World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Environmental Sociology
H-index 10

Environmental Sociology

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 661 9 14 8

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 15
Documents by Best Scientists*: 19
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 1
SCIMAGO H-index: 33
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.872
Impact Factor: 2.8

Overview

Top Research Topics at Environmental Sociology?

The journal mainly deals with areas of study such as Environmental sociology, Social science, Environmental justice, Political economy and Climate change. While the journal focused on Environmental sociology, it was also able to explore topics like Modernization theory and Economy. The study on Social science presented in it intersects with subjects under the field of Environmentalism.

Environmental Sociology explores research in Environmental justice and the adjacent study of Intersectionality. The journal holds forums on Political economy that merges themes from other disciplines such as Social movement and Politics. The studies tackled, which mainly focus on Climate change, apply to Natural resource economics as well.

  • Environmental sociology (20.31%)
  • Social science (18.36%)
  • Environmental justice (16.02%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Energy consumption and working hours: a longitudinal study of developed and developing nations, 1990–2008 (48 citations)
  • Understanding the Jevons paradox (46 citations)
  • Post-truth politics and the social sciences (46 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Environmental Sociology:

The most cited articles focus on Social science, Environmental sociology, Environmental justice, Intersectionality and Climate change. While work presented in the published articles provide substantial information on Social science, it also covers topics in Post truth, Politics, Public administration, Mainstream and Anthropocene. While Environmental justice is the focus of the journal articles, it also provides insights into the studies of Ethos and Scholarship.

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

  • Law
  • Social science
  • China

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal aims to foster the development of research in Climate change, Environmental justice, Environmental sociology, Political economy and Sustainability. The Climate change works featured in the journal incorporate elements from Distrust, News media, Skepticism and Misinformation. Damages, Social movement and Ethnography are some topics wherein Environmental justice research discussed in the journal have an impact.

It held discussions to help close the divide between two different fields of study: Environmental sociology and Chorus. The study of Politics and how it intertwines with concepts under Environmental resource management, Wetland, Federal level and Coal mining were explored in the presented Political economy research. Environmental Sociology explores topics in Sustainability which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Mechanism (sociology), Information and Communications Technology and Dematerialization (products).

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • What is environmental racism for? Place-based harm and relational development (7 citations)
  • Notes toward an anticolonial environmental sociology of race (5 citations)
  • How Believing Climate Change is a “Hoax” Shapes Climate Skepticism in the United States (4 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 Environmental Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Stewart Lockie (11 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Rolf Lidskog (4 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Julius Alexander McGee (4 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Erik W. Johnson (3 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Brett Clark (3 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 Environmental Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Oregon (15 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 6 more than at the previous edition,
  • Washington State University (9 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • James Cook University (8 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Örebro University (8 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Northeastern University (6 papers) published 1 paper 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, 2.22% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 22.73% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 11.36% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 22.73% of all publications and 43.18% 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 Environmental Sociology

In the field of Environmental Sociology, various careers are available that apply the concepts and research themes discussed in this journal. One of the unique paths that interconnects environmental sociology with human behavior is substance abuse counseling. To enhance the understanding of the reader about potential careers in this field, it is significant to elaborate on how sociology can affect and inform other disciplines. Substance abuse counselors, for instance, can benefit from the sociological perspective on environmental influences affecting human behavior and addiction patterns. This understanding aids in creating more effective treatment plans that consider not only the individual but also their societal context and contribute to mitigating environmental injustice issues. More information about this career opportunity that combines empathy with environmental knowledge can be found in this article, "How to become a substance abuse counselor in New York". Various other careers in Environmental Sociology range from policy formulation to research, public administration, and even fields in the intersectionality of the environment with other social structures. Such careers, whether in academia, government, or the private sector are instrumental in refining environmental policies and in enhancing our collective response to climate change and other environmental issues. Through innovatively applying the findings and teachings from Environmental Sociology, those in these fields can potentially make significant changes in our world today.

Top Publications

  • Environmental expertise for social transformation: roles and responsibilities for social science

    (2022)
    44 Citations
  • ‘Is global warming affecting the weather?’ Evidence for increased attribution beliefs among coastal versus inland US residents

    Matthew John Cutler;Jennifer Marlon;Peter Howe;Anthony Leiserowitz

    (2020)
    26 Citations
  • Social media and disasters: human security, environmental racism, and crisis communication in Hurricane Irma response

    Benjamin K. Sovacool;Xiaojing Xu;Gerardo Zarazua De Rubens;Chien-Fei Chen

    (2020)
    26 Citations
  • Beyond maladaptation: structural barriers to successful adaptation

    (2022)
    25 Citations
  • Mainstreaming climate change sociology

    (2022)
    24 Citations
  • Questioning scientific practice: linking beliefs about scientists, science agencies, and climate change

    Thomas G. Safford;Emily H. Whitmore;Lawrence C. Hamilton

    (2020)
    19 Citations
  • Sociological responses to the bushfire and climate crises

    Stewart Lockie

    (2020)
    12 Citations
  • Henri Lefebvre’s Marxian ecological critique: recovering a foundational contribution to environmental sociology

    John Bellamy Foster;Brian M. Napoletano;Brett Clark;Pedro S. Urquijo

    (2020)
    10 Citations
  • Politics in the energy-security nexus: an epistemic governance approach to the zero-carbon energy transition in Finland, Estonia, and Norway

    (2023)
    7 Citations
  • Sociologies of climate change are not enough. Putting the global biodiversity crisis on the sociological agenda

    (2023)
    6 Citations

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