Key papers in Sociology and Political Science
Pofolia’s corpus holds 85 papers from the Sociology and Political Science subfield (2011–2026). The list below starts with the most cited.
Most cited
Ranked by citation count. Because citations accumulate over time, this list naturally leans towards work published a few years ago; for where the field is now, see “recently added”.
PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation
Annals of Internal Medicine · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 2.00 · FWCI 3112.55 · 41,247 citations
A new PRISMA-ScR checklist with 20 essential and 2 optional reporting items has been developed to improve the methodological and reporting quality of scoping reviews.
Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste*
2018 · FWCI 6638.83 · 20,382 citations
Taste is not merely personal preference but a social tool used to assert distinction from the working class and its basic needs, particularly through the consumption of luxury versus necessity goods.
Exchange and Power in Social Life
2017 · FWCI 775.16 · 13,647 citations
Peter M. Blau's foundational 1964 work analyzes how social life organizes into complex structures by examining individual and group relations through the lens of exchange, reciprocity, imbalance, and power.
Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age
2020 · FWCI 2750.51 · 13,492 citations
In late modernity, the self is a "reflexive project" where individuals actively construct their identity through lifestyle choices, rather than inheriting it from tradition.
Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization
Quality & Quantity · 2017 · Q1 · FWCI 1122.15 · 11,771 citations · Open access
This paper identifies four distinct approaches to conceptualizing and operationalizing 'saturation' in qualitative research, highlighting the inherent uncertainty in its predictive logic.
Climate Change 2014 Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2014 · FWCI 577.03 · 11,266 citations
This abstract describes the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a standard reference for climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability.
Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide
BMJ · 2014 · Q1 · SJR 1.00 · FWCI 941.13 · 10,625 citations · Open access
A new 12-item TIDieR checklist and guide has been developed by experts to standardize and improve the reporting of intervention details in research.
Capital: A Critique of Political Economy
2020 · FWCI 4900.55 · 9,951 citations
Marx's unfinished Volume III of Das Kapital controversially argues that market economies are inherently doomed to worsening crises and eventual collapse, regardless of interventions.
Selections from the prison notebooks
2020 · FWCI 2104.45 · 9,794 citations
This abstract argues that the common distinction between 'intellectuals' and 'non-intellectuals' is based on the immediate social function and weighting of professional activity, not a strict dichotomy.
Parental Investment and Sexual Selection
2017 · FWCI 1785.48 · 9,546 citations
This paper argues that the adult sex ratio is often viewed incorrectly as an independent variable driving species adaptations, when it is instead a consequence of parental investment and sexual selection mechanisms.
The spread of true and false news online
Science · 2018 · Q1 · SJR 10.00 · FWCI 1672.56 · 8,459 citations
False news stories spread significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than true news on Twitter, with the effect being most pronounced for political falsehoods.
Economic Growth and Income Inequality
2019 · FWCI 3980.46 · 8,164 citations
Simon Kuznets's 1954 presidential address introduced the "inverted U curve" hypothesis, suggesting income inequality initially rises with industrialization and then declines.
Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation
Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2012 · FWCI 643.07 · 7,291 citations
Extreme weather events, amplified by climate change, interact with vulnerable systems to create disasters, with disaster risk influenced by both event changes and evolving exposure/vulnerability.
Homo Sacer
Stanford University Press eBooks · 2020 · FWCI 454.96 · 7,048 citations
This work connects philosophical concepts of pure possibility, potentiality, and power to political and social ethics.
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
The MIT Press eBooks · 2017 · FWCI 3157.12 · 6,979 citations
Technology is reshaping traditional humanities by introducing a 'convergence culture' where old and new media interact, leading to new social skills, ethics, and economic models.
Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election
The Journal of Economic Perspectives · 2017 · Q1 · SJR 8.00 · FWCI 1436.97 · 6,596 citations · Open access
In the 2016 US election, social media was a significant, though not primary, news source, with fake news favoring Trump shared 30 million times on Facebook compared to 8 million for Clinton.
Selections from the prison notebooks of Antonio Gramsci
2015 · FWCI 1070.68 · 6,362 citations
This volume presents a foundational selection of Antonio Gramsci's influential Prison Notebooks, offering key texts on political theory, ideology, and culture.
Critical race theory: an introduction
Choice Reviews Online · 2013 · 6,076 citations
This work serves as the first concise primer on Critical Race Theory (CRT), a school of thought arguing race is central to American life, from two of its founders.
Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials
2012 · FWCI 1498.33 · 6,045 citations
This book presents a comprehensive overview of qualitative research methodologies, covering data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation.
Dialectic of Enlightenment
Stanford University Press eBooks · 2020 · FWCI 187.25 · 5,785 citations
This is a new translation of a foundational Frankfurt School text that analyzes how Enlightenment ideals paradoxically led to modern barbarism.
Recently added
An introduction to the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS)
2026 · 462 citations
The China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) is a comprehensive, longitudinal social survey designed to provide extensive data on contemporary China for academic research.
Readings for Diversity and Social Justice
2026 · FWCI 63.15 · 733 citations
The second edition of 'Readings for Diversity and Social Justice' has been significantly expanded with over 40 new readings and three new chapter sections.
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
Climate Change and Law Collection · 2025 · 2,717 citations
This report synthesizes the latest science on the impacts of climate change, adaptation strategies, and vulnerability across various sectors and regions globally.
Inequality: what can be done?
London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) · 2025 · FWCI 6.51 · 594 citations
This paper proposes ambitious new policies beyond wealth taxes to combat rising inequality and poverty, focusing on technology, employment, social security, capital sharing, and taxation.
Qualitative Case Studies
2024 · 4,070 citations
This paper provides no abstract or summary, making it impossible to extract specific findings or contributions.
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