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American Journal of Sociology
H-index 12

American Journal of Sociology

0002-9602

Published by: The University of Chicago Press Books

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/ajs/current

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 357 48 45 11

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 75
Documents by Best Scientists*: 70
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 2
SCIMAGO H-index: 214
SCIMAGO SJR: 2.811
Impact Factor: 3.6

Overview

Top Research Topics at American Journal of Sociology?

The journal focuses largely on the fields of Economic history, Social psychology, Political economy, Politics and Social science.

  • Economic history (8.34%)
  • Social psychology (6.84%)
  • Political economy (6.51%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • The Strength of Weak Ties (29542 citations)
  • Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital (24315 citations)
  • Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness (18804 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at American Journal of Sociology:

The most cited publications cover a variety of subjects, including Social psychology, Demographic economics, Politics, Developmental psychology and Epistemology. The published Social psychology works encompass concepts such as Social relation and examines them in conjunction with Human factors and ergonomics. The journal papers explore research in Epistemology and the adjacent study of Social science.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • World War II
  • Law
  • China

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal is organized to address concerns in the fields of Economic history, Humanities, Religious studies, Art history and Columbia university. American Journal of Sociology holds forums on Economic history that merges themes from other disciplines such as New economy, Making-of and Race (biology). Humanities research presented in American Journal of Sociology encompasses a variety of subjects, including Space (commercial competition) and Politics.

It focuses on Religious studies as well as the interrelated topic of Immigration. The study on Art history presented in American Journal of Sociology intersects with the topics under Power (social and political).

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • The Birth Lottery of History: Arrest over the Life Course of Multiple Cohorts Coming of Age, 1995–20181 (4 citations)
  • Beholding Inequality: Race, Gender, and Returns to Physical Attractiveness in the United States1 (1 citations)
  • The Diversity Contract: Constructing Racial Harmony in a Diverse American Suburb1 (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in American Journal of Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Floyd N. House (192 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Everett C. Hughes (182 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Albion W. Small (175 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Robert E. Park (151 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Charles A. Ellwood (103 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in American Journal of Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (32 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Michigan (31 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Christ University (28 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Harvard University (28 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Columbia University (26 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 86.29% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 0.00% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 29.41% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 41.18% of all publications and 29.41% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Sociology

As the American Journal of Sociology presents a variety of research topics within the field of sociology, it provides a wealth of knowledge for aspiring sociologists in many different specialties. One of the rewarding career paths for professionals with an interest in sociology is becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. This role involves helping individuals, couples, and families navigate various emotional, psychological, and social problems. To become a Marriage and Family Therapist, a master’s degree in a mental health field is required with a significant amount of advisement related to marriage and family therapy. Therapists must also meet clinical experience requirements which vary by state, and pass a state-recognized examination. A career in this field can be rewarding, enabling you to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families. Working with a diverse range of clients, a Marriage and Family Therapist uses sociological theories and research to understand complex family dynamics. The American Journal of Sociology has published a range of articles relevant to this field, examining topics such as social psychology and economic history. These research findings can be valuable resources for therapists seeking to understand the wider social and economic factors affecting their clients. For detailed information on how to pursue this career, check out our guide on How to become a marriage and family therapist in Nevada. By combining your passion for sociology with a career in therapy, you will be able to use research to inform your practice and truly make a difference.

Top Publications

  • Beholding Inequality: Race, Gender, and Returns to Physical Attractiveness in the United States1

    Ellis P. Monk;Michael H. Esposito;Hedwig Lee

    (2021)
    59 Citations
  • The Birth Lottery of History: Arrest over the Life Course of Multiple Cohorts Coming of Age, 1995–20181

    Roland Neil;Robert J. Sampson

    (2021)
    59 Citations
  • Climate Change and Migration: New Insights from a Dynamic Model of Out-Migration and Return Migration

    Barbara Entwisle;Ashton Verdery;Nathalie Williams

    (2020)
    50 Citations
  • With friends like these: Aggression from amity and equivalence

    Robert Faris;Diane Felmlee;Cassie McMillan

    (2020)
    40 Citations
  • Deconstructed and Constructive Logics: Explaining Inclusive Language Change in Queer Nonprofits, 1998–2016

    (2022)
    24 Citations
  • Marital Experiences and Depression in an Arranged Marriage Setting.

    Yang Zhang;William G. Axinn

    (2021)
    18 Citations
  • Geographic Isolation, Compelled Mobility, and Everyday Exposure to Neighborhood Racial Composition among Urban Youth

    (2022)
    17 Citations
  • How Tilly’s WUNC Works: Bystander Evaluations of Social Movement Signals Lead to Mobilization

    (2023)
    14 Citations
  • Gendered Dignity at Work

    (2021)
    13 Citations
  • Racial Disparity in Leadership: Evidence of Valuative Bias in the Promotions of National Football League Coaches

    (2023)
    11 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

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