''Biodemography and Social Biology'' is a semiannual

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

covering the intersection between

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

, and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. The journal is devoted to "furthering the discussion, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge about biological and sociocultural forces interacting to affect the structure, health, well-being and behavior of human populations". The journal aims to contribute to the fields of both

sociobiology Sociobiology is a field of biology that aims to explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics. Within the study of ...

and

biodemography Biodemography is the science dealing with the integration of biological theory and demography. Overview Biodemography is a new branch of human (classical) demography concerned with understanding the complementary biological and demographic deter ...

. It was established in 1916 and is published by

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

on behalf of the

Society for Biodemography and Social Biology A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. S ...

, of which it is the official journal. The

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

is Hiroaki Matsuura (

Shoin University is a private university in Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded as a women's school in 1941, Shoin became coeducational in 2004. It is a member of the Western Metropolitan Area University Association. History The predecessor of the school, ...

). According to the ''

Journal Citation Reports ''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publication by Clarivate. It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science Core Collection. It provides information about academic journals in the natur ...

'', the journal has a 2023

impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a type of journal ranking. Journals with higher impact factor values are considered more prestigious or important within their field. The Impact Factor of a journa ...

of 0.9.

History

''Biodemography and Social Biology'' was first established in 1916 as ''Eugenical News''. It was published under that title until 1953. It was renamed ''Eugenics Quarterly'' in 1954, when it was launched by the

American Eugenics Society The American Eugenics Society (AES) was a pro-eugenics organization dedicated to "furthering the discussion, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge about biological and sociocultural forces which affect the structure and composition of huma ...

as a scholarly journal focused on

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

and related subjects. It was renamed ''Social Biology'' in 1969, as a result of the term "eugenics" falling out of fashion. It was renamed again to its current title in 2008 and continues to publish as an independent journal after the disbandment of the Society for Biodemography and Social Biology in 2019.

Notable studies

* Henry, Louis. (1961). “Some data on natural fertility,” ''Eugenics Quarterly'' 8(2): 81–91. *Rogers, Richard G. and Robert Hackenberg. (1987). Extending epidemiologic transition theory: A new stage. ''Social Biology'' 34(3-4): 234-243.

Past editors

Frederick Osborn Major General Frederick Henry Osborn CBE (March 21, 1889 – January 5, 1981) was an American philanthropist, military leader, and eugenicist. He was a founder of several organizations and played a central part in reorienting eugenics in a ...

(Various affiliations), Chairman (1954-1968) * Dudley Kirk (Stanford University), Chairman (1968) * Richard H. Osborne (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Editor (1961-1977) * Arthur Falek (Emory University), Editor (1977-1980) * Richard H. Osborne (University of Wisconsin–Madison), Editor (1981-1999) * Kenneth Land (Duke University), Editor (1999-2008) * Tim B. Heaton (Brigham Young University) / Ken R. Smith (University of Utah), Editor (2008-2012) * Eileen M. Crimmins (University of Southern California), Editor (2013-2021)

References

External links

* {{Biology-journal-stub Academic journals established in 1916 Human biology journals Sociology journals Demography journals Sociobiology Biannual journals Routledge academic journals English-language journals