What is the Impact Factor of Public Understanding of Science?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of Public Understanding of Science is 4.30, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is Public Understanding of Science indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, Public Understanding of Science is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q1 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 1.153 (Q1) and an H-index of 109.

Who publishes Public Understanding of Science and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

Public Understanding of Science is published by SAGE. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $3,444 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

WoS SCIE Q1Scopus Q1SCImago #3,884Top JournalHybrid

Public Understanding of Science

Identifier (ISSN):0963-6625(Print)/1361-6609(Online)

•

Publisher:SAGE

Clarivate JCR Index Advisory: Active (SSCI)

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

4.3↑ +1

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIETop Tier

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2022–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Public Understanding of Science

WoS Q1

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):4.3

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

1.153

#3,884

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

109

109 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier

Self-Citation Rate8.6%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessHybrid

67articles/year

50% Gold OA•97.26% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Public Understanding of Science is a fully peer reviewed international journal covering all aspects of the inter-relationships between science (including technology and medicine) and the public. Public Understanding of Science is the only journal to cover all aspects of the inter-relationships between science (including technology and medicine) and the public. Topics Covered Include... ·surveys of public understanding and attitudes towards science and technology ·perceptions of science ·popular representations of science ·scientific and para-scientific belief systems ·science in schools

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

Sociology89.8%Political science85.7%Law69.4%Philosophy63.7%Psychology61.7%Epistemology45.3%Biology45.1%Mathematics43.8%Computer science43.5%Public relations36.4%Economics31%Politics29.6%Pedagogy29.5%Social science29%Mathematics education28.6%Science education27.7%Linguistics26.8%Business25.8%History25.7%Physics25%Medicine24.9%Engineering24.7%Geography24.7%Science communication24.6%Art22.7%Social psychology21.9%Archaeology21.5%Media studies20.1%

Primary Research Areas

Multiple

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

Expand

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSSCI2026

COMMUNICATION

Rank20/227

IndexSSCI

JCRAHCI, SSCI2026

HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Rank2/111

IndexAHCI, SSCI

JCISSCI2026

COMMUNICATION

Rank11/227

IndexSSCI

JCIAHCI, SSCI2026

HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Rank5/111

IndexAHCI, SSCI

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
COMMUNICATION	JCRSSCI	20/227	Q1
HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE	JCRAHCI, SSCI	2/111	Q1
COMMUNICATION	JCISSCI	11/227	Q1
HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE	JCIAHCI, SSCI	5/111	Q1

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF4.3

Articles / Year30

Total Citations4

2025

IF3.3

Articles / Year68

Total Citations140

2024

IF3.5

Articles / Year76

Total Citations417

2023

IF4.1

Articles / Year73

Total Citations879

2022

IF3.702

Articles / Year91

Total Citations1,273

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	4.3	30	4
2025	3.3	68	140
2024	3.5	76	417
2023	4.1	73	879
2022	3.702	91	1,273
2021	—	81	1,854
2020	—	82	2,380
2019	—	69	2,210
2018	—	65	1,577
2017	—	45	1,344
2016	—	80	3,292
2015	—	74	4,676

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #3,884Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:1992-2026

•

Scopus Broad Areas:Arts and HumanitiesPsychologySocial Sciences

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

1.153

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

4.62

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$3,444 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations941

3-Year Documents200

Citable Documents193

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)5

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate55.9%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)Q1

CommunicationQ1

Developmental and Educational PsychologyQ1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 8.6%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

1区 (Zone 1)Literature

Minor Category (Specific Field):

2区COMMUNICATION

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Public Understanding of Science (ISSN: 0963-6625) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of Multiple, published by SAGE in United States. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 4.30, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 1.153 (Q1), an H-index of 109.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with an annual output of approximately 67 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Hybrid model with an estimated APC of $3,444 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.