German Social Sciences and History
German Social Sciences and History is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 7.6k research works in it since 1950. 11.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers covers a wide range of topics in sociological history, epistemic practices, refugee studies, social innovation, cultural sociology, and population studies. It also delves into themes such as historical sociology, social theory, ethnographic research, and philosophical anthropology.
- Sociological History
- Epistemic Practices
- Refugee Studies
- Social Innovation
- Cultural Sociology
- Historical Sociology
- Population Studies
- Social Theory
- Ethnographic Research
- Philosophical Anthropology
- Research works
- 7.6k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 904 per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 11.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +30% the tick is no change
Which countries lead German Social Sciences and History research?
By volume, Germany and Austria publish the most (953 and 118 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Germany 953 works
- 2 Austria 118 works
- 3 United States 86 works
- 4 Switzerland 61 works
- 5 France 41 works
- 6 United Kingdom 32 works
- 7 Italy 19 works
- 8 Russia 12 works
- 9 Netherlands 11 works
- 10 Brazil 11 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.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead German Social Sciences and History research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Goethe University Frankfurt publishes the most German Social Sciences and History research, followed by University of Vienna and LVR-Klinik Köln.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Goethe University FrankfurtGermany 31 works
- 2 University of ViennaAustria 28 works
- 3 LVR-Klinik KölnGermany 25 works
- 4 Bielefeld UniversityGermany 24 works
- 5 Freie Universität BerlinGermany 21 works
- 6 University of CologneGermany 20 works
- 7 University of KasselGermany 20 works
- 8 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenGermany 18 works
- 9 Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinGermany 17 works
- 10 Friedrich Schiller University JenaGermany 17 works
Who are the leading researchers in German Social Sciences and History?
The most-cited researchers publishing on German Social Sciences and History include Konrad Zuse and Niklas Luhmann.
- 1 Konrad Zuse Germany 4.3k citations
- 2 Niklas Luhmann Germany 2.3k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is German Social Sciences and History research done?
The largest centres of German Social Sciences and History research in 2022–2025 are Berlin (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Cologne (Germany) and Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Wiesbaden and Bielefeld.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- WiesbadenDE · 20.7 works110×
- BielefeldDE · 25.8 works63×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in German Social Sciences and History than the world average.
Where is the best place to study German Social Sciences and History?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Vienna, Goethe University Frankfurt and University of Graz 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.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of ViennaAustria | 46.4 | 10.2% | 41.8× | 28 | +301.6% |
| 2 | Goethe University FrankfurtGermany | 39.7 | 12.6% | 55.9× | 31 | +96.5% |
| 3 | University of GrazAustria | 38.3 | 15.8% | 65.1× | 15 | +295.7% |
| 4 | Bielefeld UniversityGermany | 34.6 | 11.7% | 74.9× | 24 | +101.8% |
| 5 | Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinGermany | 33.4 | 11.8% | 35.3× | 18 | +117.9% |
| 6 | Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfGermany | 33.2 | 8.9% | 35.8× | 14 | +735.6% |
| 7 | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielGermany | 32.0 | 19.1% | 31.8× | 10 | +176.9% |
| 8 | University of CologneGermany | 31.8 | 5.7% | 45.9× | 20 | +112.1% |
| 9 | TU Dortmund UniversityGermany | 30.4 | 6.7% | 41.2× | 15 | +188.7% |
| 10 | University of ErfurtGermany | 29.8 | 9.2% | 188.6× | 14 | +316.7% |
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 German Social Sciences and History research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 30% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2022. The fastest-growing topics are German Social Sciences and History.
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.