Societal Impacts

An open access journal publishing societal impacts – share your contribution so that others can build upon it.

Societal Impacts is an international, open access, peer-reviewed journal. We publish brief, digestible articles that describe the societal impacts of research projects, both planned and achieved.

Increasingly, funders and institutions require evidence that researchers are working to resolve today’s major challenges, such as climate change and inequality, and are delivering on global initiatives, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Societal Impacts serves as a platform for articles that demonstrate steps towards these relevant and real-world applications. As a multidisciplinary journal, we welcome submissions from all research areas, and on all forms of societal impact, including cultural, economic, educational, environmental, health, legal, political, social and technological. Submissions describing impacts from preliminary research, replication studies, proof of concept research, and negative results are all welcome. We also encourage alignment with one or more of the SDGs.

Submissions to Societal Impacts should not exceed 2,000 words and must include the following sections:

• Explanation of the societal impact

• Description of the methodology used

• The outcome of the work and its implications

• A concise reference list

Prior to submitting, please review the Societal Impacts Submission Guidelines for a detailed description of content and format requirements. In addition, each submission must be accompanied by a completed Specifications Table.

When you publish with Societal Impacts, you are not only helping to shape a better future; there are also benefits for you as an author. Your open access article will be:

• Accessible: As an open access article, your work is immediately and freely accessible.

• Discoverable: Published articles are easy to find and download through ScienceDirect and other major research indices.

• Citable: Each published article receives a unique DOI so it’s easy to locate and cite. In addition, linking and references drive traffic between your Societal Impacts article and any associated publications.

• Comprehensible: The Submission Guidelines and Specifications Table help to ensure your article is easy for readers to understand and interpret, whatever their discipline or background.

• Expertly reviewed: Your article is reviewed by researchers experienced in your subject area.

• Reproducible and reusable: By detailing the experimental design, materials and methods used to collect or generate your societal impact, you are ensuring that others can reproduce or reuse it.

Please note that Societal Impacts does not publish all short articles; for example, we do not accept:

• Short reviews

• Opinion pieces