Journal profile · Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Journal of Comparative Social Work
ISSN 0809-9936 · University of Stavanger, Department of Social Studies · Norway
Journal of Comparative Social Work: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 25 weeks (community reports); 27 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Comparative Social Work is published by University of Stavanger, Department of Social Studies. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Social Work Education and Practice, Social Sciences and Policies and Child Welfare and Adoption, together about 59.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Safety Research. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
This journal promotes contributions, discussions and an exchange of knowledge on Social Work issues. Social Work is a line of work carried out by trained professionals, or "Social Workers", in many different countries. Accordingly, the nature of social work can vary widely. However, its broad aim is to assess and meet people's social needs by providing services that enable them to live in safety, independence and dignity. In order to appropriately cater to the needs of the people they serve, the practices, aims and values of Social Workers must reflect the cultural and social norms of the society in which they operate. Comparative social work emphasizes comparative studies of social work between different countries, cultures and contexts. The journal aims to support practitioners and academics alike through its discussions of matters relevant to Social Work Practice. 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 Single site studies that also generate insight and knowledge in various geographical/cultural and national settings. We also welcome essays discussing/reflecting relevant subjects from an individual point of view, and at least two members of our editorial board will review such papers (maximum of 3,000 words). The JCSW was founded in 2006 and is currently hosted by the University of Stavanger, in cooperation with the University of Agder and the University of Nordland. From 2010 onwards, it has been published biannually, in April and November.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Norway 7, Germany 1, Australia 1, Sweden 1, Denmark 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Social Work Education and PracticeSocial Sciences27.3%
- Social Sciences and PoliciesSocial Sciences24.6%
- Child Welfare and AdoptionSocial Sciences7.6%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences4%
- Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceSocial Sciences2.5%
- Disability Rights and RepresentationSocial Sciences2.5%
- Children's Rights and ParticipationSocial Sciences2.5%
- Qualitative Research Methods and EthicsSocial Sciences2.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences (miscellaneous) | Q4 | 580/744 | — |
| Sociology and Political Science | Q4 | 1231/1530 | — |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 14OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 27OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.71OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 257 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13 | 13 | 109 |
| 2025 | 27 | 27 | 133 |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 159 |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 138 |
| 2022 | 12 | 12 | 116 |
| 2021 | 14 | 14 | 110 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 25 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 25 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Editorial review, Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-SA | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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)
What to prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- 3–6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted2
- articlesArticles should meet the standards of original scholarly research, and will be anonymized and reviewed through a double-blind peer review process.Length not stated
- essaysEssays will be reviewed by one editor.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use
Authors must disclose generative AI use beyond language correction/editing/formatting; authors are responsible for validating automated tool output; automated tools cannot be credited as authors; generative AI cannot be cited as a source. Model summary
Authors should disclose the use of generatve AI in preparing the article, beyond straightforward language correction, editing and formatting. Authors are responsible for checking the validity of the output of any automated tools used in their research and preparing their manuscript. Automated tools cannot be credited as authors. Generative AI cannot be cited as a source.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
(Based on Elsevier recommendations and COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines) Our journal (The Journal of Comparative Social Work – JCSW) publishes peer-reviewed articles. We uphold the best standards of publication ethics, and take all possible measures against publication malpractices. The editorial team has adopted the following guidelines for the duties and responsibilities of authors, editors and p…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Policy
The Journal of Comparative Social Work provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All works in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons License: Attribution-Share Alike 4.0. Essentially, this means that you are free to use the articles with proper attribution in educ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review: authors must anonymize manuscripts and file properties to prevent reviewer/author identification. Model summary
To ensure the integrity of the blind peer-review for submission to this press, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
All submitted manuscripts are scanned for text similarity; scans are private and not stored in plagiarism-detection databases. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts will be scanned for text similarities. All scans will also be done as “private scans”, i.e., no copies of submitted manuscripts will be saved on databases of any plagiarism detecting tool.
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
- University of Stavanger, Department of Social Studies
- Country or region
- Norway
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0809-9936
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 21, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Comparative Social Work
How long does peer review take at Journal of Comparative Social Work?
Authors report an average review time of about 25 weeks. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Comparative Social Work?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: 3–6; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Comparative Social Work based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Norway (7), Germany (1) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Comparative Social Work?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Comparative Social Work is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Journal of Comparative Social Work open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Comparative Social Work is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .