How to Publish a Research Paper in Social Sciences

Last updated: January 2026 · 4 min read · Audience: Authors, students, early-career researchers · Reading level: Introductory

Introduction to publishing in the social sciences

Publishing a research paper in the social sciences requires more than producing results. It involves matching the work to a venue whose scope, audience, and editorial standards are appropriate, and following the disciplinary conventions that reviewers expect. This page outlines how publishing operates in the social sciences, the most common challenges authors face, a step-by-step process, where to publish, and how to choose between journal types based on the author's situation.

The recommendations here are presented neutrally. EP Journals is one publisher among many, and the goal of this page is to help researchers in the social sciences make informed decisions, not to direct them to any single venue.

How publishing works in the social sciences

In the social sciences, the dominant editorial conventions include APA 7, Chicago, or Harvard styles, mixed quantitative-qualitative designs, strong theoretical framing, ethics clearance for human-subject research, and reflexive acknowledgement of researcher positionality. The typical first-decision time across reputable venues is 12 to 24 weeks. Authors are expected to engage with current literature, follow ethical and methodological standards specific to the discipline, and respond constructively to peer review.

Common challenges in the social sciences publishing

• Theoretical grounding is often weak; submissions present empirical findings without engaging core social-science theories.
• Qualitative work is sometimes presented without clear coding procedures or trustworthiness criteria.
• Ethics clearance for interviews, surveys, and ethnographic work is mandatory and must be documented.
• Replication and generalisation claims require careful contextual scoping.
• Cross-disciplinary submissions risk falling outside any single journal's scope.

Step-by-step publishing process for the social sciences

1. Identify the social-science problem and locate it within an established theoretical framework.
2. Obtain ethics clearance for human-subject research and document consent procedures.
3. Design the study using survey, interview, ethnography, content analysis, or mixed methods.
4. Analyse data with appropriate techniques: regression, thematic analysis, discourse analysis, or narrative inquiry.
5. Draft the paper with a strong literature review, transparent methodology, and reflexive discussion.
6. Match the journal scope: sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, or interdisciplinary venues.
7. Submit and respond to peer review with theoretical and methodological depth.

Tips to improve acceptance chances

• Engage with at least one major theoretical tradition explicitly.
• Report coding procedures, intercoder reliability, or trustworthiness criteria for qualitative work.
• Acknowledge researcher positionality where relevant.
• Cite recent work from the target journal's last three to five years.
• Avoid presenting policy advocacy as research findings.

Where to publish research in the social sciences

Several types of venues serve the social sciences research. The right choice depends on the contribution's maturity, the author's career stage, the available budget, and the indexing requirements imposed by the institution or funder. The table below summarises the main options.

Decision guidance: which type of journal to choose

Choose a traditional indexed journal when the work is novel, theoretically substantial, and the author can wait several months for the review process. This route maximises citation visibility and is often required for tenure, promotion, or doctoral defence committees that emphasise indexing.

Choose a structured low-cost peer-reviewed journal when the timeline is constrained, the budget is limited, and a transparent, documented review process is preferred over journal prestige. This option suits students, early-career researchers, and authors publishing applied or course-derived work. Platforms such as EP Journals operate within this category alongside several other publishers.

Choose an open-access journal with a moderate APC when wide and immediate readership matters, the author has institutional or grant-funded APC support, and the journal has clear indexing in DOAJ, Scopus, or a discipline-specific database.

Example scenarios

Student in the social sciences

A master's or M.Phil. student publishing a dissertation chapter benefits from a structured low-cost journal that accepts well-framed empirical work with a documented review timeline.

PhD researcher in the social sciences

A PhD researcher should target SSCI or Scopus indexed disciplinary journals aligned with the thesis area, accepting longer review cycles for the citation impact and recognition required for academic appointments.

Budget-limited author

An independent researcher or NGO-affiliated author without institutional support can choose between a free society journal with a slow cycle and a transparent low-cost open-access journal such as those in the EP Journals group.

For researchers in the social sciences who prioritise a structured, transparent, and affordable peer-review process, platforms such as EP Journals are one of several options worth evaluating alongside indexed traditional and open-access venues.