| Journal of the Royal Statistical Society |
|
|---|---|
| Discipline | Statistics |
| Language | English |
| Publication details | |
| Publisher | Blackwell Publishing (United Kingdom) |
| Publication history | 1838 to present |
| Impact factor (2008) |
1.484 (Series A) 2.835 (Series B) 1.057 (Series C) |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN | 0964-1998 |
The Journal of the Royal Statistical Society is a series of three peer-reviewed statistics journals published by Blackwell Publishing for the London-based Royal Statistical Society.
The Statistical Society of London was founded in 1834, but would not begin producing a journal for four years. From 1834–1837, members of the society would read the results of their studies to the other members, and some details were recorded in the proceedings. The first study reported to the society in 1834 was a simple survey of the occupations of people in Manchester, England. Conducted by going door-to-door and inquiring, the study revealed that the most common profession was mill-hands, followed closely by weavers.[1]
When founded, the membership of the Statistical Society of London overlapped almost completely with the statistical section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1837 a volume of Transactions of the Statistical Society of London were written, and in May 1838 the society began its journal. The first editor of the journal was Rawson W. Rawson.[1] In the early days of the society and the journal, there was dispute over whether or not opinions should be expressed, or merely the numbers. The symbol of the society was a wheatsheaf, representing a bundle of facts, and the motto Aliis exterendum, Latin for "to be threshed out by others." Many early members chafed under this prohibition, and in 1857 the motto was dropped.[2]
From 1838–1886, the journal was published as the Journal of the Statistical Society of London (ISSN 0959-5341). In 1887 it was renamed the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (ISSN 0952-8385) when the society was granted a Royal Charter.
On its centenary in 1934, the society inaugurated a Supplement to the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society to publish work on industrial and agricultural applications.[3] In 1948 the society reorganised its journals and the main journal became the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General) (ISSN 0035-9238) and the supplement became Series B (Statistical Methodology). In 1988, the flagship changed its name to Series A (Statistics in Society).
In 1952, the society founded Applied Statistics of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society which became Series C (Applied Statistics). After merging with the Institute of Statisticians in 1993, the society published Series D (The Statistician) (ISSN 0039-0526), but this journal was closed in 2004.
As of 2007, three journals are published under this general title.
Statistics in Society (ISSN 0964-1998) is published quarterly. The Editors are A. Fielding (University of Birmingham, UK) and S. Day (Roche Products Ltd., UK). Its 2008 impact factor is 1.484.[4]
Statistical Methodology (ISSN 1369-7412) is published five times a year. The Editors are George Casella (University of Florida, USA) and Gareth Roberts (University of Warwick, UK). Its 2008 impact factor is 2.835.[5]
Starting in 1934, it was originally called Supplement to the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (ISSN 1466-6162), and in 1948 was changed to Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological) (ISSN 0035-9246), before being changed to its current name in 1998.
In a 2003 survey of statisticians, Series B was perceived to have been one of the highest quality journals in statistics.[6]
Applied Statistics (ISSN 0035-9254) is published five times a year. The Editors are M.S. Ridout (University of Kent, UK) and C.J. Skinner (University of Southampton, UK). Its 2008 impact factor is 1.057.[7]
A review of the first 227 algorithms published as source code in Applied Statistics is available.[8] The last such code was published in 1997.
The Statistician (ISSN 0039-0526) is no longer published, but was published 4 times a year up to 2003. The final Editors were A.J. Watkins (University of Wales, Swansea, UK) and L.C. Wolstenholme (City University, London, UK).[9] The Statistician was added in parallel to Series A-C as a Royal Statistical Society publication in 1993, having previously been published by the Institute of Statisticians.
Since 2004 the Society has published Significance which consists of articles on topics of statistical interest presented at a level suited to a general audience. From September 2010 Significance is jointly published with the American Statistical Association and distributed to members of both societies.[10]