Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. It is a social science that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about social order, disorder, and change. Many sociologists aim to conduct research that may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure.

The traditional focuses of sociology include social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, sexuality and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, education, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge.

Sociology (journal)

Sociology is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the British Sociological Association. The journal's editors-in-chief are Andrew King, Sarah Neal (both University of Surrey), Karim Murji, Sophie Watson, and Kath Woodward (all Open University).

Sociology is regarded as one of the three "main sociology journals in Britain," along with the The Sociological Review and the British Journal of Sociology.

The journal was established in 1967 as "the clearest intellectual representative of the social aspirations of the Butskellite era," with Michael Banton serving as its first editor. It was formerly published by Cambridge University Press and has been published by Sage Publications since 2002. Shortly after its establishment, it became the official journal of the British Sociological Association, replacing the British Journal of Sociology.

Abstracting and indexing

Sociology is abstracted and indexed in Scopus and the Social Sciences Citation Index. According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2013 impact factor is 1.348, ranking it 28 out of 137 journals in the category "Sociology".