Aims and scope
Abstracting and indexing
Testimonials
Contact us

Aims and scope

Critical and Radical Social Work: An international journal promotes debate and scholarship around a range of engaged social work themes. 

The journal publishes papers which seek to analyse and respond to issues, such as the impact of global neoliberalism on social welfare; austerity and social work; social work and social movements; social work, inequality and oppression. 

It welcomes contributions that consider and question themes relating to the definition of social work and social work professionalism, that look at ways in which organic and 'indigenous' practice can expand concepts of the social work project and that consider alternative and radical histories of social work activity. As a truly international journal, it actively encourages contributions from academics, scholars and practitioners from across the global village.

Abstracting and indexing

Critical and Radical Social Work is abstracted and/or indexed in:

• Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
• ProQuest Central
• ProQuest Sociology Collection
• ProQuest Social Science Premium Collection
• Social Care Online

Testimonials

"A much-needed outlet for social workers to promote innovative and challenging standpoints. The journal stimulates debate and gives voice to those advocating for groups that are relegated to the margins."
Linda Briskman, Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Australia

"At a time when social work, both in the UK and internationally, is coming under increasing pressure for its allegiance to refugees and other oppressed and marginalised groups, Critical and Radical Social Work brings together impassioned, evidenced and progressive voices supporting social work's commitment to a social approach and social justice."
Peter Beresford, Professor of Citizen Participation at the University of Essex and Emeritus Professor at Brunel University London, UK

Contact us

Editorial enquiries:

Editor-in-Chief
Michael Lavalette: lavalem@hope.ac.uk

Editorial Assistant
Ella Gibbs: crsw-editorial@bristol.ac.uk

Journal sections:

Book Reviews 
Nicki Blundell: blunden@hope.ac.uk

Voices from the Frontline
Rich Moth: mothr@hope.ac.uk

Open access, subscriptions and free trials:

Policy Press: bup-journals@bristol.ac.uk

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Read our instructions for authors for guidance on how to prepare your submissions. The instructions include the following: 

What are we looking for?
How to submit
Copyright and permissions
Style
References
English language editing service
Open Access
Self-archiving and institutional repositories
How to maximise the impact of your article
Contact us

Visit our journal author toolkit for resources and advice to support you through the publication process and beyond.

What are we looking for?

Critical and Radical Social Work publishes papers which seek to analyse and respond to issues, such as the impact of global neoliberalism on social welfare; austerity and social work; social work and social movements; social work, inequality and oppression. It welcomes contributions that consider and question themes relating to the definition of social work and social work professionalism, that look at ways in which organic and 'indigenous' practice can expand concepts of the social work project and that consider alternative and radical histories of social work activity. As a truly international journal it actively encourages contributions from academics, scholars and practitioners from across the global village.

The following types of submissions are welcome:

• Academic articles: between 6,000 and 8,000 words, including abstract (150 words maximum), notes, tables, figures and references. Articles should seek to analyse and respond to issues, such as the impact of global neoliberalism on social welfare; austerity and social work; social work and social movements; social work, inequality and oppression. Contributions are welcome that consider and question themes relating to the definition of social work and social work professionalism, that look at ways in which organic and ‘indigenous’ practice can expand concepts of the social work project and that consider alternative and radical histories of social work activity.
• Commentaries: 4,000 words including abstract (75 words maximum) and references. Commentary on policy developments/struggles and social movement activity.
• Voices from the front line: 2,000–4,000 words, including references. Articles which address the experience of front-line workers and service users. Please also see our Voices from the Frontline author guidelines.
• Pioneers of the radical tradition: 5,000–6,000 words. Articles that look at the life, times and practice of various radical pioneers.
• Book reviews: for information on how to submit a book review, please contact the Book Review Editor, Nicki Blundell: blunden@hope.ac.uk
  All articles are refereed to assess their suitability for publication.

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How to submit

All submissions should be made online at the Critical and Radical Social Work Editorial Manager website: https://www.editorialmanager.com/crsw/default1.aspx

Editorial Manager

Manuscripts must be in Word or Rich Text Format (not pdf). New users should first create an account, specify their areas of interest and provide full contact details.

Preparing your anonymised manuscript

Your initial submission must consist of the following separate files:

1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 150 words), up to five key words/short phrases and the article word count including references. A cover page template is available to download here.
2. A fully anonymised manuscript which does not include any of the information included in the cover page. It should not include any acknowledgements, funding details or conflicts of interest that would identify the author(s). References to the author's own work should be anonymised as follows: 'Author's own, [year]'. Please note that submissions that have not been sufficiently anonymised will be returned.
3. If you have any figures and tables please upload them as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. 

All authors should comply with the Bristol University Press/Policy Press ethical guidelines.

For help submitting an article via Editorial Manager, please view our online tutorial.

Once a submission has been conditionally accepted, you will be invited to submit a final, non-anonymised version.

Checklist: what to include in your final, accepted non-anonymised manuscript

1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 150 words), up to five key words and the word count.
2. Funding details: list any funding including the grant numbers you have received for the research covered in your article as follows: 'This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].'
3. Conflict of interest statement: please declare any possible conflicts of interest, or state 'The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest' if there are none. Find out more about declaring conflicts of interest in the Bristol Universty Press/ Policy Press Ethical Guidelines.
4. Acknowledgements: acknowledge those who have provided you with any substantial assistance or advice with collecting data, developing your ideas, editing or any other comments to develop your argument or text.
5. Figures and tables: should be included as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. For advice about less common file formats, please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk.
6. Supplemental data: We recommend that any supplemental data are hosted in a data repository (such as figshare) for maximum exposure, and are cited as a reference in the article.

Editorial review process

All submissions will be subject to anonymous peer-review processes (unless stated otherwise) by referees currently working in the appropriate field. The editors aim to provide quick decisions and to ensure that submission to publication takes the minimum possible time. The final decision on publication rests with the Managing Editors. 

Please also see our Journals Editorial Policies.

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Copyright and permissions

Articles are considered for publication on the understanding that on acceptance the entire copyright shall pass to Policy Press as publisher of Critical and Radical Social Work. Authors will be asked to sign a copyright agreement to this effect. All authors should agree to the copyright assignment. For jointly authored articles the corresponding author may sign on behalf of co-authors provided that s/he has obtained their consent for copyright assignment. When submitting online, the copyright assignment agreement is considered to be signed when the corresponding author checks the relevant box. The copyright assignment agreement can be read here.

Where copyright is not owned by the author(s), the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of the copyright holder. This includes figures, tables and excerpts. Evidence of this permission should be provided to Policy Press.

General information on rights and permissions can be found here: http://policypress.co.uk/rights-permissions

To request permission to reproduce any part of articles published in Critical and Radical Social Work, please email Policy Press: pp-info@bristol.ac.uk. For information on what is permissible use for different versions of your article, please see our policy on self archiving and institutional repositories.

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Style

• British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
• Non-discriminatory language is mandatory.
• Explanatory notes should be kept to a minimum. If it is necessary to use them, they must be numbered consecutively in the text and listed at the end of the article. Please do not embed notes in the text.
• Please do not embed bibliographic references in the text, footnotes, live links or macros; the final submitted file should be clear of track changes and ready for print.
• Tables and charts should be separated from the text and submitted in a Word or Excel file, with their placement in the text clearly indicated by inserting: ‘Table X here’. Please provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
• Figures, diagrams and maps should be separated from the text and, ideally, submitted in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file. Figures created in Word or Excel are acceptable in those file formats. If the figures, diagrams and maps are in other formats (i.e. have been pasted into a Word file rather than created in it) please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk for advice. Please indicate where figures should be placed in the text, by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).

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References

Download the Endnote output style for Bristol University Press and Policy Press Journals.

Bristol University Press and Policy Press use a custom version of the Harvard system of referencing:

• In-text citations: give the author’s surname followed by year of publication in brackets.
• List all references in full at the end of the article and remove any references not cited in the text.
• Book and journal titles should be in italics.
• Website details should be placed at the end of the reference.
• Spell out all acronyms in the first instance.

Example of book reference:
Dorling, D. (2010) Injustice: Why social inequality persists, Bristol: Policy Press.

Example of journal reference:
Warin, P. (2012) 'Non-demand for Social Rights: A new challenge for social action in France', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1): 41–53.

Example of chapter within edited / multi-authored publication:
Levitas, R. (2011) 'Utopia Calling: Eradicating child poverty in the United Kingdom and beyond', in A. Minujin and S. Nandy (eds), Global Child Poverty and Well-being: Measurement, concepts, policy and action, Bristol: Policy Press. pp. 449–73.

Example of website reference:
Womensaid (2016) What is domestic abuse? https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/.

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Management Board

Michael Lavalette, Editor-in-Chief, Liverpool Hope University, UK

Dimitra-Dora Teloni, Deputy Editor, University of West Attica, Greece
Charlotte Williams, Deputy Editor, Bangor University, UK

Neil Ballantyne, Australia and New Zealand Editor, The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Nicki Blundell, Book Review Editor, Liverpool Hope University, UK
Iain Ferguson, Consulting Editor, University of the West of Scotland, UK
Rich Moth, Voices from the Frontline Editor, Liverpool Hope University, UK
Michael Reisch, North American Editor, University of Maryland, USA
Linda Smith, Chair of the Board and Africa Editor, Robert Gordon University, UK
Julia Mortimer, Publisher, Policy Press, UK

Editorial Advisory Board

Mark Baldwin, University of Bath, UK
Elaine Behring, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Brazil
Peter Beresford, Brunel University, UK
Francisco Branco, Catholic University of Lisbon, Portugal
Leung Chi-yuen, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Suzanne Dudziak, St Thomas University - Fredericton, Canada
John Harris, University of Warwick, UK
Bernhard Haupert, Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Mainz, Germany
Vasilios Ioakimidis, University of Essex, UK
Fumihito Ito, Nihon Fukushi University, Japan
Sandra Joseph, Stella Maris College, Chennai, India
Masoud Kamali, Sweden
Jerzy Krzyszkowski, University of Lodz, Poland
Sahar Makhamreh, German Jordanian University, Jordan
Susan Maurer, University of Marburg, Germany
Anna Metteri, University of Tampere, Finland
Suriya Nayak, University of Salford, UK
Laura Penketh, Liverpool Hope University, UK
Sigrid Schilling, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, Hochschule fur Soziale Arbeit (HAS FHNW), Basle, Switzerland
Gurnam Singh, Coventry University, UK
Anne-Margrethe Sonneland, VID Specialized University, Norway
Jessie Turton, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Dexter Whitfield, Flinders University, Australia
Bessa Whitmore, Carleton University, Canada
Bob Williams, Disabled People Against the Cuts, UK
Jelka Zorn, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

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