African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences
Journal / African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences / Submissions

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT 

Original manuscript and all correspondence should be addressed to the Editor-In-Chief:
Professor A.L. Toriola
Tel: +27 12 3825806
Cell phone: +27 82 5451852
E-mail: abel.toriola2015@gmail.com
Department of Sport, Rehabilitation and Dental Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology,
P. Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, Republic of South Africa 

Articles should be submitted electronically, i.e., via e-mail attachment, directly to the Editor.  However, the corresponding author should ensure that such articles are virus free.  

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT 

Manuscripts should be type written in fluent English (using 12-point Times New Roman font and  single line-spacing) with the text justified fully, allowing 2 cm margin on left and right sides. In  preparing manuscripts, Microsoft Office 2010 for Windows or a more recent version, should be  used. Authors are encouraged to be brief in preparing their manuscripts without compromising depth  and clarity of presentation. A publication fee is charged for accepted manuscripts. Manuscript  submission is free of charge. The pages of manuscripts must be numbered sequentially beginning  with the title page. Tables and figures should be inserted in their approximate positions directly in  the text. The presentation format should be consistent with the guidelines of the Publication Manual  of the American Psychological Association (APA) (7th edition) (ISBN: 978-1-4338-3217-8; Copyright: 2020). Examples of the APA style are freely available on the Internet.  

Title page:  

The title page of the manuscript should contain the following information: 

Concise and informative title. 

Author(s’) name(s) with first and middle initials. Authors’ highest qualifications and main area of  research specialisation should be provided.  

Author(s’) institutional addresses, including telephone and fax numbers. 

Corresponding author’s contact details, including e-mail address. 

A short running title of not more than 6 words.  

Additional submission requirements: 

• Plagiarism evaluation report, preferably via turnitin. AJPHES’ benchmark is 10% (which  may include citations and references only). 
• Proof of English language editing (preferably by a native English language speaker or  language practitioner). This requirement could be waived if one of the authors of a specific  manuscript is a native English language speaker, provided that the author or co-author has  read and approved the paper before submission.  
• Inclusion of digital object identifier (Doi) numbers (this could be alphanumeric) after all  references compiled in the reference list. If a doi is unavailable, URL should be provided  instead. A specific example is provided in the section on references under these Guidelines  for Authors.  

Abstract 

An abstract of 200-250 words is required with up to a maximum of 6 keywords provided below the  abstract. Abstract must be typed on a separate page using single line spacing, with the purpose of  the study, methods, major results and conclusions concisely presented. Abbreviations should either  be defined or excluded.  

Text 

Text should carry the following designated headings also using single line spacing: Introduction,  Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Policy Implications and Recommendations,  Acknowledgement, Author contribution, References and Appendices (if appropriate). 

Introduction 

The introduction should start on a new page and in addition to comprehensively giving the  background of the study, it should clearly state the problem and purpose of the study. Authors should  cite relevant references to support the basis of the study. A concise but informative and critical  literature review is required. Authors should avoid using a thesis or dissertation format in preparing  their manuscript.  

Methodology 

This section should provide sufficient and relevant information regarding study participants,  ethics/informed consent, instrumentation, research design, validity and reliability estimates, data  collection procedures, statistical methods and other data analysis techniques used. Qualitative  research techniques are also acceptable.  

Results 

Findings should be presented precisely and clearly. Tables and figures must be presented separately  at the end of the manuscript and their appropriate locations in the text indicated. The results section  should not contain materials that are appropriate for presentation under the discussion section.  Formulas, units and quantities should be expressed using the systeme internationale (SI) units.  Colour printing of figures and tables is expensive and could be done upon request at authors’  additional expense.  

Discussion 

The discussion section should reflect only important aspects of the study and its major conclusions.  Information presented in the results section should not be repeated under the discussion. Relevant  references should be cited in order to justify the findings of the study. Overall, the discussion should  be critical and tactfully written.  

Citations 

The American Psychological Association (APA) format (7th edition) should be used for referencing.  Only references cited in the text should be alphabetically listed in the reference section at the end of  the article. References should not be numbered either in the text or in the reference list. 

Authors are advised to consider the following examples in referencing: 

Examples of citations in body of the text: 

For one or two authors; Kruger (2003) and Travill and Lloyd (1998). These references should be  cited as follows when indicated at the end of a statement: (Kruger, 2003; Travill & Lloyd, 1998). 

For three or more authors cited for the first time in the text; e.g., Monyeki, Brits, Mantsena and  Toriola (2002) should be cited as Monyeki et al. (2002) or when cited at the end of a statement as  in the preceding example:…. (Monyeki et al., 2002).  

Multiple references when cited in the body of the text should be listed alphabetically in ascending  order. These should be separated with semi colons. For example,.….. (de Ridder et al., 2003;  McDaniels & Jooste, 1990; Tom, 1982; van Heerden, 2001).

References 

In compiling the reference list at the end of the manuscript, the following examples for journal  references, chapter from a book, book publication and electronic citations should be considered: 

Examples of journal references:  

Journal references should include the surname and initials of the author(s), year of publication, title  of paper, name of the journal in which the paper has been published, volume and number of journal  issue and page numbers. These details should be followed by respective doi’s as stated earlier, using  the following format: https://doi.org/xxxxxx, for e.g., https://doi: 10.1007/s41999-019-00168-2. In  the event that the doi is unavailable, URL may be inserted as follows: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 

Note that some of the following are hypothetical examples, as they may not indicate actually  published materials. Rather, they are provided as examples of correct referencing format using the  APA style.  

For one author: McDonald, A.K. (1999). Youth sports in Africa: A review of programmes in selected  countries. International Journal of Youth Sports, 1(4), 102-117. 

For two authors: Johnson, A.G., & O’Kefee, L.M. (2017). Analysis of performance factors in  provincial table tennis players. Journal of Sport Performance, 8(4), 18-43.  For multiple authors: Kemper, G.A., McPherson, A.B., Toledo, I., & Abdullah, I.I. (2016).  Kinematic analysis of forehand smash in badminton. Science of Racket Sports, 24(2), 115-120. 

Examples of book references: 

Book references should specify the surname and initials of the author(s), year of publication of the  book, title, edition, page numbers written in brackets, city where book was published and name of  publishers. Chapter references should include the name(s) of the editor(s) and other specific  information provided in the third example below:  

For authored references: Kubayi, N.A., & Toriola, A.L. (2010). Foundations of Sport Science (2nd ed.)  (pp. 44-55). Makhado, South Africa: Leach Printers. 

For edited references: Kubayi, N.A., & Toriola, A.L. (2015). Contemporary Issues in Physical  Education and Sports (2nd ed.) (pp. 24-42). Makhado, South Africa: Leach Printers. For chapter references in a book: Adams, L.L., & Lucas, I.A. (2014). Body fat characteristics of sumo  wrestlers. In J.K. Manny, & F.O. Boyd (Eds.), Advances in Kinanthropometry (pp. 21-29).  Johannesburg, South Africa: The Publishers Company Ltd. 

Example of electronic references: 

Electronic sources should be compiled such that they are easily accessible. Details of Internet  website links should also be provided fully. Consider the following example: 

Wilson, G.A. (1997). Does sport sponsorship have a direct effect on product sales? The Cyber-Journal  of Sport Marketing (online), October, 1(4), at http://www.cad.gu.au/cjsm/wilson.html. Accessed: 15  February 1997. 

Authors are referred to APA publication manual (7th edition) for more guidance. 

PROOFREADING  

Manuscript accepted for publication will be returned to the corresponding author for final correction  and proofreading. Corrected proofs should be returned to the Editor-In-Chief electronically within  48 hours of receipt. It will be assumed that there are no further revisions and the paper should be  published, if no response is received from the corresponding author within 72 hours. Minor editorial  corrections are handled by AJPHES. 

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 

LAM Publications Ltd. holds the copyright for AJPHES. In keeping with copyright laws, authors  will be required to assign copyright of accepted manuscripts to LAM Publications Ltd. This ensures  that both the publishers and the authors are protected from misuse of copyright information.  AJPHES is not yet an open access journal, but intends to adopt this platform in the future. Requests  for permission to use copyright materials should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. 

COMPLIMENTARY COPY OF AJPHES AND ORDER INFORMATION 

Principal authors will receive a maximum of three (3) complimentary hard copies of the journal. In  case of two or more joint authors, the principal author distributes the copies received to the co authors. After publication, pdfs of published articles are sent to corresponding authors for  distribution to the co-authors. Electronic copies can be ordered from SABINET at  www.sabinet.co.za or AJOL at www.ajol.info or EBSCO at www.ebscohost.com. Requests for  AJPHES’ subscription should be addressed to the Editor-In-Chief. Specific subscription information  are contained in the preliminary pages of every published issue of the journal.