About the Journal

The British Journal of Social Work is an international, high-impact, academic social work journal, published in the UK and owned by the British Association of Social Workers. The Journal was founded by the British Association of Social Workers in 1970. Each year we publish one ‘Volume’ of the Journal. The 50th Volume was published in 2020, including the 50th anniversary virtual Issue. Each Volume has eight Journal editions, called ‘Issues’. Each Issue includes between 15-30 articles, and 2-6 book reviews. You can read the latest Issue of the Journal here.   

The Journal welcomes submissions related to social work theory, research and practice from across the globe. Internationally, social work is understood, practiced, and researched in a variety of ways. International Federation of Social Workers defines social work as: “a practice-based profession, and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. The above definition may be amplified at national and/or regional levels.”  

Foregrounding of experiential knowledge of social work in our editorial and publishing practice is important to ensure that social work knowledge and resultant practice are developed in partnership with and reflect the needs of the communities, groups, families, and individuals we work with. We are proud that Issue 3 of the 53rd Volume of the Journal (published in April 2023) was a Special Issue on the voice and influence of lived experience of social work. The Issue was Co-Edited by people with lived experience of social work and all the articles in this Issue were either authored or led by people with lived experience of social work, too.  We welcome and support articles authored or led by people with lived experience of social work. Please read Author Guidelines for further information.

What Do We Publish?  

The Journal welcomes submissions which focus on social work research, theory, and/or practice. We particularly welcome submissions which foreground the voice and influence of people who use social work services. Journal readership includes social work researchers, educators, students, practitioners, managers, and people with lived experience of social work from across the world who wish to keep up to date with developments in social work theory, research, education, and practice.  

See Guidelines for authors, reviewers, and contributors for detailed guidelines for the types of work published in the Journal.  

Special Issues

Occasionally, we publish an issue on a specialist topic which is of interest to our global social work readership. Such an issue is proposed and edited (prepared) by the guest Editors. You can see examples of previous Special Issues and their Editors here. If you would like to submit a proposal for a Special Issue, please prepare a brief outline of your idea and submit it to the Journal Editorial Office (bjsw.editorialoffice@oup.com). It needs to include the following information:  

• Proposed Special Issue Title 

• Rationale for the special issue – what makes it relevant for our readership internationally?  

• Draft call for Special Issue Papers to be published on the Journal website.  

• Brief biography and the main contact for the guest editors. 

Special Issue proposals are reviewed and approved by the Journal Editorial Board which meets twice each year (in January and July). If approved, each Special Issue takes between 12-18 months to prepare. 

Reputation

• BJSW is a highly ranked journal with an Impact Factor of 1.8.  

• BJSW has the annual BASW Kay McDougall British Journal of Social Work Prize, which is awarded to the best Editor’s Choice paper published in the journal that year. 

Impact Factor and Ranking

Data source: Journal Citation Reports^TM (Source Clarivate, 2024)

Abstracting and Indexing Services

The British Journal Of Social Work is covered by the following indexing services:
Abstracts in Social Gerontology: current literature on ageing
Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)
British Humanities Index
Caredata Abstracts
CINAHL
Criminal Justice Abstracts
Criminology
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)
Current Contents® / Social and Behavioral Sciences
Education Research Abstracts
E-psyche
Expanded academic ASAP
Family Scholar Publications
Family & Society Studies Worldwide
Family Studies Database
Family Index Database
Human Resources Abstracts
IBSS
International Bibliography of Book Reviews (IBR)
International Bibliography of Periodical Literature (IBZ)
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
ISI: Social Sciences Citation Index
Journal Citation Reports / Social Sciences Edition
NISC
PAIS
Penology & Police Science Abstracts
Periodicals Archive Online (PAO)
Periodicals Index Online (PIO)
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PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest News & Magazines
PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source
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PROQUEST DATABASE : ProQuest Sociology
PROQUEST DATABASE : PsycINFO Database with Full Text
PsychINFO
Psychlit
Research Alert
Research on Social Work Practice
Sage Family Studies Abstracts
Social Science
Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
Social Sciences Citation Index®
Social Scisearch®
Social Services Abstract
Social Work Research Abstracts
Sociology Abstracts
Studies on Women Abstracts