Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Domain

Social Sciences research

Social Sciences is one of the four domains of science in the OpenAlex classification. Science Explorer counts 23.2M research works in it since 1950. 19.4% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: branch of science focused on societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies.

Research works
23.2M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
4.5M
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.4%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
1,487
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+43%
the tick is no change

What is Social Sciences research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Globalization, Social Media, Education, Mental Health, Human Rights, Sustainable Development. Gaining share since 2009–13: Pandemic, Indonesia, COVID-19, Digital Learning, Curriculum Development. Losing share: Nationalism, Religion, History, Philosophy.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Globalization476k▼ 0.86×172 topics
  2. Social Media304k▲ 2.1×32 topics
  3. Education291k◆ 1.01×133 topics
  4. Mental Health279k▲ 1.39×34 topics
  5. Human Rights260k◆ 1.08×86 topics
  6. Sustainable Development251k▲ 1.31×66 topics
  7. Innovation225k◆ 0.93×73 topics
  8. Educational Technology198k▲ 2.0×31 topics
  9. Qualitative Research194k▲ 1.57×41 topics
  10. Identity192k▼ 0.77×79 topics
  11. COVID-19190k▲ 8.8×13 topics
  12. Pandemic190k▲ 17×7 topics
  13. Sustainability183k▲ 1.18×62 topics
  14. History183k▼ 0.69×64 topics
  15. Economic Growth178k▼ 0.83×32 topics
  16. Economic Development178k◆ 0.88×51 topics
  17. Corporate Governance173k◆ 1.08×29 topics
  18. Gender147k▼ 0.84×57 topics
  19. Teacher Training147k▲ 1.75×25 topics
  20. Social Justice145k◆ 1.05×53 topics
  21. Curriculum Development145k▲ 3.1×18 topics
  22. Economic Impact143k▲ 2.4×10 topics
  23. Online Learning140k▲ 2.4×16 topics
  24. Religion135k▼ 0.63×43 topics
  25. Financial Performance135k▲ 2.0×16 topics
  26. Cultural Identity133k◆ 1.05×38 topics
  27. Literature133k◆ 0.94×64 topics
  28. Culture132k◆ 0.98×39 topics
  29. Consumer Behavior131k▲ 1.80×18 topics
  30. Colonialism129k▼ 0.85×52 topics
  31. Nationalism127k▼ 0.61×34 topics
  32. Public Policy120k◆ 1.11×30 topics
  33. Depression119k▲ 1.54×10 topics
  34. Social Capital117k▼ 0.85×18 topics
  35. Digital Learning116k▲ 4.2×10 topics
  36. Indonesia115k▲ 9.0×5 topics
  37. Leadership113k▲ 1.16×40 topics
  38. E-commerce113k▲ 2.6×7 topics
  39. Supply Chain Management111k◆ 1.03×20 topics
  40. Philosophy109k▼ 0.70×46 topics

Which countries lead Social Sciences research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Social Sciences. By volume, Indonesia and the United States publish the most (913k and 712k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 19.6% top 10% · 712k works
  2. 2 China · #4 all time 29.2% top 10% · 329k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 24.7% top 10% · 227k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 18.8% top 10% · 193k works
  5. 5 Indonesia · #11 all time 9.5% top 10% · 913k works
  6. 6 Australia · #5 all time 28.7% top 10% · 97k works
  7. 7 Italy · #9 all time 23.4% top 10% · 96k works
  8. 8 India · #13 all time 16.3% top 10% · 178k works
  9. 9 Spain · #8 all time 19.0% top 10% · 140k works
  10. 10 Canada · #6 all time 21.1% top 10% · 102k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 164 countries ranked in Social Sciences. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Social Sciences

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Indonesia 913k works
  2. 2 United States 712k works
  3. 3 China 329k works
  4. 4 Brazil 277k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 227k works
  6. 6 Germany 193k works
  7. 7 India 178k works
  8. 8 France 170k works
  9. 9 Türkiye 165k works
  10. 10 Spain 140k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

Indonesia: 27.6%United States: 21.5%China: 9.9%Brazil: 8.4%6 others listed: 32.5%28%largest
Indonesia913k · 27.6%United States712k · 21.5%China329k · 9.9%Brazil277k · 8.4%6 others listed1.1M · 32.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Social Sciences research?

University of Oxford (United Kingdom) ranks first in Social Sciences on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University College London and University of Cambridge.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #5 all time 25.5% top 10% · 9.9k works
  2. 2 University College London United Kingdom · London · #7 all time 30.4% top 10% · 8.4k works
  3. 3 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #10 all time 23.0% top 10% · 8.3k works
  4. 4 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong · Hong Kong · #69 all time 42.1% top 10% · 4.1k works
  5. 5 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Pok Fu Lam · #74 all time 34.9% top 10% · 4.7k works
  6. 6 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #1 all time 29.7% top 10% · 4.8k works
  7. 7 University of Toronto Canada · Toronto · #13 all time 23.1% top 10% · 8.9k works
  8. 8 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #6 all time 32.3% top 10% · 3.9k works
  9. 9 University of Johannesburg South Africa · Johannesburg 31.2% top 10% · 5.8k works
  10. 10 Monash University Australia · Melbourne · #67 all time 32.4% top 10% · 5.2k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 10,521 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Social Sciences.

Top 100 Social Sciences institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 25k works
  2. 2 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 16k works
  3. 3 State University of Padang Indonesia 15k works
  4. 4 Weatherford College United States 14k works
  5. 5 Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 14k works
  6. 6 Universitas Patria Artha Indonesia 13k works
  7. 7 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 12k works
  8. 8 University of Indonesia Indonesia 12k works
  9. 9 State University of Malang Indonesia 11k works
  10. 10 State University of Makassar Indonesia 11k works

Who are the leading researchers in Social Sciences?

Among the most productive authors in Social Sciences, David Moher, Pierre Bourdıeu and Michel Foucault rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 David Moher Canada · #1 worldwide 38k citations · 235 works
  2. 2 Pierre Bourdıeu France · #2 worldwide 10k citations · 235 works
  3. 3 Michel Foucault Poland · #5 worldwide 4.6k citations · 194 works
  4. 4 Noam Chomsky United States · #7 worldwide 3.7k citations · 239 works
  5. 5 Charles Tilly United States · #8 worldwide 3.7k citations · 238 works
  6. 6 Ronald C. Kessler United States · #14 worldwide 9.8k citations · 232 works
  7. 7 Norman K. Denzin United States · #16 worldwide 8.6k citations · 169 works
  8. 8 Michael E. Porter United States · #19 worldwide 4.7k citations · 226 works
  9. 9 Stanley Hoffmann United States · #21 worldwide 2.3k citations · 197 works
  10. 10 Sigmund Freud United States · #25 worldwide 2.7k citations · 174 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 3,481 highest-output authors in Social Sciences. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Social Sciences researchers

Where is Social Sciences research done?

The largest centres of Social Sciences research in 2022–2025 are Jakarta (Indonesia), Bandung (Indonesia), Beijing (China) and Moscow (Russia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Louisville and Aix-en-Provence.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Jakarta Indonesia 102k works
  2. 2 Bandung Indonesia 64k works
  3. 3 Beijing China 62k works
  4. 4 Moscow Russia 60k works
  5. 5 Surabaya Indonesia 57k works
  6. 6 Medan Indonesia 56k works
  7. 7 London United Kingdom 55k works
  8. 8 Paris France 54k works
  9. 9 Yogyakarta Indonesia 48k works
  10. 10 São Paulo Brazil 45k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Louisville74.1 works3.9×
  2. Aix-en-ProvenceFR · 30.6 works3.9×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Social Sciences than the world average.

See Social Sciences on the map

Social Sciences research by country

The best places for Social Sciences research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Social Sciences?

Among universities, judged by research, Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu, Indonesia University of Education and Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 13.49%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu: 25k, 10.9%Indonesia University of Education: 14k, 15.0%Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta: 8,928, 12.3%Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara: 16k, 8.2%London School of Economics and Political Science: 3,733, 31.1%State University of Padang: 15k, 10.9%Yogyakarta State University: 7,740, 16.4%Universitas Patria Artha: 13k, 6.2%Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University Bandung: 6,044, 12.4%Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung: 6,169, 11.5%Indonesia University…Sunan Kalijaga State…Institut Agama Islam…Universitas Islam Ne…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 64.510.9%3.5×25,394 +1002.9%
2Indonesia University of Education Indonesia 57.215.0%2.7×14,065 +1430.3%
3Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta Indonesia 57.212.3%3.5×8,928 +495.9%
4Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 54.98.2%3.0×15,823 +1777.0%
5London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom 53.331.1%3.1×3,733 +3.3%
6State University of Padang Indonesia 53.210.9%2.6×14,505 +957.5%
7Yogyakarta State University Indonesia 52.916.4%2.6×7,740 +502.8%
8Universitas Patria Artha Indonesia 52.76.2%3.2×12,865 +1088.8%
9Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University Bandung Indonesia 52.412.4%3.3×6,044 +1127.8%
10Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung Indonesia 51.711.5%3.3×6,169 +504.2%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Social Sciences research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 43% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Educational Curriculum and Learning Methods, SMEs Development and Digital Marketing and Education and Character Development.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Educational Curriculum and Learning Methods+6150%
  2. SMEs Development and Digital Marketing+4097%
  3. Education and Character Development+3772%
  4. Islamic Finance and Communication+2641%
  5. Management and Optimization Techniques+2047%
  6. Islamic Finance and Banking Studies+669%
  7. Chinese history and philosophy-72%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Social Sciences include?

SMEs Development and Dig…117kSMEs Development and Digital Marketing: 117k fractional worksChinese history and phil…105kChinese history and philosophy: 105k fractional worksFrench Urban and Social Studies: 101k fractional worksChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development: 99k fractional worksCorporate Finance and Governance: 93k fractional worksHealth Systems, Economic…86kHealth Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life: 86k fractional worksEducation and Character Development: 82k fractional worksAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics: 81k fractional worksLinguistic, Cultural, an…77kLinguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies: 77k fractional worksBusiness and Management Studies: 76k fractional worksDigital Marketing and Social Media: 74k fractional worksHealthcare Policy and Ma…71kHealthcare Policy and Management: 71k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.