Aim & Scope
Aim
Science, Society and Policy Research provides a peer-reviewed venue for science, society, and policy research. The journal is intended for science-policy scholars, public administrators, social scientists, and research-impact evaluators. Its editorial goal is to publish articles that make the research question, method, evidence, and limitations visible enough for readers to evaluate and reuse.
Core Scope
The journal considers manuscripts in the following areas:
- Original studies in science policy with transparent assumptions and evaluable evidence.
- Research on societal impacts that explains methods, data, and interpretation limits.
- Applied work involving evidence use where practical relevance is supported by analysis rather than assertion.
- Interdisciplinary work connecting responsible research to adjacent scientific, engineering, health, environmental, social, or policy questions.
Article Types Considered
The journal may consider policy analyses, empirical social research, evaluation studies, perspectives, structured reviews, and case studies. Article type should be selected according to the main contribution, not according to desired length or perceived prestige.
Method and Evidence Expectations
For this field, manuscripts should pay particular attention to:
- policy problem definition
- evidence source
- stakeholder context
- analytic framework
- limits of recommendation
Out of Scope
The journal does not consider manuscripts that are purely promotional, lack a research question, duplicate previously published work, make unsupported clinical or policy claims, present unverifiable results, or fall outside science, society, and policy research. Manuscripts that are technically sound but do not fit the journal's subject identity may be returned before peer review.
Editorial Standard
The journal does not require spectacular novelty. It requires a clear contribution, appropriate citations, transparent methods, relevant ethical approvals where needed, and a limitations section. Reviewers and editors should ask whether the work is trustworthy and useful for its intended readership.