World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Social Forces
H-index 16

Social Forces

0037-7732

Published by: Oxford University Press

https://academic.oup.com/sf

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 274 57 64 13

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 96
Documents by Best Scientists*: 102
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 9
SCIMAGO H-index: 158
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.566
Impact Factor: 2.7

Overview

Top Research Topics at Social Forces?

The topics of Economic history, Law and economics, Political economy, Media studies and Social psychology are the focal point of discussions in the journal. While the journal focused on Law and economics, it was also able to explore topics like Religious studies and Humanities. Many of the studies tackled connect Political economy with a similar field of study like Politics.

  • Economic history (11.16%)
  • Law and economics (11.07%)
  • Political economy (10.49%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. (44342 citations)
  • Mail and telephone surveys : the total design method (7067 citations)
  • American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. (5324 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Social Forces:

Social psychology, Developmental psychology, Demography, Socioeconomic status and Gender studies are the main subjects of interest in the published papers. The majority of Social psychology studies presented in the journal publications zero in on Social relation. The most cited publications focus on Demography but sometimes tackle the closely related topic of Ethnic group which is concerned with Immigration.

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 aim of Social Forces is to expand the discussion of research in Demographic economics, Political economy, Criminology, Race (biology) and Politics. Most of the works presented in it deals with Political economy but it intersects with the subject of Democracy.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Serial Eviction Filing: Civil Courts, Property Management, and the Threat of Displacement (8 citations)
  • Socioeconomic Inequality in Children’s Achievement from Infancy to Adolescence: The Case of Germany (4 citations)
  • Review of “Freezing Fertility Oocyte Cryopreservation and the Gender Politics of Aging” (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 Social Forces (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Frank H. Hankins (81 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Lee M. Brooks (73 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Howard E. Jensen (59 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Wiley B. Sanders (55 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Guy B. Johnson (53 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 Social Forces (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1404 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition,
  • Duke University (304 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition,
  • University of Washington (247 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • Ohio State University (221 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Indiana University (215 papers) published 3 papers 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, 45.79% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 26.21% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 14.56% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.45% of all publications and 40.78% 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 Social Research

While this article provides comprehensive information about top research topics appearing in Social Forces, and about the most cited papers and their authors, it does not address the application of these research topics in the real world. One area where these topics can be of great use is in the field of social work, particularly for those considering a profession as a marriage and family therapist.

For people with a keen interest in subjects like social psychology, developmental psychology, and gender studies, a career in marriage and family therapy can be highly rewarding. This field applies the theories and findings from these research topics to practical scenarios, providing solutions to real-world problems.

For example, those interested in gender studies can help address issues related to gender dynamics within families. Similarly, professionals with a background in social psychology can use their understanding of social relationships to offer credible advice to couples and families.

If you're interested in learning about how to transition a passion for these research topics into a professional career, you can consider studying to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. In particular, our recent post on 'How to become a marriage and family therapist in North' provides a comprehensive guide to starting a career in this impactful line of work.

Top Publications

  • UNPACKING THE DRIVERS OF RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SCHOOL SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION.

    Jayanti Owens;Sara S McLanahan

    (2020)
    114 Citations
  • Beyond the Core: Who Has Larger Social Networks?

    (2020)
    55 Citations
  • Why Precarious Work Is Bad for Health: Social Marginality as Key Mechanisms in a Multi-National Context

    Ross Macmillan;Michael J Shanahan

    (2021)
    31 Citations
  • Rules of the Game: Exponential Random Graph Models of a Gang Homicide Network

    Kevin Lewis;Andrew V Papachristos

    (2020)
    26 Citations
  • Forever Homes and Temporary Stops: Housing Search Logics and Residential Selection

    Hope Harvey;Kelley Fong;Kathryn Edin;Stefanie DeLuca

    (2020)
    25 Citations
  • Open But Segregated? Class Divisions And the Network Structure of Social Capital in Chile

    Gabriel Otero;Beate Volker;Jesper Rozer

    (2021)
    25 Citations
  • Work-Family Reconciliation and Children's Well-Being Disparities across OECD Countries

    Matthew A Andersson;Michael A Garcia;Jennifer Glass

    (2021)
    21 Citations
  • 100 Years of <i>Social Forces</i> as seen through Bibliometric Publication Patterns

    (2022)
    20 Citations
  • Precarious Childhoods: Childhood Family Income Volatility and Mental Health in Early Adulthood

    Siwei Cheng;Kyriaki Kosidou;Bo Burström;Charlotte Björkenstam

    (2020)
    18 Citations
  • Sticky Stigma: The Impact of Incarceration on Perceptions of Personality Traits and Deservingness

    Bridget Brew;Frances Alani;Anita Li;Christopher Wildeman

    (2021)
    16 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal