Our mission, subject coverage, article types, and indexing information — everything you need to know before submitting your work to The Practical Social Sciences & Humanities.
The Practical Social Sciences & Humanities is a peer-reviewed, gold open-access journal dedicated to advancing scholarship across sociology, anthropology, political science, history, philosophy, and cultural studies through rigorous research and unrestricted global dissemination. Founded in 2026, the journal serves as an international platform for original research that bridges disciplinary traditions and addresses pressing social questions.
We are committed to methodological rigour, ethical integrity, and rapid dissemination of findings that carry genuine potential to deepen our understanding of human societies, cultures, and institutions. Every submission is evaluated solely on scholarly merit, independent of the authors' institutional affiliation, geographic location, or funding source.
"We believe that transformative knowledge in the social sciences and humanities should be freely accessible to every researcher, educator, and policymaker on the planet — regardless of institutional affiliation or geographic location."
The Practical Social Sciences & Humanities actively encourages contributions from researchers worldwide, including those based in low- and middle-income countries. APC waivers are available for eligible authors; see our Article Processing Charges page for details.
The journal covers the full breadth of the social sciences and humanities, with particular emphasis on research that demonstrates methodological soundness and carries clear social relevance. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
Studies with a clear theoretical contribution or applied social relevance are especially encouraged. Purely descriptive work without analytical or interpretive depth falls outside the journal's primary scope.
The journal accepts a range of article formats to accommodate different research outputs. Authors should select the most appropriate type before submission. Full word limits and structural requirements are detailed in the Author Guidelines.
| Article Type | Max Words | Max References | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | 5,000 | 60 | Structured, 250 w |
| Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis | 8,000 | 100 | Structured, 300 w |
| Narrative Review | 6,000 | 80 | Unstructured, 200 w |
| Case Study | 5,500 | 70 | Structured, 250 w |
| Brief Report | 2,000 | 25 | Unstructured, 150 w |
| Letter to the Editor | 800 | 10 | None |
Empirical studies must comply with relevant reporting guidelines (PRISMA for systematic reviews, SRQR for qualitative research). Authors are encouraged to register study protocols with appropriate open science repositories prior to data collection.
All articles are published under the CC BY 4.0 licence, enabling unrestricted reuse with appropriate attribution. The journal operates a Gold Open Access model; no subscription or access fee is ever charged to readers or institutions.
Founding Year Waiver: In recognition of the journal's launch year, article processing charges are fully waived for all manuscripts accepted before 1 January 2027. Authors incur no publication costs for submissions accepted during this founding period. All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo double-blind peer review.
Following the waiver period, standard APC rates will be announced in advance of implementation, with continued discount and waiver provisions for authors from low- and middle-income countries.