Journal profile · SOCIAL WORK
International Social Work
ISSN 0020-8728 · eISSN 1461-7234 · SAGE
International Social Work: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.25; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 225 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 23.7% (journal website); 80 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Social Work is published by SAGE and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Social Work Education and Practice, Homelessness and Social Issues and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 45.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
International Social Work is a scholarly peer reviewed journal designed to extend knowledge and promote communication in the fields of social development, social welfare and human services. Its major focus is on international themes in the delivery of services. View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL WORK
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 6, Australia 6, Hong Kong, China 5, United Kingdom 5, Canada 4 (53 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Social Work Education and PracticeSocial Sciences27.6%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions10.3%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences7.9%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology5.3%
- Research in Social SciencesSocial Sciences3.9%
- Interprofessional Education and CollaborationHealth Professions3.6%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3%
- Intergenerational Family Dynamics and CaregivingSocial Sciences3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Work | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.25LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.61LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- h-index
- 74OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,075OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.36OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.74%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 61LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,297 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 61 | 29 | 8 |
| 2025 | 80 | 36 | 88 |
| 2024 | 84 | 38 | 210 |
| 2023 | 83 | 45 | 304 |
| 2022 | 105 | 44 | 591 |
| 2021 | 122 | 54 | 1,242 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
225 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 23.7%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 225 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 55 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3
- brief notesBrief Notes of up to 2,000 words, on topics such as reports of research in progress, examples of unresolved problems, descriptions of policy, and current progra…Length not stated
- original manuscriptsOriginal Manuscripts are full-length articles, which should be up to 7,000 words in length, (including notes and references).Length not stated
- voices from practiceVoices from Practice welcomes submissions from practitioners about their experiences in the field which would be of interest to an international audience.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this journal. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article. Optional open access publishing is available for a fee via the Sage Choice program, and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of c…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Identity transparency: Double anonymized Model summary
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Double-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0020-8728
- Electronic ISSN
- 1461-7234
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Social Work
What CAS zone is International Social Work in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Social Work is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Work. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of International Social Work?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.25; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 74.
How long does peer review take at International Social Work?
The publisher reports about 225 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 23.7%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of International Social Work based?
Of the 53 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (6), Australia (6) and Hong Kong, China (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Social Work?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Social Work is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is International Social Work open access, and what is the APC?
International Social Work is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .