African Human Mobility Review
Journal / African Human Mobility Review / Submissions

 

Guidelines for contributors and AHMR Style Guide

The AHMR is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed on-line journal created to encourage and facilitate the study of all aspects (socio-economic, political, legislative and developmental) of human mobility in Africa. Through the publication of original research, policy discussions and evidence research papers, the AHMR provides a comprehensive forum devoted exclusively to the analysis of contemporaneous trends, migration patterns and some of the most important migration-related issues.

Editorial board members are selected based on their knowledge and experience related to the topic, analytic perspective and/or methodologies. The AHMR contributes to SIHMA's overall goal of enhancing informed migration policies, ensuring the rights and dignity of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Africa.

The AHMR welcomes manuscripts on the various aspects of human mobility in Africa. Contributors are requested to submit their manuscripts in English to the Chief Editor for critical peer review. Each issue of the AHMR has a theme but part of each issue is usually set aside for articles on other issues related to human mobility in Africa.

Contributors are required to prepare the manuscript as per the style of the journal and to read the detailed Guidelines for Contributors and AHMR Style Guide.

Please ensure that you have complied with the requirements on the checklist below, before submitting your manuscript. If you have any questions about the submission process, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at: editor@sihma.org.za

1.   Manuscript files

Please prepare all the files for the manuscript in an acceptable format (MS Word) and not as PDFs. Figures and Tables should not be placed in the manuscript but should be included in a separate file. The main text should contain references of where these are to be inserted in the text ("Figure 1 here"; Table 1 here"). All Tables and Figures must be numbered sequentially using Arabic numerals and both caption and content should be Times New Roman 10pt font. Tables' captions should be on the left of the Table. Tables should be presented in Word or Excel format, while figures should be presented in a jpg or png.

2.  Conditions of submission, copyright and licensing

Please read and confirm the following statements:

Authors retain their copyright in the article. All we require from authors is a non-exclusive licence that allows us to publish the article in AHMR. I confirm that all the authors of the manuscript have read and agreed to its content, that readily reproducible materials described in the manuscript will be freely available to any scientist wishing to use them according to the copyright terms. I confirm that the manuscript is original, has not already been published in a journal and is not currently under consideration by another journal.

I am the submitting author of this article and I accept the conditions of submission, copyright and licensing. 

3. Publication Frequency and costs

The Journal will publish three issues each year, in April, August and December. There is no article submission fee and no Article Processing Charges. 

4.  General information

Authors must accept full responsibility for the content of their articles. The members of the Editorial Board and the publisher of the journal are not responsible for the statements and opinions expressed by the authors in their articles/write-ups published in the journal.

* Papers published elsewhere or under consideration elsewhere shall not be submitted.
* Please prepare the paper as per the format and style of the journal.
* Manuscripts which do not conform to the journal style will be returned to the authors.
* Always quote the Reference No. of the paper in correspondence.
* The maximum length of articles including references, notes and abstract is 8,000 words, and the minimum length is 6,000 words.
* Please address all correspondence by designation, to the Chief Editor.
* All articles go through a double-blind peer review process. The editorial team cannot guarantee publication of any submission.
* When the paper has been accepted for publication, this will be communicated to the author via e-mail.

5.  Manuscript preparation

All manuscripts must be written in English (US), using Times New Roman font, size 12, single line spacing; indented paragraphs.

A manuscript should consist of the following components, each prepared as a unit on separate sheets, using MS Word:

a.     Title page

• Title* (10-12 words)
• Name of author/s (no academic title/s)
• Institutional affiliation of author/s - full contact details: institutions' address and email address/es of author/s
• Abbreviated title (Running headline), not to exceed 50 letters, including spaces
• Name and full contact details of corresponding author

* The title should grab the reader's attention, accurately and concisely describe the article's content, convey the importance of the research, and lead to the target audience clicking on the hyperlink to the full article. The title should not repeat a keyword/phrase more than twice - this comes across as a 'keyword stuffing.'

b.     Keywords

• Keywords should not repeat terms used in the article title. 
• Keywords should not exceed 80 characters, including spaces. 
• This list should start with the highest priority keyword/phrase, followed by the next priority word/phrase, separated by commas, without a full stop at the end. 

Example of required format:

Keywords: Female migrants, African diaspora, xenophobia, capabilities-aspirations, social inequality

c.     Abstract*

• The abstract should consist of 250 words or less. 
• The abstract should be written in complete sentences, without any citations. 
• It should be intelligible without reference to the rest of the paper. 
• It should succinctly state the objectives, the experimental design of the paper, and the principal observations and conclusions. 

* The abstract should answer these questions: What was done? Why was it done? What were the findings? Why are these findings useful and important?

d.     Text

The text comprises the following sections:

• Introduction
• Background/contextualization
• Literature review/theoretical/conceptual framework
• Methodology
• Result
• Discussion
• Conclusion and recommendation

e. acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge assistance and support received, such as, support from colleagues, cooperation of communities where research was conducted, donor funding for the research, writing and editorial support, and institutional support in the form of time off for doing fieldwork and writing.

f.      Footnotes/endnotes

Note markers in the text should be placed after full stops and commas; and before colons, semi-colons, and dashes.

Examples:

Migrant women are often victims of sexual and gender-based violence.1 Economic reasons fuel migration2; this is evident in...

A key government respondent revealed the following3:

Nkrumah's industrialization policy concentrated particularly in the south - Ghana's ˜golden triangle4 - resulting in...

g.     References

• The sources cited should be listed at the end of the article, arranged alphabetically according to the surnames of the authors, and then chronologically. 
• Where there is no author name available, use the name of the producer of the source, e.g. government department (Department of Home Affairs), organization (International Organization for Migration), newspaper (Mail and Guardian), etc.

• A reference list could be compiled manually, or by using a web-based reference managing program, which generates bibliographies, such as Refworks, Mendeley,
• A reference list should contain only the sources actually used/cited in the main text. 
• The reference list contains the full range of sources used, including books, journals, academic reports, theses/dissertations, conference proceedings, governments statutes and publications, mass media and internet sources. There should thus be no separate headings for any specific categories of sources used.
• Avoid using ibid and op cit in the
• Provide the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), used to permanently identify a journal article or document and the link to it on the web. A DOI will help the reader to locate a document from the citation, with ease and reliability.
  
  * See the detailed section on Referencing Requirements below.

5. Headings

 Requirements for title, headings and sub-headings:

1. Title: Font size 14; bold; capitalize all key words; aligned left; no full stop at the end. 

Example of title:

Living on the Fringes of Life and Death: Somali Migrants, Risky Entrepreneurship and Xenophobia in Cape Town

1. Headings: Font size 12; UPPER CASE; aligned left; no full stop at the end. 

Examples of headings:

ABSTRACT; KEYWORDS; INTRODUCTION; RESEARCH METHODOLOGY; RESEARCH FINDINGS; CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS; REFERENCES; ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

1. Sub-headings: Font size 12; italics; Sentence case; aligned left; no full stop at the end. 

Examples of sub-headings:

Focus group discussions; Xenophobia and gender; African migrants living in the United States; Expenditure patterns of female head porters in Ghana.

6.   Language  use of italics

Non-English words and phrases are written in italics, with the English translation in brackets.

Examples:

kayayoo (head-load carrying); negade setoch (businesswomen); tsidat (cleaning).

1. Non-English words and phrases that have been absorbed into the English language are not italicized.

Examples:

etc.; et al.; en route; vis-à-vis; status quo; jihad; entrepreneur; renaissance; déjà; rendezvous.

1. Lesser known monetary currencies are italicized. 

Examples:

Eritrean nakfa; Gambian dalasi; Mauritanian ouguiya.

REFERENCING REQUIREMENTS

Contributors are required to adhere to the following referencing formats:

1. Journals

 Ihonvbere, J.O. 1994. The 'irrelevant' state, ethnicity, and the quest for nationhood in Africa. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 17(1): 42-60.

Arouri, M. and Nguyen, C.V. 2018. Does international migration affect labour supply, non‐farm diversification and welfare of households? Evidence from Egypt. International Migration, 56(1): 39-62.

Korjonen-Kuusipuro, K., Kuusisto, A-K. and Tuominen, J. 2018. Everyday negotiations of belonging: Making Mexican masks together with unaccompanied minors in Finland. Journal of Youth Studies, 22(4): 551-567.

Ha, W., Yi, J., Yuan, Y., Wuan, S, and Zhang, J. 2016. The dynamic effect of rural-to- urban migration on inequality in source villages: System GMM estimates from rural China. China Economic Review, 37(2): 27-39. (When there are more than five authors, add et al.)

2. Books

 Van Dijck, J. 2013. The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Adams, R.H., Cuecuecha, A. and Page, J. 2008. The impact of remittances on poverty and inequality in Ghana. Washington DC: The World Bank.

Portes, A. 1995 (ed.). The economic sociology of immigration: Essays on networks, ethnicity, and entrepreneurship. New York: Russel Sage Foundation.

Kalmanowitz, D. and Lloyd, B. (eds.). 2005. Art therapy and political violence: With art, without illusion. New York: Routledge.

3.     Sections of a Book

 Mberu, B., Beguy, D. and Ezeh, A.C. 2017. Internal migration, urbanization and slums in sub-Saharan Africa. In Groth, H. and May, J.F. (eds.), Africa's population: In search of a demographic dividend. Switzerland: Springer, pp. 315-332.

Mahati, S.T. and Palmary, I. 2018. Independent migrant children, humanitarian work and statecraft: Mapping the connections in South Africa. In O'Dell, L., Brownlow, C. and Bertilsdotter-Rosqvist, H. (eds.), Different childhoods: Non/normative development and transgressive trajectories. Oxford: Routledge, pp. 105-117.

Landau, L.B. and Bakewell, O. 2018. Introduction: Forging a study of mobility, integration and belonging in Africa. In Landau, L.B. and Bakewell, O. (eds.), Forging African communities. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1-24.

4.     Research Reports/Working Papers/Policy Briefs

De Haan, A. 2000. Migrants, livelihoods and rights: The relevance of migration in development policies. Social Development Working Paper No 4.

Kanbur, R. and Venables, A.J. 2005. Rising spatial disparities and development. United Nations University Policy Brief, No 3, United Nations University.

National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW). 2014. Hands-on learning from our implementing partners: Learning Brief 53, NACCW.

Quartey, P. 2006. The impact of migrant remittances on household welfare in Ghana. AERC Research Paper 158, Nairobi, Kenya.

5.     Conference Presentations/Papers/Reports

Mamdani, M. 2005. Political identity, citizenship and ethnicity in post-colonial Africa. Keynote address at Arusha Conference on new frontiers of social policy, Arusha, Tanzania, December.

Kistner, J. 2007. HIV/AIDS, trauma and landscapes of suffering. Address on World Trauma Day. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Johannesburg.

Adanu, S.K. 2004. The need for changes in urban planning: Case study of Accra, capital city of Ghana. 40th ISoCaRP Congress 2004, Geneva, Switzerland.

Manby, B. 2011. Statelessness in Southern Africa. Briefing Paper for UNHCR Regional Conference on Statelessness in Southern Africa, Mbombela (Nelspruit), South Africa, 1- 3 November.

6.     Institutional/Organizational documents

International Organization for Migration (IOM). 2020. World Migration Report 2020 - Chapter 2: Migration and migrants – A global overview. Available at: https://bit.ly/38xkN59. Accessed on 01 March 2020.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) News. 2005. Cape Town recognises refugee brain gain. Available at: https://bit.ly/3airhGc. Accessed on 03 April 2016.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2019. World Report 2019: Myanmar - Events of 2018. Available at: https://bit.ly/2vPRZYs. Accessed on 02 March 2020.

African Union (AU) Commission. 2015. Agenda 2063 - The Africa we want: A shared strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Available at: https://bit.ly/2PWSczK. Accessed on 06 November 2018.

7.       Government documents

 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 2005. Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. National Assembly, Kinshasa.

Department of Social Development (DSD). 2009. Guidelines for unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin in South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Social Development.

Republic of South Africa (RSA). 2005. Children's Act No. 38 of 2005. Pretoria: Government Printer.

City of Cape Town. (CoCT). 2013. Policy on vulnerable groups - The City of Cape Town Draft Policy, March 2013. Available at: https://bit.ly/2XTR84q. Accessed on 17 April 2016.

8.     Newspapers/Magazines

 Citizen. 2019. DA slammed for defending Dan Plato's comments, allegedly about 'black Africans', 19 February. Available at: https://bit.ly/2VHxyps. Accessed on: 17 April 2019.

Munyoro, F. 2019. ED hails Nigeria for Idai help. The Herald, 16 May. Available at: https://www.herald.co.zw/just-in-nigeria-donates-towards-idai/. Accessed on 20 June 2019.

Guardian. 2015. South African xenophobic violence, 20 April. Available at: https://bit.ly/2VCXjHu. Accessed on 20 April 2018.

Medie, P.A. and Kang, A.J. 2018. Global South scholars are missing from European and US journals: What can be done about it? The Conversation, 29 July.

9.     Radio/Television

Cape Talk Radio. 2019. 'No person needs to be on the streets' - JP Smith, 2 July. City of Cape Town's MayCo member for Safety, JP Smith responds to criticisms of its by-laws regarding the homeless. Available at: https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/353490/no- person-needs-to-be-on-the-streets-jp-smith. Accessed on 3 August 2019.

SABC2 TV. 2017. 'The Big Debate' on Radical Economic Transformation, hosted by Redi Tlhabi, 12 December.

10.  Theses/Dissertations

Obeng, M.K. 2010. Hometown association and community development: A case study of Oboman Development Association. Unpublished MPhil Thesis, University of Ghana, Legon.

Kinge, W. 2016. International dimensions of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa. Unpublished Master's Dissertation, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus.

Alioua, M. 2011. L'etape marocaine des transmigrants subsahariens en route vers l'Europe: L'epreuve de la construction des reseaux et de leurs territoires. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Toulouse.

Tanle, A. 2010. Livelihood status of migrants from the Northern Savannah Zone resident in the Obuasi and Techiman Municipalities. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Cape Coast, Ghana.

11.  Works "in press"

 Ebeke, C.H., and Le Goff, M. In press. Why do migrants' remittances reduce income inequality in some countries and not in others? CERDI Working Papers.

12.  Undated sources

City of Cape Town (CoCT). Undated. City's new stance on homelessness. Available at: https://bit.ly/2ytLw6h. Accessed on 23 November 2017.

Lindley, A. Undated. Remittances in fragile settings: A Somali case study. HiCN Working Papers 27, Households in Conflict Network.

13.  Internet sources

 Africa Check. 2015. Are migrants really stealing jobs? Available at: https://bit.ly/3eEgR7h. Accessed on 13 August 2018.

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 2020. Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis, 23 January. Available at: https://bbc.in/2vI2e14. Accessed on 02 March 2020.

Global Compact for Migration (GCM). 2018. Global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. Available at: https://refugeesmigrants.un.org. Accessed on 22 November 2018.

Paulussen, C. and Scheinin, M. 2020. Deprivation of nationality as a counter-terrorism measure: Human rights and security perspective. Available at: https://www.institutesi.org/resources/worlds-stateless-2020. Accessed on 04 April 2020. (Use Available at:... and Accessed on day/month/year)

Digital Object Identifier (DOI) particulars

Hlatshwayo, M. and Vally, S. 2014. Violence, resilience and solidarity: The right to education for child migrants in South Africa. School Psychology International, 35(3): 266- 279. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034313511004.

Jansen van Rensburg, M.S. and Blaser Mapitsa, C. 2017. Gender responsiveness diagnostic of national monitoring and evaluation systems: Methodological reflections. African Evaluation Journal, 5(1): 1-14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4102/aej.v5i1.191.

Gonzales, R.G., Suárez-Orozco, C., and Dedios-Sanguineti, M.C. 2013. No place to belong: Contextualizing concepts of mental health among undocumented immigrant youth in the United States. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(8): 1174-1199. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213487349.

Ní Raghallaigh, M. and Sirriyeh, A. 2015. The negotiation of culture in foster care placements for separated refugee and asylum-seeking young people in Ireland and England. Childhood, 22(2): 263-277. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568213519137.

In-text references:

Use parentheses and include author name(s), year of publication, and page number (where applicable), for example:

(Pineteh, 2018); (De Haas, 2010: 55); (Okhankhuele and Opafunso, 2013).

2. Citations of two or more works should be given in chronological order, starting with the oldest source, for example:

(Piore, 1979; Hoddinott, 1994; Beyene, 2014; Aiyar and Ebeke, 2019).

3. When citing a paper written by three or more authors, write the name of the first author plus '˜et al.' (but all authors must be given in the Reference section), for example:

(Massey et al., 1999); (Awoyemi et al., 2015).

4. Where there are two or more papers by the same author in one year, distinguishing letters (a, b, c ) should be added to year, for example:

(UNHCR, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c); (Misago, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c).

5. If two or more references by the same author are cited together, separate the dates with a comma, in chronological sequence, for example:

(Adepoju, 2005, 2010, 2019); (IOM, 2018, 2019, 2020).

6. All references should be carefully cross-checked; it is the author's responsibility to ensure that references are.

Correspondence

All correspondence may be addressed to the Managing Editor, Dr Sergio Carciotto at ahmr@sihma.org.za or to the Editor-in-Chief, Prof Mulugeta Dinbabo at: editor@sihma.org.za

Institute for Social Development (ISD) University of the Western Cape  Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535

Cape Town, South Africa