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Social Work: Journals

A general guide to starting research in the area of Social Work.

Top Academic Social Work Journals, A-Z

 

  • Advances in Social WorkAdvances in Social Work seeks to publish empirical, conceptual, and theoretical articles that make substantial contributions to the field in all areas of social work including clinical practice, community organization, social administration, social policy, planning, and program evaluation. 
  • Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal: The journal features original articles that focus on social work practice with children, adolescents, and their families. The journal addresses current issues in the field of social work drawn from theory, direct practice, research, and social policy. 
  • Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice, and ProgramChild Welfare links the latest findings in child welfare and related research with the best practice, policy, and program development into one innovative resource equally indispensable to child welfare and associated professionals.
  • Children and Youth Services Review: an International Multidisciplinary Review of the Welfare of Young PeopleChildren and Youth Services Review is an interdisciplinary forum for critical scholarship regarding service programs for children and youth. The journal will publish full-length articles, current research and policy notes, and book reviews.
  • Clinical Social Work JournalClinical Social Work Journal publishes leading, peer-reviewed original articles relevant to contemporary clinical practice with individuals, couples, families, and groups. It also presents innovations in theoretical, practice, evidence-based clinical research, and interdisciplinary approaches.
  • Critical Social Policy: a Journal of Theory and Practice in Social Welfare: From the moment of inception, Critical Social Policy has been a political project confronting orthodox and traditional approaches to social policy, welfare and the state, seeking to put people before profit. Its original aims were, and continue to be, grounded in socialist, feminist, anti-racist and radical perspectives relating to the experiences of people struggling within or against the state. 
  • Ethics and Social Welfare: The aim of the journal is to encourage dialogue and debate across social, intercultural and international boundaries on the serious ethical issues relating to professional interventions into social life.
  • Families in Society: the Journal of Contemporary Social ServicesFamilies in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services has been a core journal in social work research for nearly 100 years. Stewarded by the Alliance for Strong Families and CommunitiesFamilies in Society has an enduring focus on the art, science, and practice of social work, with specific emphasis on individuals and families and their communities.
  • Family ProcessFamily Process is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal committed to publishing original articles, including theory and practice, philosophical underpinnings, qualitative and quantitative clinical research, and training in couple and family therapy, family interaction, and family relationships with networks and larger systems.
  • Family RelationsFamily Relations is an international journal of applied family studies. It is a journal of the National Council on Family Relations.
  • Health & Social Work: Covers developments in areas such as aging, clinical work, long-term care, substance abuse, and other topics of interest; and includes information on topics that affect the quality of health care, such as research, policy, specialized services, quality assurance, in-service training, and others. For academics and human services professional.
  • International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies: The International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies (IJCYFS) is a peer reviewed, open access, interdisciplinary, cross-national journal that is committed to scholarly excellence in the field of research about and services for children, youth, families and their communities.
  • International Social WorkInternational Social Work is a scholarly refereed journal designed to extend knowledge and promote international exchange in the fields of social work, social welfare, and community development. Its major focus is on the interaction between processes of globalization and the development of social welfare at national level, as well as social work and community development locally.
  • Journal of Family Social Work: The Journal of Family Social Work makes a unique attempt at balancing clinical relevance and academic exactitude. By uniting clinicians and researchers from social work, family enrichment, family therapy, family studies, family psychology and sociology, health and mental health, and child welfare, it stresses a blending of sociocultural contexts, the uniqueness of the family, and the person of the clinician.
  • Journal of Gerontological Social WorkThe Journal of Gerontological Social Work aims to be the leading voice in thought development, research, educational training, and professional practice in the field of gerontological social work. We publish articles across a wide range of domains and settings of gerontological social work including, but not limited to, theoretical analysis, original research using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods, clinical interventions, knowledge translation, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and policy analysis.
  • Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies: The Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies is a double-blind, peer-reviewed publication, interdisciplinary and international in scope. It is unique in its character as it covers both migration and refugee studies, with a truly global coverage, across continents and topics. The journal publishes full-length theoretical and empirical research discussing migration governance, migrant/refugee integration, and related policies and practices. 
  • Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy: The Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy welcomes articles on all dimensions of comparative and international social policy. Papers will enhance and develop theoretical, empirical and methodological insights and knowledge in the field and a greater understanding of different welfare systems and policy actors operating nationally and internationally. 
  • Journal of Marital and Family Therapy: The Journal of Marital & Family Therapy (JMFT) is published quarterly by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and is one of the best known and most influential family therapy journals in the world. JMFT is a peer-reviewed journal that advances the professional understanding of marital and family functioning and the most effective psychotherapeutic treatment of couple and family distress.
  • Journal of Social Service Research: The Journal of Social Service Research is exclusively devoted to empirical research and its application to the design, delivery, and management of the new social services. The Journal focuses on outcomes-based research and practice, and clearly presents the different types of funded and non-funded state-of-the-art research being carried out in the field.
  • Journal of Social Work: The Journal of Social Work is a forum for the publication, dissemination and debate of key ideas and research in social work. The journal aims to advance theoretical understanding, shape policy, and inform practice, and welcomes submissions from all areas of social work.
  • Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions: This journal publishes refereed articles on innovative individual, family, group work, and community practice models for treating and preventing substance abuse and other addictions in diverse populations. The journal focuses on research findings, health care, social policies, and program administration directly affecting social work practice in the addictions.
  • Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare: The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare promotes the understanding of social welfare by applying social science knowledge, methodology and technology to problems of social policy, politics, the social ecology, and social services.
  • Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research: The Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research is a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to presenting innovative, rigorous original research on social problems, intervention programs, and policies. Special emphasis is placed on publishing findings on the effectiveness of social and health services, including public policies and practices.
  • Psychoanalytic Social WorkPsychoanalytic Social Work, the only avowedly social work publication listed on the PEPWeb (Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing) database, offers clinicians, clinical educators, and others highly informative and stimulating articles relevant to the practice of psychoanalytic social work with individuals. 
  • Qualitative Social Work: Research and Practice: The journal facilitates interactive dialogue and integration between those interested in qualitative research and methodology and those involved in the world of practice. It reflects the fact that these worlds are increasingly international and interdisciplinary in nature.
  • Research on Social Work Practice: There is a growing movement in social work toward a more empirical selection of therapies and interventions because, to be effective, you have to know what works. As the community of practitioners, scholars and students interested in applying scientific methods of analysis to social work problems continues to grow, the need for a publication dedicated to social work practice outcomes has never been greater. Research on Social Work Practice is the first professional social work journal to focus on evaluation research and on validating methods of assessment in social work practice.
  • Social Development Issues: The journal's purpose is to promote consideration of issues that affect social justice as well as the development and well being of individuals and their communities. The journal is committed to the advancement of social, cultural, political, and economic theories including policy and practice (and their interrelationship) within a global context.
  • Social Service Review: Founded in 1927, Social Service Review (SSR) is devoted to the publication of thought provoking, original research on pressing social issues and promising social work practices and social welfare policies. Articles in SSR analyze issues from the vantage points of a broad spectrum of disciplines, theories, and methodological traditions, at the individual, family, community, organizational, and societal levels.
  • Social WorkSocial Work is the premier journal of the social work profession. Widely read by practitioners, faculty, and students, it is the official journal of NASW and is provided to all members as a membership benefit. Social Work is dedicated to improving practice and advancing knowledge in social work and social welfare.
  • Social Work Education: the International JournalSocial Work Education publishes articles of a critical and reflective nature concerned with the theory and practice of social care and social work education at all levels. It presents a forum for international debate on important issues and provides an opportunity for the expression of new ideas and proposals on the structure and content of social care and social work education, training and development.
  • Social Work Research: Publishes articles, review articles and commentary focusing on social work and practice-based research, evaluation and research studies contributing to knowledge about social work issues and problems.
  • Social Work with Groups: a Journal of Community and Clinical Practice: Social Work with Groups is a one-of-a-kind resource for social work educators, students, field instructors, supervisors and practitioners, and allied professionals, who are actively engaged in community and clinical practice. The journal offers readers fresh examples of evidence-guided group work with diverse populations in multiple settings through a combination of vivid practice illustrations and sound theoretical concepts.