Guidelines - Journal of Ubuntu

The Journal accepts manuscripts in the form of original field research including experiments, literature reviews (e.g. scoping, systematic, umbrella reviews), meta analysis, orature reviews, documents analysis, think pieces, expert pieces, reports of practice and original frameworks/models/theories, conference proceedings and presentations, methodological articles, pedagogical articles, case studies as well as integrative and mixed types. Other forms of papers may be published at the discretion of the Editor.

Helpful Tips

If your manuscript does not meet these requirements it can be rejected, or the review process will be delayed

Abstract must be 200 words maximum or very close to 200 – no references and subheadings in abstract
Introduction – one paragraph only, no references, the final sentence must inform the reader what the article contains or how it is structured
Using majority African (or Global South) references/authors/sources in the background, literature review, methodology, discussion; implications for social work. Literature from the Global South should be prioritised where African (or Global South) literature is not available.
Prioritizing African philosophy, theories, models and frameworks, and where these are not available, we request you to propose your own to guide your research or create your own after your research. Philosophies, theories, models and frameworks from the Global South should be prioritised where African (or Global South) ones are not available.
If you have done a literature review, provide a list of your sources (eg databases, libraries etc) and list of authors with works used in the review. Prioritize African sources.
Your conclusion must be one paragraph, no references.
Length of manuscript must be 5000 words maximum
Follow ASWDNet formatting guide for headings, subheadings, citing and references
Ensure that you read your paper more carefully before submission to get rid of minor errors

Useful links

African philosophy – https://africasocialwork.net/african-philosophy/

African theories – https://africasocialwork.net/african-theories-of-social-work/

African research methods – https://africasocialwork.net/research/

Financing Model

The journal is funded from sales and subscriptions of articles. Articles published in the journal are not free. Authors do not pay to publish in the journal.

Reviewer Guidelines

How do I present my review?

There are several ways to present your review. You can do any of the following (1) type your review and send it in an email (2) type your review and send it as an attachment (3) open the manuscript and use track changes and email it – remember to remove your name when you comment (4) open the document and type your comments on the first page and email back (5) use the template that we have created and email back – please note that you are not expected to fill all the boxes.

ASWNet Review Template (optional) Download

Questions to think about when you review

Has author adhered to journal policy?
Is the topic relevant and clear?
Does the abstract include everything, can it stand on its own?
Are the key words adequate, do they reflect the topic?
Is the introduction clear, does it include everything required in a standard introduction? is it one paragraph?
Is the background clear, is there adequate information to show the research gap?
If literature has been reviewed, is this adequate? Are the methods of the review shown?
Are results clearly presented, are they adequate?
If the manuscript is a conceptual or theoretical one, is there a clear gap being addressed and is the argument strong?
Are conclusions of the research clear and adequate? Do they flow from the study?
What are the implications of this study? Are they clear and reasonable? Do they flow from the study?
Is there a final conclusion? is this one paragraph? Is it adequate?
Is the list of references presented using ASWNet referencing guide? Are majority of references African sources?
Generally, how is the quality of work? How is the writing?

Editorial Guidelines

Topic and research question: topic that is relevant to Africa and the continent’s social issues and development. Questions should be relevant to social work from an African perspective in terms of culture, knowledge, ways of knowing & learning, theories, practice, education, research, policy, politics, economies, laws, jurisprudence, leadership, language, art and religions.
Theories: use African or locally relevant social work theories, frameworks and models such as Indigenous Theory e.g. Ubuntuand approaches such as ukama or ujamaa, Family Theories, Community Theories, Decolonisation theory; Dependence Theory; Social Justice Theory; Social Development Theory, Developmental Social Work, Spirituality, African ecology, among others.
Vernacular or other languages: Use of other African languages other than English for topic, abstract, key words, key sentences/phrases taken verbatim is acceptable, provided an English translation is provided and the manuscript is still within word limit is encouraged.
Lived experience: acceptable because much of African literature is orature or not written. We ask that writers corroborate stories with those of others, but highlighting those things that made the stories different. Stories could be a writer’s lived experience or participant’s.
African orature: we encourage you to cite oral sources (oral, largely unwritten unpublished literature) such as African proverbs, idioms, songs, stories etc.
Published literature: we encourage authors to cite African literature from other African journals, bks and publications in addition to those from outside. All references must be traceable.
Approvals and consent: we expect authors to be relevant, authentic and clear not to duplicate ethics written in textbooks. Ethics approval is often granted by university or research authority. Research approval is often provided at the site of the research by heads of villages, other traditional leaders, county, district, community, organisation, institution etc. Consent is provided by research participants i.e. individuals, families or organisations. The consent statement must be clear about what you want participants to consent to. Ethical, approval and consent statements must be realistic, practical and have been followed. Many a times people copy and paste ethics described in text books but each research is different.