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Topic · General Social Sciences

Social Science and Policy Research

Social Science and Policy Research is a research topic within General Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 4.5k research works in it since 1950. 10.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers covers a wide range of interdisciplinary social science research topics including qualitative research methodology, phronetic social science, environmental management, conflict minerals, sociology, global governance, vocational education, and ethics and leadership. The papers explore various aspects of social science research methods, ethical considerations, and their applications in different fields.

  • Social Science
  • Research Methodology
  • Qualitative Research
  • Phronetic Social Science
  • Environmental Management
  • Conflict Minerals
  • Sociology
  • Global Governance
  • Vocational Education
  • Ethics and Leadership
Research works
4.5k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
454
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+19%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
40% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Social Science and Policy Research

Which countries lead Social Science and Policy Research research?

By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (183 and 83 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 183 works
  2. 2 United Kingdom 83 works
  3. 3 Germany 34 works
  4. 4 Australia 27 works
  5. 5 Italy 25 works
  6. 6 Canada 24 works
  7. 7 India 23 works
  8. 8 Norway 22 works
  9. 9 Sweden 21 works
  10. 10 China 20 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.

United States: 39.7%United Kingdom: 17.9%Germany: 7.3%Australia: 5.8%6 others listed: 29.3%40%largest
United States183 · 39.7%United Kingdom83 · 17.9%Germany34 · 7.3%Australia27 · 5.8%6 others listed135 · 29.3%

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

Which institutions lead Social Science and Policy Research research?

By volume in 2022-now, Sapienza University of Rome publishes the most Social Science and Policy Research research, followed by University of Oslo and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Sapienza University of RomeItaly 8 works
  2. 2 University of OsloNorway 5 works
  3. 3 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 5 works
  4. 4 University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom 4 works
  5. 5 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 4 works
  6. 6 Cardiff UniversityUnited Kingdom 4 works
  7. 7 Tribhuvan UniversityNepal 4 works
  8. 8 Lund UniversitySweden 4 works
  9. 9 University of WarsawPoland 4 works
  10. 10 Josai UniversityJapan 3 works

Who are the leading researchers in Social Science and Policy Research?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Social Science and Policy Research include Pierre Bourdıeu, F. Stuart Chapin and Herbert A. Simon.

  1. 1 Pierre Bourdıeu France 268k citations
  2. 2 F. Stuart Chapin United States 185k citations
  3. 3 Herbert A. Simon United States 179k citations
  4. 4 Michael E. Porter United States 165k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Social Science and Policy Research?

The most cited paper in Social Science and Policy Research is "Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method" (Glenn A. Bowen, 2009), with 12,630 citations. Next come "Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis" (3,945) and "Understanding and Validity in Qualitative Research" (2,954).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method Glenn A. Bowen · Qualitative Research Journal 3 Aug 2009 12,630
2 Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis Donald E. Polkinghorne · International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 1995 3,945
3 Understanding and Validity in Qualitative Research Joseph A. Maxwell · Harvard Educational Review Sep 1992 2,954
4 Qualitative Research: Rigour and qualitative research Nicholas Mays, Catherine J. Pope · BMJ Open access 8 Jul 1995 2,732
5 Ethics, Reflexivity, and “Ethically Important Moments” in Research Marilys N. Guillemin, Lynn H. Gillam · Qualitative Inquiry Apr 2004 2,641
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Social Science and Policy Research research done?

The largest centres of Social Science and Policy Research research in 2022-now are London (United Kingdom), Rome (Italy), Oslo (Norway) and Warsaw (Poland).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 LondonUnited Kingdom 18 works
  2. 2 RomeItaly 11 works
  3. 3 OsloNorway 10 works
  4. 4 WarsawPoland 8 works
  5. 5 New YorkUnited States 7 works
  6. 6 Washington D.C.United States 7 works
  7. 7 MelbourneAustralia 7 works
  8. 8 TorontoCanada 7 works
  9. 9 ChicagoUnited States 6 works
  10. 10 MoscowRussia 6 works
See Social Science and Policy Research on the map

Where is the best place to study Social Science and Policy Research?

Among universities, judged by research, Sapienza University of Rome 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.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Sapienza University of RomeItaly 5.08.3%11.6×8 -

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Social Science and Policy Research, country by country

Is Social Science and Policy Research research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 19% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Social Science and Policy Research.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Social Science and Policy Research as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0031% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%Social Science and Policy Research0.0032% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Social Science and Policy Research over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Social Science and Policy Research10.6% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

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.

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