Closing Volume 52 and Reflections on 2020

• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0095399720949340
• Author: Brian J. Cook
• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Editorial

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095399720949340

Administration & Society

2020, Vol. 52(10) 1467 –1469

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0095399720949340

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Editorial

Closing Volume 52 and

Reflections on 2020

The November 2020 issue of Administration & Society brings volume 52 to

a close. The journal is now well into its second half century, and the research

authors are bringing to A&S is fully consonant with its tradition of rich, lively,

and serious content.

In a year of unprecedented social and economic disruption, and serious

stress on researchers and scholarly publishing, the November issue is appear-

ing in print at least two months ahead of schedule to provide A&S authors

earlier visibility and impact for their research and giving them more time for

their articles to gain citations and downloads. In the context of severely

strained budgets for many organizations and systems brought on by a pan-

demic-induced recession, earlier print production this year improves effi-

ciency and reduces costs in the production and distribution process.

For A&S, the most prominent accomplishment of 2020 was the launch of

Perspectives, the new feature seeking to advance new and distinctive ideas in

the study of administration and society. Perspectives provides space and vis-

ibility to theoretical, methodological, or philosophical concepts or controver-

sies in public administration and governance, especially creative theorizing,

novel or critical analyses of existing literature and theory, insights into

administration from different disciplines, or reinterpretations of classic

works. Two Perspectives essays have appeared so far, and more are in the

pipeline for publication in volume 53.

In this tumultuous year, Administration & Society maintained its competi-

tive position among public administration and social science journals in the

United States and internationally. Its one-year impact factor score for 2019

declined slightly to 1.564, as did its ranking, to 29th out of 48 public admin-

istration journals. Nevertheless, the journal’s five-year impact factor moved

above the 2.0 level for the first time at 2.085, placing the journal at 26th

among public administration journals. In the Scopus CiteScore A&S ranks

30th out of 129 public administration journals, and in the SCImago Journal

Rank, 27th out of 132 public administration journals.

Because of early publication of the November issue, complete data on

submissions and decisions for 2020 are not available. As of July 31, 2020, the

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