African Journal of Applied Research
Journal / African Journal of Applied Research / Submissions

 

The African Journal of Applied Research publishes empirical and conceptual papers.
We welcome the following varieties of paper:

Empirical research papers, containing new quantitative or qualitative data which address significant theoretical and/or practical concerns;

Papers which offer new theory and conceptualization, perhaps accompanied by a critique of existing approaches;

Narrative and/or quantitative reviews of existing research which lead to new conclusions or insights into a field of research and/or practice;

Prescriptive articles advocating changes in research paradigms, methods, or data analytic techniques;

Style of Manuscripts:

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise and grammatically correct English (with 12 font size and Times New Roman font style) so that they are intelligible to the professional reader who is not a specialist in any particular field. Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements and the following manuscript format may be returned to the author prior to review for correction. The entire manuscript, including references, should be typed single-spaced on one side of the paper, with margins of 1 inch each side. All pages should be numbered consecutively in the bottom centre. Indent new paragraphs. Turn the hyphenation option off, including only those hyphens that are essential to the meaning. The manuscript should be presented in the following order.

Abstract:

All manuscripts must include a brief but informative Abstract intelligible without reference to the main text. It should be between 200- 250 words and should describe the scope, hypothesis or rationale for the work and the main findings. Both common and scientific names should be included; the authorities are not given if they appear in the title. References to the literature and mathematical symbols/equations should not be included. The abstract must include the following sections:

• Purpose
  Design/Methodology/ Approach
• Findings
• Research Limitation/Implication
• Practical Implication
• Social Implication
• Originality/Value

Keywords:
Keywords (5) should be provided below the Abstract to assist with the indexing of the article. These should not duplicate keywords from the title.

Introduction:
This section should include sufficient background information to set the work in context. The aims of the manuscript should be clearly stated. The introduction should not contain either findings or conclusions.

Research Methods:
This should be concise but provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be repeated by others.

Results:
Results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and figures; repetitive presentation of the same data in different forms should be avoided. The results should not contain material appropriate to the Discussion.

Discussion:
This should consider the results in relation to any hypotheses advanced in the Introduction and place the study in the context of other work. Only in exceptional cases should the Results and Discussion sections be combined.

Conclusion:

Should contain the contribution to body of knowledge and recommendations.

References:
For reference citations, please use APA  style. Particular care should be taken to ensure that references are accurate and complete. Give all journal titles in full.

Book (1 author)

FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials.(Publication year in brackets) Book title - italicised or underlined. Series title and volume if applicable. Edition – if not the first. Place of publication: publisher.

 

Book (2 authors)	FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials., FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. and FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. (Publication year in brackets) Book title - italicised or underlined. Series title and volume if applicable. Edition if not the first. Place of publication: Publisher
Book (4 or more authors)	It is discretionary as to whether you list all authors and also whether you use et al. and others as below: FAMILY/SURNAME, Initials. et al. or and others. (Publication year in brackets) Book title - italicised or underlined. Series title and volume if applicable. Edition - if not the first. Place of publication: Publisher.

 

Abbreviation and Units:

SI units (metre, kilogram etc.), as outlined in the latest edition of Units, Symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Medical and Scientific Editors and Authors (Royal Society of Medicine Press, London), should be used wherever possible. Statistics and measurements should always be given in figures; that is, 10 mm, except where the number begins the sentence. When the number does not refer to a unit measurement, it is spelt out, except where the number is greater than nine. Use only standard abbreviations. The word Figure' should be shortened to Fig. unless starting a sentence.

Check List:
We recommend that you ask a colleague to read over your paper prior to submission to ensure it is of a high standard and conforms to a high level of scientific writing.
Before submission of your manuscript, please check that:
All references cited in the text are included in the reference section.
All figures and tables are cited in the text.
The pages are numbered.

Editorial Office Assessment

The Editorial Office will check whether the composition and format of the paper comply with the Guide for Authors, to ensure it includes the required sections and styles. If the manuscript fails to meet one or more requirements, the Editorial Office will return it to the authors for amendments.

Evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) and Assignment to an Associate Editor (AE)

The EIC performs pre-screening and may reject papers upfront and decide not to forward them to the peer-review process. This may occur in the case of submission of clearly plagiarized or previously published papers, as well as of papers that fall outside the scope of the Journal, are not innovative or are of low relevance for readers.

The study must meet all ethical requirements as outlined in the Journal’s Publication Ethics https://publicationethics.org. If the manuscript meets all requirements, the EIC will assign it to an Associate Editor with relevant expertise, who will be responsible for managing the peer-review process. Associate Editors may reject manuscripts that they deem highly unlikely to pass peer review.

Invitation to Reviewers and Response

The African Journal of Applied Research operates a double-blind review process. The quality of manuscript content is assessed by the AE and a minimum of two additional independent expert reviewers. The handling AE sends invitations to individuals he/she maintains would be appropriate reviewers. Potential reviewers consider the invitation in light of their own expertise, conflicts of interest and availability and are free to accept or decline the invitation. If possible, when declining, they may also suggest alternative reviewers. As responses are received, further invitations are issued, if necessary, until the required number of reviewers is obtained.

Review
The reviewers will rate several aspects of the manuscript, offer specific suggestions for improvement, and make a recommendation with regard to its suitability for publication. They are required to possess specific expertise in the field of the individual submission, have time to produce a report within the deadline established by the editor and be devoid of any conflict of interest with the Authors or the content of the submission. They are expected to be balanced and consistently fair in evaluating papers and their reports should be analytical and constructive.
The review is submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept or reject the paper or with a request for revision (major or minor), that should be well substantiated and justified.
If major issues are identified on first reading the manuscript, the reviewer may decide to reject the paper without further input. All information contained in the manuscript and acquired during the review process will be held in the strictest confidence.

Associate Editor evaluates the Reviews and makes a Decision

The handling Associate Editor considers all reviews received before making an overall decision. If the reviews differ considerably, the Associate Editor may invite additional reviewers in order to obtain further opinions before making a decision. The key parameters to be applied in the final evaluation of all types of submissions are:

• Innovation (Is the manuscript original? Does it provide new evidence or ideas capable of furthering knowledge in the given social-economic context?)
• Quality (clarity, logic, English language and grammar, thoroughness, layout etc.)
• Relevance (interest to readers, not too specific, applicability, the importance of the topic, impact on social life, economy, the scientific community, etc.)

Four possible decisions may therefore be reached:

• Accept – the manuscript satisfies all publication parameters and is worthy of publication
• Minor/Major Revisions – further revision of the manuscript is required in order to satisfy all parameters (a deadline for submission of the revised version is set)
• Reject and Resubmission Suggested – the paper fails to satisfy key parameters and substantial revision of the manuscript is required to address its shortcomings (no deadlines are set)
• Reject – the paper fails to satisfy key parameters and it is highly unlikely that further work can address its shortcomings.

Confirmation of the Decision and Communication to the Authors

All decisions are confirmed by the EIC prior to notification. The Editorial Office sends a decision email to the corresponding author including any relevant reviewer comments. All comments and related files will be provided in an anonymised form.

Final Steps

If accepted, the paper is sent to production. Authors will receive an email informing them of the outcome of their review. AJAR  will make every effort to ensure articles are published accurately: the corresponding author will receive an e-mail with a link to the online proofing system (implementation in progress), and he/she should submit all corrections within 48 hours. Following the implementation of the corrections and signing of the Copyright Assignment by the authors, the article is published online under the license Creative Commons Attribution – (CC-BY).

This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. Credit must be given to the creator.

If the article is returned to the authors for major or minor revision, the Editorial Office will provide constructive comments from the reviewers to help the author improve the article and set a deadline for submission of the revised manuscript. Whenever possible, the revised manuscript will be assessed by the original Associate Editor and by the original reviewers. Should only minor changes be requested this follow-up review may be performed directly by the Associate Editor.

If rejected, the paper is removed from the online system. Reviewers will receive an email informing them of the final decision.

Appeals
If the author believes that the editorial decision reached for the manuscript is not fair, he/she may contact the Editorial Office, stating the manuscript number and describing in detail the reasons for the appeal. The EIC will evaluate all requests and make a final decision, consulting the handling Associate Editor and revising the previous decision, if necessary.

Retractions
Articles may be withdrawn, retracted, removed or replaced after publication if they contain substantial errors that cannot be corrected by publishing an Erratum or a Corrigendum, or if ethical violations become known after publication. For more information, please visit our Publication Ethics https://publicationethics.org

ORIGINALITY AND PLAGIARISM

Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from passing off another's paper as the author's own paper, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.