World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Policy Sciences
H-index 15

Policy Sciences

0032-2687

Published by: Springer

https://www.springer.com/journal/11077

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Political Science 58 40 47 14

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 50
Documents by Best Scientists*: 54
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 5
SCIMAGO H-index: 78
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.217
Impact Factor: 3.7

Overview

Top Research Topics at Policy Sciences?

Policy Sciences tackles a plethora of topics, such as Public administration, Politics, Public economics, Public policy and Public relations. Policy Sciences explores themes in Public administration like Policy analysis and links them with other fields of study like Policy Sciences. It explores topics in Policy analysis which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Policy studies and Positive economics.

The research on Policy studies discussed in the journal draws on the closely related field of Foreign policy analysis. The work on Politics addressed in it expands to the thematically related Political economy.

  • Public administration (30.01%)
  • Politics (14.89%)
  • Public economics (12.77%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Dilemmas in a general theory of planning (9199 citations)
  • AN ADVOCACY COALITION FRAMEWORK OF POLICY CHANGE AND THE ROLE OF POLICY-ORIENTED LEARNING THEREIN (2171 citations)
  • HOW SAFE IS SAFE ENOUGH? A PSYCHOMETRIC STUDY OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS TECHNOLOGICAL RISKS AND BENEFITS (2085 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Policy Sciences:

Public administration, Policy analysis, Politics, Public policy and Public relations are the main subjects of interest in the published papers. While the most cited publications focused on Public administration, they were also able to explore topics like Context (language use), Corporate governance, Government, Law and economics and Process (engineering). The most cited papers address concerns in Policy analysis which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Policy studies, Positive economics, Public economics and Epistemology.

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

  • Law
  • World War II
  • China

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The journal is mainly concerned with subjects like Government, Politics, Process (engineering), Public administration and Context (language use). Government research presented in Policy Sciences encompasses a variety of subjects, including Public economics, Sustainability, Knowledge use, Think tanks and Content analysis. Ideology studies in the realm of Politics interact with fields like Policy Sciences.

The studies in Ideology featured incorporate elements of Archival research, Social policy, Bureaucracy and Equity (economics). It explores issues in Public administration which can be linked to other research areas like Public institution, Health policy, Vaccination policy, Misinformation and Set (psychology). While work presented in it provided substantial information on Context (language use), it also covered topics in Recidivism, Corporate governance, Public relations, Order (exchange) and Environmental economics.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Why public organizations contribute to crosscutting policy programs: the role of structure, culture, and ministerial control (4 citations)
  • Exploring criteria for transformative policy capacity in the context of South Africa’s biodiversity economy (4 citations)
  • Policy capacities and effective policy design: a review. (3 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 Policy Sciences (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Ronald D. Brunner (24 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • William Ascher (12 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Garry D. Brewer (11 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Susan G. Clark (9 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Michael Howlett (8 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 Policy Sciences (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Colorado Boulder (34 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Yale University (33 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of California, Berkeley (33 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • RAND Corporation (27 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Carnegie Mellon University (21 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, 23.26% 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 12.12% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 21.21% of all publications and 66.67% 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 Policy Sciences

In addition to discussing the research topics and journal contributions, it's equally important to discuss potential career paths for individuals interested in the field of Policy Sciences. Policy Sciences graduates have the flexibility to work in a variety of sectors, including government, the private sector, non-profits, and academia. They can pursue careers as policy analysts, researchers, consultants, public relations specialists, and more. Furthermore, for those considering a career pivot into other related roles, they may want to consider professions such as librarianship. For instance, in Hawaii, the school librarian requirements contain elements of policy understanding, making it a viable career option for Policy Sciences graduates. To learn more about becoming a school librarian in Hawaii, visit this comprehensive guide on school librarian requirements in Hawaii. Overall, the field of Policy Sciences offers numerous career opportunities, and these possibilities can potentially be suited to a variety of individual interests and strengths.

Top Publications

  • COVID-19 and the policy sciences: initial reactions and perspectives.

    Christopher M. Weible;Daniel Nohrstedt;Paul Cairney;David P. Carter

    (2020)
    553 Citations
  • Managing pandemics as super wicked problems: lessons from, and for, COVID-19 and the climate crisis.

    Graeme Auld;Steven Bernstein;Benjamin Cashore;Kelly Levin

    (2021)
    96 Citations
  • Political ideology and vaccination willingness: implications for policy design.

    Marc Debus;Jale Tosun

    (2021)
    56 Citations
  • Designing policy for the long term: agency, policy feedback and policy change

    Sebastian Sewerin;Daniel Béland;Benjamin Cashore

    (2020)
    50 Citations
  • Tempest in a teapot? Toward new collaborations between mainstream policy process studies and interpretive policy studies.

    Anna P. Durnová;Christopher M. Weible

    (2020)
    47 Citations
  • Policy feedback and pathways: when change leads to endurance and continuity to change

    Carsten Daugbjerg;Carsten Daugbjerg;Adrian Kay

    (2020)
    35 Citations
  • Mapping the use of knowledge in policymaking: barriers and facilitators from a subjectivist perspective (1990–2020)

    (2022)
    35 Citations
  • Barriers to the digital transformation of infrastructure sectors.

    Liliane Manny;Liliane Manny;Mert Duygan;Mert Duygan;Mert Duygan;Manuel Fischer;Manuel Fischer;Jörg Rieckermann

    (2021)
    34 Citations
  • Policy success for whom? A framework for analysis

    Allan McConnell;Liam Grealy;Tess Lea

    (2020)
    30 Citations
  • Designing policy resilience: lessons from the Affordable Care Act

    Daniel Béland;Michael Howlett;Philip Rocco;Alex Waddan

    (2020)
    27 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Political Science in the USA opens doors to a variety of related fields and advanced degree options. For those interested in shaping cities and communities, pursuing a master's in urban planning offers practical skills and insights. Programs highlighted in urban planning masters programs provide affordable, flexible pathways to specialize in sustainable development and policy implementation.

Career growth can also be achieved by exploring interdisciplinary areas such as forensic psychology. Understanding the criminal justice system from a psychological perspective enriches your expertise, and learning what can you do with a masters in forensic psychology reveals diverse professional opportunities beyond traditional roles.

For those aiming to reach the highest academic level, pursuing a doctoral degree is common. However, many professionals seek alternatives to traditional PhD paths. Online options that include phd no dissertation programs offer accelerated routes for career advancement without the lengthy dissertation process.

Public administration is another viable avenue, especially for students interested in government or nonprofit leadership. The availability of best online MPA programs allows for quick completion and immediate application of skills in policy, management, and administration roles.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

Recently Published Articles