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Subfield · Social Sciences

Sociology and Political Science research

Sociology and Political Science is a subfield of Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 3.3M research works in it since 1950. 19.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: academic disciplines concerned with society and the relationships between individuals in society.

Research works
3.3M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
652k
per year above
Top-10% rate
19.7%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
224
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+45%
the tick is no change

What is Sociology and Political Science research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Social Media, Globalization, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Cultural Identity, Nationalism. Gaining share since 2009–13: Pandemic Response, Hoax Communication, Media Literacy, Community Empowerment, Youth Engagement. Losing share: Nationalism, Religion, Philosophy, History.

▲ 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. Social Media113k▲ 2.9×6 topics
  2. Globalization75k▼ 0.75×39 topics
  3. Human Rights75k◆ 1.06×25 topics
  4. Sustainable Development67k◆ 0.94×10 topics
  5. Cultural Identity63k▲ 1.46×13 topics
  6. Nationalism62k▼ 0.47×15 topics
  7. Digital Literacy61k▲ 3.5×3 topics
  8. Religion59k▼ 0.49×14 topics
  9. Ethnicity57k▲ 1.50×9 topics
  10. Pandemic Response52k▲ 11×2 topics
  11. Politics52k◆ 1.10×10 topics
  12. History51k▼ 0.56×7 topics
  13. Identity51k◆ 0.89×15 topics
  14. Public Policy49k▼ 0.86×8 topics
  15. Social Justice48k▼ 0.78×15 topics
  16. Community Empowerment46k▲ 7.7×4 topics
  17. Indonesia42k▲ 5.5×3 topics
  18. Youth Engagement42k▲ 6.2×2 topics
  19. Philosophy41k▼ 0.55×3 topics
  20. Mental Health40k▲ 2.0×5 topics
  21. Hoax Communication38k▲ 11×1 topic
  22. Media Literacy38k▲ 11×1 topic
  23. Economic Impact38k▲ 1.82×3 topics
  24. Culture38k▲ 1.45×6 topics
  25. Community Development36k▼ 0.74×5 topics
  26. Social Movements35k▼ 0.83×15 topics
  27. Climate Change33k▲ 1.38×10 topics
  28. Gender33k▼ 0.83×15 topics
  29. Community Engagement32k▼ 0.78×4 topics
  30. Economic Growth32k▼ 0.85×4 topics
  31. Sustainability31k▲ 1.16×16 topics
  32. Democracy31k▼ 0.79×9 topics
  33. Education31k◆ 0.95×18 topics
  34. Literature30k▲ 2.2×2 topics
  35. Islam30k▲ 1.97×2 topics
  36. Neoliberalism29k◆ 0.92×9 topics
  37. Inequality29k▼ 0.80×12 topics
  38. Consumer Engagement28k▲ 1.66×1 topic
  39. Electronic Word-of-Mouth28k▲ 1.66×1 topic
  40. Governance28k▲ 1.16×5 topics

Which countries lead Sociology and Political Science research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and the United Kingdom rank highest in Sociology and Political Science. By volume, Indonesia and the United States publish the most (116k and 111k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 21.3% top 10% · 111k works
  2. 2 China · #4 all time 27.2% top 10% · 40k works
  3. 3 United Kingdom · #2 all time 26.7% top 10% · 37k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 19.3% top 10% · 35k works
  5. 5 Australia · #5 all time 29.4% top 10% · 16k works
  6. 6 India · #12 all time 17.9% top 10% · 21k works
  7. 7 Indonesia · #10 all time 8.6% top 10% · 116k works
  8. 8 Canada · #6 all time 20.3% top 10% · 19k works
  9. 9 Italy · #8 all time 21.7% top 10% · 13k works
  10. 10 Netherlands · #7 all time 33.1% top 10% · 7.8k 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 122 countries ranked in Sociology and Political Science. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Sociology and Political Science

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Indonesia 116k works
  2. 2 United States 111k works
  3. 3 Brazil 52k works
  4. 4 China 40k works
  5. 5 France 38k works
  6. 6 United Kingdom 37k works
  7. 7 Germany 35k works
  8. 8 India 21k works
  9. 9 Türkiye 19k works
  10. 10 Canada 19k 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: 23.7%United States: 22.9%Brazil: 10.7%China: 8.2%6 others listed: 34.5%24%largest
Indonesia116k · 23.7%United States111k · 22.9%Brazil52k · 10.7%China40k · 8.2%6 others listed168k · 34.5%

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

Which institutions lead Sociology and Political Science research?

University of Oxford (United Kingdom) ranks first in Sociology and Political Science on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University College London and University of Amsterdam.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #2 all time 29.3% top 10% · 1.6k works
  2. 2 University College London United Kingdom · London · #14 all time 33.0% top 10% · 1.3k works
  3. 3 University of Amsterdam Netherlands · Amsterdam · #7 all time 41.0% top 10% · 838 works
  4. 4 Stanford University United States · Stanford · #3 all time 34.1% top 10% · 742 works
  5. 5 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong · Hong Kong · #50 all time 47.8% top 10% · 539 works
  6. 6 University of Toronto Canada · Toronto · #20 all time 24.1% top 10% · 1.5k works
  7. 7 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #8 all time 25.4% top 10% · 1.3k works
  8. 8 The University of Queensland Australia · Brisbane · #32 all time 35.1% top 10% · 832 works
  9. 9 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom · London · #6 all time 34.8% top 10% · 790 works
  10. 10 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong · Pok Fu Lam · #89 all time 31.0% top 10% · 694 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 2,578 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Sociology and Political Science.

Top 100 Sociology and Political Science institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia 5k works
  2. 2 Weatherford College United States 3.8k works
  3. 3 Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 2.8k works
  4. 4 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 2.7k works
  5. 5 Human Growth Foundation United States 2.6k works
  6. 6 Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta Indonesia 2.2k works
  7. 7 University of Indonesia Indonesia 2.1k works
  8. 8 University of Oxford United Kingdom 1.6k works
  9. 9 Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia 1.5k works
  10. 10 University of Toronto Canada 1.5k works

Who are the leading researchers in Sociology and Political Science?

Among the most productive authors in Sociology and Political Science, Pierre Bourdıeu, Michel Foucault and Noam Chomsky rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Pierre Bourdıeu France · #2 worldwide 10k citations · 235 works
  2. 2 Michel Foucault Poland · #5 worldwide 4.6k citations · 194 works
  3. 3 Noam Chomsky United States · #7 worldwide 3.7k citations · 239 works
  4. 4 Charles Tilly United States · #8 worldwide 3.7k citations · 238 works
  5. 5 Norman K. Denzin United States · #16 worldwide 8.6k citations · 169 works
  6. 6 Amartya Sen United States · #28 worldwide 4.9k citations · 190 works
  7. 7 Bruno Latour France · #46 worldwide 2k citations · 198 works
  8. 8 Niklas Luhmann Germany · #53 worldwide 2.3k citations · 277 works
  9. 9 Judith Butler United States · #70 worldwide 6.7k citations · 132 works
  10. 10 Jacques Derrida France · #82 worldwide 1.3k citations · 192 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 1,963 highest-output authors in Sociology and Political Science. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Sociology and Political Science researchers

Where is Sociology and Political Science research done?

The largest centres of Sociology and Political Science research in 2022–2025 are Jakarta (Indonesia), Paris (France), London (United Kingdom) and Bandung (Indonesia). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Rennes.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Jakarta Indonesia 13k works
  2. 2 Paris France 12k works
  3. 3 London United Kingdom 8.6k works
  4. 4 Bandung Indonesia 8.6k works
  5. 5 São Paulo Brazil 8.5k works
  6. 6 Beijing China 8.3k works
  7. 7 New York United States 7.9k works
  8. 8 Moscow Russia 7.8k works
  9. 9 Yogyakarta Indonesia 7.8k works
  10. 10 Surabaya Indonesia 7.6k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Rennes83.5 works9.1×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Sociology and Political Science than the world average.

See Sociology and Political Science on the map

Sociology and Political Science research by country

The best places for Sociology and Political Science research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Sociology and Political Science?

Among universities, judged by research, Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu, Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta and University of Amsterdam 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%60%mean 20.69%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu: 4,953, 9.5%Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta: 2,230, 9.4%University of Amsterdam: 838, 41.0%London School of Economics and Political Science: 790, 34.8%Hong Kong Polytechnic University: 539, 47.8%University College London: 1,300, 33.0%Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University Bandung: 1,321, 11.3%Weatherford College: 3,808, 4.2%Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara: 2,827, 7.3%UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya: 1,275, 8.6%University of Amster…London School of Eco…Institut Agama Islam…Sunan Kalijaga State…
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 52.49.5%4.7×4,953 +659.1%
2Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta Indonesia 50.19.4%6.1×2,230 +452.9%
3University of Amsterdam Netherlands 47.441.0%2.2×838 +46.0%
4London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom 46.434.8%4.5×790 +9.9%
5Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong 45.647.8%0.8×539 +20.7%
6University College London United Kingdom 45.033.0%1.3×1,300 +72.5%
7Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University Bandung Indonesia 44.411.3%5.0×1,321 +837.8%
8Weatherford College United States 44.24.2%3.8×3,808 +176.0%
9Universitas Islam Negeri Sumatera Utara Indonesia 43.97.3%3.8×2,827 +1481.9%
10UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya Indonesia 43.58.6%5.4×1,275 +211.8%

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 Sociology and Political Science research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 45% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Islamic Finance and Communication, Islamic Studies and Radicalism and Education and Digital Technologies.

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. Islamic Finance and Communication+2641%
  2. Islamic Studies and Radicalism+1576%
  3. Education and Digital Technologies+460%
  4. Linguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies+345%
  5. Impact of Technology on Adolescents+312%
  6. Digital Marketing and Social Media+299%
  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 Sociology and Political Science include?

Chinese history and philosophy: 105k fractional worksFrench Urban and Social Studies: 101k fractional worksLinguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies: 77k fractional worksDigital Marketing and Social Media: 74k fractional worksIslamic Finance and Communication: 69k fractional worksDiverse Aspects of Tourism Research: 55k fractional worksEducation and Digital Technologies: 52k fractional worksImpact of Technology on Adolescents: 49k fractional worksEducation, sociology, and vocational training: 43k fractional worksMigration and Labor Dynamics: 38k fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 38k fractional worksReligion and Society Interactions: 37k fractional works

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