World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Sociology
H-index 13

Sociology

0038-0385

Published by: SAGE

https://journals.sagepub.com/home/soc

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Social Sciences and Humanities 419 27 27 10

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 46
Documents by Best Scientists*: 44
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 4
SCIMAGO H-index: 138
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.497
Impact Factor: 2.9

Overview

Top Research Topics at Sociology?

Sociology focuses on Epistemology, Social science, Gender studies, Social psychology and Media studies. While it focused on Gender studies, it was also able to explore topics like Identity (social science) and Ethnic group. In it, Anthropology and Religious studies are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Media studies research.

  • Epistemology (16.07%)
  • Social science (15.41%)
  • Gender studies (14.15%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Organizational Structure, Environment and Performance: The Role of Strategic Choice (3700 citations)
  • A Phenomenology of Tourist Experiences (1417 citations)
  • Implementing, embedding, and integrating practices: An outline of Normalization Process Theory. (928 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Sociology:

The journal papers explore disciplines such as Gender studies, Epistemology, Social psychology, Social science and Social class. Issues in Gender studies were discussed in the most cited publications, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Identity (social science), Context (language use), Ethnic group and Politics. While Epistemology is the focus of the journal articles, it also provides insights into the studies of Social relation and Reflexivity.

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 journal focuses largely on the fields of Gender studies, Epistemology, Politics, Political economy and Media studies. In addition to Gender studies research, the journal aims to explore topics under Identity (social science), Privilege (social inequality), Materiality (auditing) and Negotiation. The study on Epistemology presented in it intersects with the topics under Habitus.

Topics in Politics explored in Sociology were investigated in conjunction with research in Racism and Refugee. Political economy research featured in Sociology incorporates concerns from various other topics such as Welfare, Social movement, Status quo and State (polity). Most of the works presented in Sociology deals with Media studies but it intersects with the subject of Brexit.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Age and Life Satisfaction: Getting Control Variables under Control: (9 citations)
  • The Established and the Delegated: The Division of Labour of Domination among Effective Agents on the Field of Power in Denmark (4 citations)
  • Deflecting Privilege: Class Identity and the Intergenerational Self: (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 Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Michael Banton (19 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John H. Goldthorpe (16 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • John Child (16 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Mike Savage (16 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Bryan S. Turner (15 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 Sociology (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Manchester (106 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Cardiff University (63 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Edinburgh (62 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • University of Warwick (54 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • University of Sheffield (53 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 2 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, 11.90% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 25.23% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 13.51% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.92% of all publications and 42.34% 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 Paths in Sociology: Substance Abuse Counselor

For those who are intrigued by sociology and the implications it has on society, there are many professions you might consider. One such career that's often overlooked is that of a substance abuse counselor. This job role requires a deep understanding of social dynamics, psychology, and human behavior, making sociology graduates a good fit. As a substance abuse counselor, you'll be on the front lines of the fight against drug and alcohol addiction. You'll work with individuals who are struggling with substance dependency, helping them understand and change their destructive behaviors. Such a role significantly contributes to societal wellbeing and public health as a whole. Although the principles you learn in a sociology degree are valuable in this profession, you will ordinarily need specific training in substance abuse counseling to gain employment. This typically includes acquiring a Substance abuse counselor certification in Texas or similar educational credential. With the right training and a passion for helping others, a career as a substance abuse counselor could be the perfect way to utilize your sociology education. Not only will you be positively impacting individual lives, but you may also indirectly influence the broader social context in which substance abuse occurs. In short, it's a profession where you can truly make a difference.

Top Publications

  • Advantage ‘Finds Its Way’: How Privileged Families Exploit Opportunities in Different Systems of Secondary Education:

    Moris Triventi;Jan Skopek;Nevena Kulic;Sandra Buchholz

    (2020)
    41 Citations
  • A Dependent Structure of Interdependence: Structure and Agency in Relational Perspective:

    Nick Crossley

    (2021)
    38 Citations
  • Alcohol and Flourishing for Australian Women in Midlife: A Qualitative Study of Negotiating (Un)Happiness:

    Kristen M Foley;Megan Warin;Samantha B Meyer;Emma R Miller

    (2021)
    28 Citations
  • Critiquing – and Rescuing – ‘Character’:

    Andrew Sayer

    (2020)
    21 Citations
  • Social Mobility and ‘Openness’ in Creative Occupations since the 1970s

    (2022)
    18 Citations
  • Social Polarisation at the Local Level: A Four-Town Comparative Study on the Challenges of Politicising Inequality in Britain:

    Insa Koch;Mark Fransham;Mark Fransham;Sarah Cant;Jill Ebrey

    (2021)
    18 Citations
  • Thwarted or Facilitated? The Entrepreneurial Aspirations and Capabilities of New Migrants in the UK

    (2022)
    16 Citations
  • Entangled and Estranged: Living and Dying in Relation (to Cancer):

    Alex Broom;Katherine Kenny;Emma Kirby

    (2020)
    15 Citations
  • Niche Sociality: Approaching Adversity in Everyday Life

    (2022)
    11 Citations
  • A Bourdieusian Latent Class Analysis of Cultural, Arts, Heritage and Sports Activities in the UK Representative Understanding Society Dataset

    (2022)
    11 Citations

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Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

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