Social work and sociology books come off reading lists that age at different speeds. The University of York's 2026/27 module Law and Policy for Social Work sets the 2017 fourteenth edition of Carr and Goosey's Law for Social Workers (University of York, 2026c); Oxford University Press's student resources are now for a seventeenth. York's first-year sociology module says of Mills's The Sociological Imagination that "any edition will do" (University of York, 2026a).
EdCitation wrote this guide from 2026/27 module pages and syllabi at York and Southern Utah University, GOV.UK, and the regulators' and professional bodies' own pages, all read on 23 and 24 September 2026. Every reference below went through EdCitation's Cite a source, every book through its Library. It covers finding and citing sources, not what the law requires of anyone.
What do social work and sociology students read?
Social work students read an introduction to the profession, an ethics text and a law and policy book, beside official documents. Sociology students read theory and research methods, sometimes with no set text at all.
Social work at York and Southern Utah
York's Introduction to Social Work sets six books, among them Banks's Ethics and Values in Social Work (5th ed., 2021) and Thompson's Anti-Discriminatory Practice (7th ed., 2020), and aligns its content with the Professional Capabilities Framework (University of York, 2026b). Law and Policy for Social Work works through four Acts: the Children Act 1989, the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983.
Southern Utah's Social Work and Social Welfare sets Ritter's Introduction to Social Work (2023) with the NASW Code of Ethics, read in week 2 (Southern Utah University, 2026a). Human Behavior in the Social Environment sets the 2025 seventh edition of Rogers's textbook and wants every paper in APA 7 (Southern Utah University, 2026b).
Sociology at York
York's Cultivating a Sociological Imagination has no set texts; its essential reading sits on the VLE. Theorising the Social World suggests Ray's Theorizing Classical Sociology and Ritzer and Goodman's Sociological Theory, sixth international edition, 2008 (University of York, 2026d).
| Kind of source | On a 2026/27 list or page | Where EdCitation does the work |
|---|---|---|
| Introductions, ethics and values | Ritter, 2023; Banks, 5th ed., 2021 | Library, then Cite a source |
| Law and policy | Carr and Goosey, 14th ed., 2017 | Library, sorted newest first |
| Social theory | Ray, 1999; Ritzer and Goodman, 2008 | Library; a translated classic from its DOI in Cite a source |
| Statutory guidance | Working Together to Safeguard Children | Cite a source, from the GOV.UK address |
| Code of ethics or standards | NASW Code of Ethics | Built by hand, checked in Verify references |
| Journal articles and case reviews | Critical Social Policy; national reviews | Find sources |
Which documents do social work students cite besides books?
Social work students also cite legislation, statutory guidance, the regulator's standards, a code of ethics and reviews of cases where a child was harmed, each with a date that matters.
- Legislation. The Mental Health Act 2025, dated 18 December 2025, amends the 1983 Act York's module teaches (Mental Health Act 2025). APA has no format for UK law, so Lincoln's guide adapts the Publication Manual's US templates: Children Act 1989, c. 41, then the legislation.gov.uk address (University of Lincoln, 2026a).
- Statutory guidance. Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, 173 pages, appeared on 18 March 2026 and replaces the 2023 edition; it is to be complied with "unless exceptional circumstances arise" (Department for Education, 2026a). Its changes include family help, joining targeted early help and section 17 support, and rapid reviews due within 15 working days of a serious incident notification (Department for Education, 2026b).
- Standards and codes. Social Work England's professional standards, published in July 2019, have applied to all social workers in England since 2 December 2019 (Social Work England, 2019). BASW's Code of Ethics, dated 7 July 2021, is members-only on BASW's site (British Association of Social Workers, 2021): cite the copy your course provides. NASW's 2021 update added professional self-care and revised the cultural competence standard (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).
- Case reviews. England's child safeguarding practice reviews were previously called serious case reviews (NSPCC, 2026). Dickens et al. (2023) argue that such reviews serve several competing functions beyond improving practice.
Which edition of a social work or sociology book should I use?
Stay with the module's edition unless the law or guidance it explains has moved on since it was printed; if so, ask the module lead which to use. In social work that happens often. In sociological theory it seldom does.
| Source | On the list | Newest found | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carr and Goosey, Law for Social Workers | 14th, 2017 (York) | 17th, dated 2024 in the Library's record | Not confirmed: Oxford's product pages refused our reader |
| Ritzer, Sociological Theory | 6th international, 2008, with Goodman (York) | 11th, February 2021, with Stepnisky, 832 pages | Ibn Khaldun, Harriet Martineau's feminist writing, Donna Haraway and Saskia Sassen added, per Sage |
Sources: Oxford University Press (n.d.-a) and Ritzer and Stepnisky (2021).
Why the law dates a social work book
A law textbook explains the Acts and guidance as they stood at press: none printed before December 2025 can describe the 2025 Act. Read the law on legislation.gov.uk and the guidance on GOV.UK, and use the textbook to understand them.
Finding the edition a list names
- Note the entry exactly as the list prints it, ISBN included if there is one.
- Look the title up in EdCitation's Library with the sort set to newest first: every edition it holds appears in date order, with its publisher.
- If a later edition turns up, find out from its publisher what changed, and clear any switch with the module lead.
- Build the reference in Cite a source from the ISBN or DOI, then compare it line by line with the title page.
How do I cite social work and sociology sources in Harvard or APA 7?
Use the style your department asks for. York's library lists Harvard against both Social Policy and Social Work and Sociology (University of York Library, n.d.-b); Southern Utah's Human Behavior syllabus asks for APA 7. Harvard varies: York's own version adds a full stop after the year and a place of publication (University of York Library, n.d.-a), which Cite Them Right's template, as Robert Gordon University gives it, leaves out (Robert Gordon University, 2026b). EdCitation's Harvard follows Cite Them Right, 12th edition; where your handbook differs, it wins.
A textbook, from its ISBN
We gave EdCitation's Cite a source, which needs no account, the ISBN 9780198903079. Its APA 7 entry read:
Goosey, D., & Carr, H. (2024). Law for social workers (17th ed.). Oxford University Press.
The catalogue's "17E" came out of the title as "(17th ed.)", and the title came back in the sentence case APA asks for. Oxford's student resources page names Carr first (Oxford University Press, n.d.-a); the title page settles the order.
A chapter in an edited collection, from its DOI
York's law module also sets Klammer, Leiber and Leitner's edited Social Work and the Making of Social Policy. The DOI of Roger Smith's chapter returned:
Smith, R. (2019). Social work as policy innovator: Challenges and possibilities in the UK. In Social work and the making of social policy (pp. 21–36). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447349174.ch002
Both titles came back in APA's sentence case, "Challenges" capitalised after the colon. The chapter's record names no editors, so add them, as in our reference list. Cite Them Right's Harvard puts the chapter title in single quotation marks, then "in U. Klammer, S. Leiber and S. Leitner (eds)" before the book (Robert Gordon University, 2026a). York names Bristol University Press, the record Policy Press: the copyright page decides.
A classic of sociology in translation
The DOI of Routledge's edition of Weber's Protestant Ethic returned:
Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (S. Kalberg, Ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315063645
The title is in sentence case, with Protestant, a proper noun, keeping its capital. The publisher's page calls Stephen Kalberg the translator (Weber, 2013); the record files Kalberg as editor, so change "Ed." to "Trans.". APA credits the translator and ends with the original year (University of Lincoln, 2026b); Oxford's page for Kalberg's later revision says it translates Weber's revised 1920 edition (Oxford University Press, n.d.-b). Corrected:
Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (S. Kalberg, Trans.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315063645 (Original work published 1920)
In the text: (Weber, 1920/2013). Cite Them Right's Harvard gives "Translated from German by S. Kalberg" after the title instead.
Statutory guidance, from its GOV.UK address
Given the GOV.UK page for Working Together, Cite a source returned:
Department for Education. (2015, March 26). Working together to safeguard children. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
That is the day the page first went up, though it also read the update of 18 March 2026. Cite the 2026 document under its full title, as in our reference list.
A code of ethics
For the NASW Code and Social Work England's standards, Cite a source answered: "That page could not be read. Some sites block automated readers." It left the entry blank instead of inventing one. By hand, with no site name, as the author owns the site:
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
A journal article, from its DOI
The DOI of Dickens and colleagues' article returned an APA entry that stands as given. Its record holds two dates, online in December 2023 and the August 2024 issue; the APA and Harvard entries used 2023, the other four styles 2024. Use one year in text and list. More: how to cite a textbook chapter and the Harvard referencing guide.
How do I find journal articles for a social work or sociology essay?
Search EdCitation's Find sources for a topic, or for the claim one of your sentences has to support, then filter by kind of source, years and open access. We asked for "child safeguarding practice reviews social work": articles, from 2020, open access, Social Sciences.
The response named Crossref as its provider and listed "Open access" and "Field" as unsupported, so neither filter was applied. At the top came Corrigan and Sharley's 2026 analysis, in The British Journal of Social Work, of reviews about children from Gypsy and Traveller backgrounds, then Harrison and Barker's 2024 study in Child Abuse Review of how children and families are involved in them.
How do I check a social work reference list before handing it in?
Run the finished list through Verify references, free and without an account. Each entry comes back marked verified, "check this" or not found, with a reason attached. Our seven came back five verified, one "check this" and one "could not check".
- Law for Social Workers, 14th edition: verified, "Title, author and year match a library catalogue record."
- Dickens and colleagues, Smith and Weber: verified, "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches."
- Working Together: "check this", as "the page there has a different title". It is the collection page holding the 2026 PDF, so the entry stands.
- Ritzer and Stepnisky: verified against a library catalogue record.
- The NASW Code: "could not check": "The site at this address turns automated readers away, so the page could not be read here." NASW's own address, opened in a browser, confirms ours. That is not "not found": the check did not happen.
Given the PDF's own address instead, Working Together came back verified: "The address opens a PDF whose first pages carry the entry's title." Cite the PDF's own address and the tool can confirm the title from the document itself.
Where can I find social work and sociology books in one place?
EdCitation's Library is the best answer to a reading list split this many ways: the four York modules quoted here name ten publishers between them. It pulls the books into a single catalogue: type a title, an author or an ISBN, then filter by discipline, kind of book, language and year. Social work and sociology each have their own discipline among the 31.
Counts and editions on 24 September
On 24 September 2026, Social work held 34,651 books: 756 with the kind set to Textbook, 1,061 to Case studies. Sociology held 2,461 textbooks and 743 dictionaries and encyclopedias; set a kind, as Sociology alone opened on popular titles. A search for Law for Social Workers, newest first, put the 2024 seventeenth edition on top and York's 2017 fourteenth below it, one to borrow with Max.
Every result carries its cover, authors, publisher and year, with a mark for books that open in the Library and those you would have to buy. Its buttons lead to a seller, to libraries near you holding a copy, to My Books and to a ready reference. Max unlocks the largest part: more than 5 million books you can read in full or borrow, gathered by EdCitation into one collection.
What it costs
The catalogue, My Books, buying links and the search for a nearby copy come with an EdCitation account, which costs nothing. Reading and borrowing come with Max, which costs $24 a month, or $216 if you pay for a year, and also brings Theoretics QA (Pricing).
Quick questions
Which books does a first-year social work student need?
Whatever each module sets: at York, six books including Banks's Ethics and Values in Social Work; at Southern Utah, Ritter's Introduction to Social Work and the NASW Code of Ethics.
How do I cite Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 in APA 7?
Department for Education. (2026). Working together to safeguard children 2026: A guide to multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children, then the GOV.UK address.
How do I cite a translated sociology book in APA 7?
Name the translator after the title and end with the original year: Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (S. Kalberg, Trans.). Routledge. (Original work published 1920). In the text: (Weber, 1920/2013).
Where can I find social work and sociology books in one place?
Search EdCitation's Library: a single catalogue with a discipline each for social work and sociology, My Books for what you keep, and on Max more than 5 million books you can read or borrow.
References
- British Association of Social Workers. (2021). BASW code of ethics for social work. https://basw.co.uk/policy-and-practice/resources/basw-code-ethics-social-work
- Department for Education. (2026a). Working together to safeguard children 2026: A guide to multi-agency working to help, protect and promote the welfare of children. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2
- Department for Education. (2026b). Working together to safeguard children 2026: Summary of changes. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2/working-together-to-safeguard-children-2026-summary-of-changes
- Dickens, J., Cook, L., Cossar, J., Okpokiri, C., Taylor, J., & Garstang, J. (2023). The multiple and competing functions of local reviews of serious child abuse cases in England. Critical Social Policy, 44(3), 447–467. https://doi.org/10.1177/02610183231218965
- Mental Health Act 2025, c. 33. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/33/contents/enacted
- National Association of Social Workers. (2021). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
- NSPCC. (2026). Case review process in each UK nation. https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/case-reviews/process-in-each-uk-nation
- Oxford University Press. (n.d.-a). Carr, Goosey, Law for social workers 17e: Student resources. Retrieved September 24, 2026, from https://learninglink.oup.com/access/carr-goosey17e-student-resources
- Oxford University Press. (n.d.-b). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism [Book page, archived June 28, 2022]. https://web.archive.org/web/20220628200335/https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-protestant-ethic-and-the-spirit-of-capitalism-9780199747252?lang=en&cc=us
- Ritzer, G., & Stepnisky, J. N. (2021). Sociological theory (11th ed.). Sage. https://www.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/sociological-theory/book259059
- Robert Gordon University. (2026a). Cite Them Right Harvard templates: Chapter of edited books. https://library.rgu.ac.uk/harvard-referencing-templates/chapter-of-edited-books
- Robert Gordon University. (2026b). Cite Them Right Harvard templates: Whole books. https://library.rgu.ac.uk/harvard-referencing-templates/whole-books
- Smith, R. (2019). Social work as policy innovator: Challenges and possibilities in the UK. In U. Klammer, S. Leiber, & S. Leitner (Eds.), Social work and the making of social policy (pp. 21–36). Policy Press. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781447349174.ch002
- Social Work England. (2019). Professional standards. https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/standards/professional-standards/
- Southern Utah University. (2026a). SW 1010-01: Social work & social welfare [Syllabus, Fall 2026]. https://my.suu.edu/syllabus/202630/SW-1010-01/
- Southern Utah University. (2026b). SW 2100-01: Human behavior in the social environment [Syllabus, Fall 2026]. https://my.suu.edu/syllabus/202630/SW-2100-01/
- University of Lincoln. (2026a). Law and legal references. https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/c.php?g=683973&p=4882477
- University of Lincoln. (2026b). Translated works. https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/c.php?g=683973&p=4882445
- University of York. (2026a). Cultivating a sociological imagination (SOC00016C) 2026-27. https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/manage/programmes/module-catalogue/module/SOC00016C/2026-27
- University of York. (2026b). Introduction to social work (SPY00031C) 2026-27. https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/manage/programmes/module-catalogue/module/SPY00031C/2026-27
- University of York. (2026c). Law & policy for social work (SPY00134M) 2026-27. https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/manage/programmes/module-catalogue/module/SPY00134M/2026-27
- University of York. (2026d). Theorising the social world (SOC00012C) 2026-27. https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/manage/programmes/module-catalogue/module/SOC00012C/2026-27
- University of York Library. (n.d.-a). Harvard. Referencing styles. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/harvard
- University of York Library. (n.d.-b). Referencing styles. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from https://subjectguides.york.ac.uk/referencing-style-guides/home
- Weber, M. (2013). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (S. Kalberg, Trans.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315063645 (Original work published 1920)