News Release

American Sociological Association launches new open-access journal, Socius

Publication's first 2 articles now appear online

Business Announcement

American Sociological Association

WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 21, 2016 -- The American Sociological Association (ASA) has launched Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, a new open access journal, which published its inaugural articles earlier this month.

A first of its kind for the ASA, the journal is free to anyone, appears online only, and can feature scholarly papers on any sociology-related topic.

"Our new journal operates without the constraints of traditional print journals," said ASA Executive Officer Sally T. Hillsman. "Socius does not have page restrictions, a rigid publishing schedule, or a specific theme. Authors who have their articles published in our open access journal will retain the copyright to their work, which is not the case with our other journals. Perhaps, most importantly, we are pleased to be able to offer high-quality, peer-reviewed research to any interested reader in the world at no cost."

Lisa A. Keister, the Gilhuly Family Professor of Sociology at Duke University, and James Moody, the Robert O. Keohane Professor of Sociology at Duke University, are the founding editors of Socius, whose open access journal model allows authors to submit articles electronically, receive a publishing decision quickly, and have accepted papers published online immediately after editorial review. There is no limit to the number of accepted articles that Socius can publish regardless of content type, paper length, or scholarly methods used.

"The goal of Socius is to make new research readily available by providing an online forum for the rapid dissemination of high-quality, peer-reviewed research, produced in time to be relevant to ongoing research and public debates," Keister and Moody said.

While the editors accept traditional journal articles, they also encourage authors to submit research using novel formats. Examples include papers that have very concise or no literature reviews and theory sections, as well as articles that develop sociologically relevant theory but are not accompanied by empirical tests of those theories.

"We think sociology is ripe for a journal like Socius," Keister and Moody said.

Published on Jan. 8, 2016 the inaugural Socius papers are "Discrimination Against Queer Women in the U.S. Workforce: A Résumé Audit Study," by Emma Mishel, a PhD student in sociology at New York University, and "Status and Interaction: A Stochastic Model for the Measurement of Macro-Status Value and the Determination of Micro-Status Ranking in Task Group Interaction," by John Skvoretz, a professor of sociology at the University of South Florida, and Thomas J. Fararo, an Emeritus Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Funding for the journal comes from the ASA, SAGE Publications, and article processing charges (APCs). However, for at least its first year, Socius will offer waivers for any author unable to pay an APC for any reason.

Socius joins ASA's publishing program that consists of nine other ASA journals and four ASA section-sponsored journals, including one that is open access.

About the American Sociological Association

The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.


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