The Social Sciences category includes journals on the following topics:

• communication
• environmental studies
• library and information sciences
• political science
• public health and administration
• rehabilitation
• social work and social policy
• sociology
• anthropology
• law
• education

The top 20 journals in this category are a representation of all of these topics.

Leading the pack is Social Science & Medicine, with 3,761 papers cited a total of 42,554 times to date. The Journal of the American Geriatric Society runs a close second, with 2,638 papers cited a total of 40,134 times to date. The remaining journals in the top five also deal with medicine as it relates to society: Medical Care ranks at #3, with 1,653 papers cited a total of 25,630 times to date; the Journal of Advanced Nursing ranks at #4, with 3,054 papers cited a total of 18,316 times to date; and Health Affairs ranks at #5, with 1,759 papers cited a total of 17,324 times to date.

Journals in the top 20 dealing more with straightforward sociological aspects of the field include the Journal of Marriage and the Family, which is ranked at #8, with 859 papers cited a total of 9,924 times to date; American Sociological Review, which is ranked at #9, with 461 papers cited a total of 9,542 times to date; and the American Journal of Sociology, which is ranked at #20, with 377 papers cited a total of 7,092 times to date.

Political science journals in the top 20 include World Development at #12, with 1,301 papers cited a total of 8,321 times to date; the American Journal of Political Science at #16, with 623 papers cited a total of 7,730 times to date; and American Political Science Review at #18, with 477 papers cited a total of 7,250 times to date.

Anthropology is represented by the journal at #15: the Journal of Human Evolution, with 658 papers cited a total of 7,791 times to date. Environmental studies are covered in the journal at #19: Environment and Planning A, with 1,189 papers cited a total of 7,149 times to date.

Other sociological issues attracting attention in the top 20 journals include alcoholism (Journal of Studies on Alcohol at #6, with 1,051 papers cited a total of 12,075 times), child abuse (Child Abuse & Neglect at #14, with 949 papers cited a total of 7,989 times), and geriatric studies (the Journal of the American Geriatric Society at #2, and Journals Of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences at #17, with 826 papers cited a total of 7,427 times).

The top 20 journals in Social Sciences are listed in full in the table below:

RANK	FIELD	PAPERS	CITATIONS	CITATIONS PER PAPER
1	SOC SCI MED	3,761	42,554	11.31
2	J AMER GERIAT SOC	2,638	40,134	15.21
3	MED CARE	1,653	25,630	15.51
4	J ADV NURS	3,054	18,316	6.00
5	HEALTH AFFAIR	1,759	17,324	9.85
6	J STUD ALCOHOL	1,051	12,075	11.49
7	J SPEECH LANG HEAR RES	1,114	11,371	10.21
8	J MARRIAGE FAM	859	9,924	11.55
9	AMER SOCIOL REV	461	9,542	20.70
10	HEALTH SERV RES	884	8,621	9.75
11	PATIENT EDUC COUNS	1,323	8,395	6.35
12	WORLD DEVELOP	1,301	8,321	6.40
13	J AMER MED INFORM ASSOC	1,566	8,030	5.13
14	CHILD ABUSE NEGLECT	949	7,989	8.42
15	J HUM EVOL	658	7,791	11.84
16	AMER J POLIT SCI	623	7,730	12.41
17	J GERONTOL SER B-PSYCHOL SCI	826	7,427	8.99
18	AMER POLIT SCI REV	477	7,250	15.20
19	ENVIRON PLAN A	1,189	7,149	6.01
20	AMER J SOCIOL	377	7,092	18.81
SOURCE: Essential Science Indicators from the November 2007 update update covering a 10-year plus 6-month period, 1997-August 30, 2007.