Policy Studies is a long-standing, international journal focussing on public policy and governance at all levels and across all continents. It publishes original articles which are assessed through a rigorous peer review process.
The journal aims to:
Enable theoretical, methodological and empirical advances in the study of public policy and governance that have consequences of broad, international significance.
Enable cutting-edge research to be connected to the real-world policy problems and vice versa.
Identify ‘what works’ in improving the formation and delivery of policy through rigorous research.
Identify the state of the art of research in public policy
Trace new developments affecting public policy and governance including, but not limited to, those arising from technological, political, economic, informational, or demographic shifts.
Breakdown geographical and disciplinary silos by encouraging inter-disciplinarily, historical, comparative and global approaches to the study of policy.
Encourage diversity and opportunity in the academy.
The journal takes a pluralistic approach and encourages submissions irrespective of the methodological approach and the country of study. Although the journal is traditionally based in political science, a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of public policy is encouraged. Articles published are predominantly original research articles, but review articles that assess the state of the field are also welcome.
Peer review policy All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous double anonymized peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymised refereeing by two anonymous referees.
Journal metrics
Usage
173K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
2.2 (2023) Impact Factor
Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
2.4 (2023) 5 year IF
5.4 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
1.285 (2023) SNIP
0.586 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
9 days avg. from submission to first
decision
73 days avg. from submission to first
post-review decision
10 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
25% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Editor: Toby S. James - School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, University of East Anglia, UK and Queens University, Canada
Editorial Board: Nana Akua Anyidoho - University of Ghana, Ghana Rossana Castiglioni - Universidad Diego Portales, Chile May Chu - Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sara Connoll y - University of East Anglia, UK Patrick Dunleavy - London School of Economics, UK Alan Finlayson - University of East Anglia, UK Rachel M. Gisselquist - United Nations University, Finland Hussein Kassim - University of Warwick, UK Patrick Le Galès - Sciences Po, France Wei Liu - Renmin University of China, China Kate Mattocks - University of East Anglia, UK M. Jae Moon - Yonsei University, South Korea Pippa Norris - Harvard University, USA Christopher Pepin-Neff - Sydney University, Australia M. Ramesh - National University of Singapore, Singapore María Celeste Ratto -Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Argentina Farhana Sultana - Syracuse University, USA Diane Stone - European University Institute, Italy Paul 't Hart - University of Utrecht, Netherlands Kathleen Thelen - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Giuseppe Veltri - University of Trento, Italy Ariadne Vromen - Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Australia Li Zhang - Tsinghua University, China Updated 23-08-2023
Abstracting and indexing
Policy Studies is indexed and abstracted in CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts; Criminal Justice Abstracts; EconLit; Education Research Abstracts Online; Family Studies Database; Gay and Lesbian Abstracts; Higher Education Abstracts; International Bibliography of the Social Sciences; International Political Science Abstracts; OCLC; Periodicals Index Online; Research into Higher Education Abstracts; SCOPUS; Social Care Online (SCIE); Social Services Abstracts and Sociological Abstracts.
Open access
Policy Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors, make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .
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