Social Work

Open Access refers to journals and scholarly information available digitally for free on the Internet with no licensing or copyright restrictions. There are various levels of open access available. Some journal articles are available free to anyone at the time of publication. Publishers may have the option to restrict access to some journal articles for a few months up to a few years before allowing the article to become open and posted to the web without restrictions.

After leaving the educational setting, many social workers find that their access to research literature is severely diminished. Therefore, building awareness of open access resources among social work students is important. Access to research is a key component to ongoing professional development and evidence-based practice. 

Current Page Editor: Maureen Barry

• Open Social Work

  A collaborative project that addresses open education and open access projects and initiatives in social work.

• BioMed Central

  An open access publisher of over 250 free online academic journals specializing in subjects related to science, technology and medicine.

• Digital Commons Network: Social Work

  The Digital Commons Network brings together free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide. Curated by university librarians and their supporting institutions, the Network includes a growing collection of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, conference proceedings, and other original scholarly work.

• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

  This international directory indexes freely available online journal titles and individual articles listed by subject area. To be included journals must be peer-reviewed or editorially reviewed

• The National Academies Press

  All books published by the National Academies Press can be downloaded as PDFs for free by registering for a free account. Browse topics like aging, children, youth & families, policy, reviews and evaluations, population and fertility studies, women and minorities.

• OpenDOAR: Directory of Open Access Repositories

  OpenDOAR allows users to search for and in academic open access institutional repositories, worldwide. A simple Google custom search allows you to find many dissertations, theses and articles submitted to these repositories.

• Open Social Work

  A collaborative project that addresses open education and open access projects and initiatives in social work.

• PubMed (open access) (National Library of Medicine)

  PubMed Central provides free access to biomedical and life sciences journals and acts as a repository for the National Institutes of Health(NIH) open access mandate which requires public access to research funded by by the NIH.

• ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources

  Search open access journals, conference proceedings, academic repositories and recent (since 2014) monograph series.

• Sherpa Romeo

  Look up journal titles to find publishers’ copyright policies and if they allow self-archiving.

• SocArXiv

  SocArXiv is a publicly accessible platform for the sharing of papers in the social sciences, built in partnership with the Center for Open Science. most research can be archived in a repository like Socarxiv or a university repository under publisher’s open access policy.

• Springer Open

  Search within over 160 peer-reviewed open access journals and some open access books. Most journals are in the medicine and science but there are some articles covering the social sciences.

• Addictive Behaviors Reports

  Addictive Behaviors Reports is an open-access and peer reviewed online-only journal offering an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of research in addictive behaviors.

• Advances in Social Work

  Peer-reviewed articles on current issues, challenges, and responses facing social work practice and education.

• Behavior and Social Issues

  Articles that advance the scientific analysis of human social behavior, particularly with regard to understanding and influencing important social problems.

• Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

  An interdisciplinary peer-reviewed platform for research, multimedia and art “aimed at furthering the ideals of social justice, broadly defined.” Ceased publication in Spring 2018.

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

  An open access, peer-reviewed online journal that provides an international platform for communication on child and adolescent mental health across different cultural backgrounds.

• Columbia Social Work Review

  an annual peer-reviewed journal for up-and-coming scholars in the field of social work to share their research on social work practice, education, research, policy and theory.

• Contemporary Rural Social Work

  Published by the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Education and Communities in collaboration with the National Rural Social Work Caucus. This journals focus is on the promotion of excellence in rural social work practice.

• Critical Social Work

  Critical Social Work is an international peer-reviewed journal hosted by the School of Social Work at the University of Windsor (Ontario). It aims to explore the current and future potentials for social justice which includes legal, moral and economic issues.

• Currents: Scholarship in the Human Services

  Publishes critical and research work by current graduate students in the Human Services as well as articles by guest scholars. Full open access

• Early Childhood Research and Practice

  Online peer-reviewed journal, featuring articles related to the development, care, and education of children with an emphasis on practice-related research and development, issues related to practice, parent participation, and policy. Ceased publication in 2015.

• First Peoples Child & Family Review

  This open access journal has been published by the First Nations Caring Society of Canada since 2004. It covers aboriginal social work issues related to child protection, child development, adoption, and mental health from a First Nations Aboriginal perspective.

• Depression Research and Treatment

  Depression Research and Treatment is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes original research articles, review articles, and clinical studies related to all aspects of depression.

• Future of Children

  The Future of Children is published by Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Brookings Institution. It covers child health, education and welfare public policy issues.

• Global Social Work

• Harm Reducation Journal

  Harm Reduction Journal is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal whose focus is on the prevalent patterns of psychoactive drug use, the public policies meant to control them, and the search for effective methods of reducing the adverse medical, public health, and social consequences associated with both drugs and drug policies.

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• International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies

  An 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 Journal of Mental Health Systems

  n open access, online journal that provides a home for the latest mental health system research, policy and debates, as well as for articles with educational intent that will build capacity for mental health system research and development.

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• International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics

  Examines the ethical and values issues that affect and are interwoven with social work practice, research, and theory development. Full open access

• Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice

  Intersectionalities is a peer-reviewed, open access journal sponsored by Memorial University’s School of Social Work. The journal is international in scope, and publishes articles relating to social work analysis, research, polity, and practice. Full open access

• Journal of Community Practice

  The Journal of Community Practice is an interdisciplinary journal grounded in social work. It is designed to provide a forum for community practice, including community organizing, planning, social administration, organizational development, community development, and social change. Open access to selected articles

• Journal of Comparative Social Work

  "This journal publishes two types of peer-reviewed scientific articles on subjects of importance for social work, with a special emphasis on comparative research on different aspects. This includes: Comparative studies and single site studies that also generate insight and knowledge in various geographical/cultural and national settings."

• Journal of Family Strengths

  The Journal of Family Strengths (JFS), formerly Family Preservation Journal, is an open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed online journal...devoted to presenting theoretical, practice, and evaluation articles on the strengths perspective in family-centered practice to improve services that promote and sustain family systems.

• Journal of Indigenous Social Development

  Formerly the Journal of Indigenous Voices in Social Work. JISD publishes on education, practice, research and policy making relevant to indigenous peoples’ social and economic well-being.

• Journal for Social Action in Counseling & Psychology

  This journal aims to highlight engaged scholarship and the very important social change work done by professionals and activists. It is published by the Lewis & Clark College Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Department of Counseling Psychology

• Journal of Social Inclusion

  Publishes articles that contribute to current knowledge and understanding of the social processes that marginalise individuals, families and communities

• Journal of Social Work in the Global Community

  JSWGC is a scholarly peer reviewed journal designed to promote research in the practice of social work that has international and/or local significance with a focus on social change. JSWGC provides high level research, literature and book reviews and thought pieces related to the field of social work and social change.

• 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. Open access to selected articles

• Open Addiction Journal

  This journal publishes original research articles, reviews and letters in the field of pre-clinical and clinical addiction and substance abuse research. Topics covered in this interdisciplinary journal include: pharmacology; neuroscience; co-dependence; epidemiology; genetics; psychiatry; diagnosis; prevention; therapy; policy of addiction and substance abuse. Ceased publication in 2014.

• Social Affairs

  "Social Affairs is an open access, peer-reviewed, bi-annual academic journal for the Social Sciences dedicated to publishing academic papers of the finest quality."

• Social Work and Society: International Online Journal

  Dedicated to critical analysis of the relationship between social work, social policy, the state and economic forces.

• Studies in Social Justice

  This interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal covers issues dealing with the social, cultural, economic, political, and philosophical problems associated with the struggle for social justice.

• Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy

  SATPP is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal that encompasses all aspects of research concerning substance abuse, with a focus on policy issues.