About the Journal
Author fees
This journal does not levy charges for publishing. It is Diamond Open Access.
Publisher Information
Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNeT)
Peer review
Peer review purpose
Peer review ensures that we publish high quality papers. The review provides an objective measure proving that research or writing meets the standard required in academia. It provides a platform for experienced and highly qualified professionals to improve quality of researches.
No manuscript is guaranteed acceptance at submission. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed and only after peer review are we able to make a decision to accept submitted work.
Type of peer review
The journal uses a double-blind peer review process for all its content. The reviewers are not known to the author, the author will not know the reviewer and the reviewers will not know each other. Reviewers are experts in the field of development administration. Some papers require a third peer reviewer at the discretion of the editor.
How reviewers or referee are selected
The journal keeps a list of reviewers, their contact details and expertise. When a manuscript is received, the editor matches the paper to potential reviewers. The list is continually updated based on suggestions from editors readers and sometimes authors. At times potential reviewers submit their names to us.
Process of peer review
- Author submits manuscript to journal
- Journal editor screens the manuscript based on journal policy, author guidelines and plagiarism check. The editor makes a decision to reject, revise to meet guidelines, proceed to peer review or refer to another editor. This step usually completes 2-4 weeks after submission.
- Manuscript is anonymised and send to two peer reviewers
- Peer reviewers email comments and recommendations to editor. This step usually completes 4-8 weeks after submission.
- Editor assesses feedback and makes a decision to reject, revise, third peer review or refer to another editor
- Decision is communicated to writer
- Writer emails back revisions (further revisions may be asked and a peer may be asked to review)
- Editor makes a final decision. This step usually completes about 8 weeks after submission but can be as long as one year.
- Editor may ask for further revisions, at times several times
- Manuscript is copy edited and author proof reads
Evaluation criteria
- Originality/Relevance – Is the paper relevant to the journal policy?
- Structure – is the manuscript structured according to journal guidelines?
- References/citation – Has African literature been used? Is citing accurate?
- Methods – Is there sufficient outline of relevant methods? Are methods justifiable? Is there no bias? Were African research methods applied?
- Data presentation, discussion and analysis- Are findings clearly presented? Is there adequate discussion and analysis of findings?
- New insights, conclusions and recommendations – Does the article provide new insights helpful in improving society? Are conclusions clear and stemming from the findings? Are recommendations feasible?
- Ethics – Have they been adhered to? Have African ethics been used?
- General: Is the topic relevant, does it correspond to objectives up to the conclusions? Is abstract adequate? Is data well presented, discussed? Is length reasonable?
- Colonial content – our reviewers identify colonial content as part of our efforts to decolonise literature
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) must not be used to create content and replace the authors’ role of problem identification and solving, idea generation, creativity and critical thinking roles. AI can’t replace sources, and it can’t be referenced as a source. All submitted manuscripts must be cleaned of all AI content by the author, editors and reviewers will check for inappropriate AI content and manuscripts that are based on AI content will be rejected. Where used, AI must be acknowledged in writing.
Publication Scheduling
This journal publishes 2 issues in 2 volumes a year.
