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British Journal of Sociology
H-index 13

British Journal of Sociology

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 422 24 37 10

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 44
Documents by Best Scientists*: 56
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 5
SCIMAGO H-index: 117
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.347
Impact Factor: 3.3

Overview

Top Research Topics at British Journal of Sociology?

The journal primarily tackles Social science, Epistemology, Politics, Gender studies and Political economy. The main emphasis of the journal is the subject of Epistemology, focusing on Social theory.

  • Social science (15.84%)
  • Epistemology (13.67%)
  • Politics (9.26%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: The Social Organization of Culture Difference (2731 citations)
  • Political power beyond the State: problematics of government (2668 citations)
  • Toward a Theory of Minority-Group Relations (1986 citations)

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

The journal papers focus largely on the fields of Epistemology, Social science, Politics, Social psychology and Gender studies. The study on Epistemology presented in the journal articles is investigated in conjunction with research in Social change. The Social psychology research tackled in the published papers is interrelated with Social class which concerns subjects like Social mobility.

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

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Social science

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The objective of British Journal of Sociology is to combine knowledge in the areas of Politics, Political economy, Inequality, Ideology and Gender studies. The Politics works featured in it incorporate elements from Social psychology, Welfare and State (polity). British Journal of Sociology addresses concerns in the field of Political economy by exploring it in line with topics in Democracy which intersect with Context (language use) subjects.

The featured Inequality studies mainly concentrate on Demographic economics but also cover areas of interest in Social mobility. In addition to Ideology research, the journal aims to explore topics under Capital (economics), Liberal democracy, Racism, World history and Social theory. British Journal of Sociology focuses on Gender studies but sometimes tackles the closely related topic of Ethnic group which is concerned with Immigration.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • “They don’t know what it’s like to be at the bottom”: Exploring the role of perceived cultural distance in less‐educated citizens’ discontent with politicians (4 citations)
  • The structure of food taste in 21 st century Britain. (2 citations)
  • Narrating inequality, eliding empire. (2 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 British Journal of Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • John H. Goldthorpe (38 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition,
  • Bryan S. Turner (35 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Mike Savage (26 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • Gianfranco Poggi (26 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Michael Banton (26 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 British Journal of Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • London School of Economics and Political Science (162 papers) published 9 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Manchester (48 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • University of Oxford (43 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • University of Warwick (40 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 6 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Cambridge (35 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous 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, 3.06% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 25.26% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 13.68% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 17.89% of all publications and 43.16% 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

Throughout this article, we delved into the depths of sociology and understanding the current research trends in the field. However, an important aspect not covered in the article are the vast career opportunities available for sociology graduates. The expansive field of sociology provides graduates with an array of career pathways. One such career option is in the mental healthcare sector as a counselor or therapist. Indeed, with an understanding of social dynamics and structures, combined with proper training, a sociology graduate can navigate the complexities of mental health issues with relative ease. For instance, a thorough understanding of the socio-political aspects of inequality, which is a widely discussed topic in British Journal of Sociology, can be crucial to mental healthcare professionals. They are often required to address the mental distress and associated factors stemming from social inequality and marginalization. If you're interested in leveraging your sociology degree to help individuals overcome their mental health challenges, you can consider becoming a mental health counselor. In North Carolina, for example, certain steps and qualifications are needed to become a licensed professional counselor. To learn more about this career path, check the following article which provides an in-depth guide on How to be a mental health therapist in North. This will provide you with not only an interesting career path, but also a chance to make a difference in people's lives at a personal level.

Top Publications

  • Put to the test: For a new sociology of testing.

    Noortje Marres;David Stark;David Stark

    (2020)
    103 Citations
  • More than self‐interest: Why different classes have different attitudes to income inequality

    Peter Egge Langsæther;Geoffrey Evans

    (2020)
    52 Citations
  • Are universities left‐wing bastions? The political orientation of professors, professionals, and managers in Europe

    Herman G. van de Werfhorst

    (2020)
    42 Citations
  • Primary and secondary effects of social origins on educational attainment: New findings for England.

    Erzsébet Bukodi;John H. Goldthorpe;Yizhang Zhao

    (2021)
    28 Citations
  • “If no one grieves, no one will remember”: Cultural palimpsests and the creation of social ties through rituals

    (2022)
    18 Citations
  • Distinctions in the making: A theoretical discussion of youth and cultural capital.

    (2023)
    16 Citations
  • Parenthood and dynamics of life satisfaction in times of COVID-19.

    (2023)
    15 Citations
  • Preface to a special issue on the sociology of testing

    Noortje Marres;David Stark;David Stark

    (2020)
    14 Citations
  • The social origins and schooling of a scientific elite: Fellows of the royal society born from 1900

    (2021)
    13 Citations
  • Piketty comes to South Africa

    Fabio Andrés Díaz Pabón;Fabio Andrés Díaz Pabón;Murray Leibbrandt;Vimal Ranchhod;Michael Savage

    (2021)
    11 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

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