWiley · United States | 7.65Q1 | 17.01 0.14 up from 2021 | 186 | 100% | $840 | ||
49The Review of Corporate Finance StudiesOxford University Press · United States | 7.62Q1 | 12.92 1.88 down from 2021 | 65 | 21% | $4,028 | ||
50Comparative Political StudiesSAGE Publishing · United States | 7.56Q1 | 6.84 0.81 up from 2021 | 208 | 40% | $3,900 |
Fields of Social Sciences, compared.
- Social Sciences3,149
- Psychology1,044
- Economics, Econometrics and Finance865
- Business, Management and Accounting732
- Arts and Humanities535
- Decision Sciences191
Journals
Citations made in 2022. Corpus-wide, 89.5% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
1,552 additional Social Sciences journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2019–2021, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2022. Publication window: 2019–2021. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 6,516
- Window papers (baseline)
- 4,010,665 +20.8% from indicator year 2019
- Median OJR
- 1.067 -9.8% from indicator year 2019
- Rising journals (2025)
- 301
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2019–2021 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 2,933 | 3,074 | 3,257 | 3,421 | 3,551 | 3,684 | 3,847 | 4,034 | 4,222 | 4,411 | 4,638 | 4,858 | 5,103 | 5,326 | 5,550 | 5,769 | 5,975 | 6,155 | 6,251 | 6,310 | 6,367 | 6,458 | 6,516 | 6,519 | 6,456 | 6,382 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 973,082 | 1,101,576 | 1,187,966 | 1,289,835 | 1,324,068 | 1,431,668 | 1,541,994 | 1,678,086 | 1,825,065 | 1,985,403 | 2,148,912 | 2,303,999 | 2,468,040 | 2,603,480 | 2,734,303 | 2,869,634 | 3,018,278 | 3,128,445 | 3,209,329 | 3,319,936 | 3,489,326 | 3,755,807 | 4,010,665 | 4,149,019 | 4,247,103 | 4,426,831 | |
| Median OJR | 0.81 | 0.86 | 0.88 | 0.92 | 0.96 | 1.0001 | 1.063 | 1.14 | 1.196 | 1.22 | 1.242 | 1.25 | 1.26 | 1.241 | 1.236 | 1.204 | 1.179 | 1.181 | 1.165 | 1.183 | 1.158 | 1.09 | 1.067 | 1.057 | 1.065 | 1.08 |
| Measure | Category statistic | Eligible population |
|---|---|---|
| Journal self-citation share | Median: 4.6% | 4,027 journals |
| Retracted papers per 1,000 | Pooled rate: 1.605 per 1,000 | 3,404 journals |
| Output growth | Median: -2.2% | 5,924 journals |
| Open access share | Median: 56.3% | 6,382 journals |
| Listed APC (USD) | Median including $0 listed prices: $3,390 | 2,626 ranked journals with a known listed price, including $0 listed prices |
| International collaboration share | Median: 20.9% | 5,817 journals |
| Review share | Median: 0.0% | 6,382 journals |
| Articles-only OJR | Median: 1.12 | 6,330 journals |
| Uncited share | Median: 42.6% | 6,382 journals |
| Citation concentration | Median: 49.1% | 6,369 journals |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.