To access author guidelines, use this link.
Helpful tips
If your manuscript does not meet these requirements it can be rejected, or the review process will be delayed
- There should be enough evidence that the manuscript was prepared for social work (e.g. family work, community work, environmental social work and spiritual social work), social development, and social services with implications for Africa – this is evidenced by author’s discipline or qualification, title, key words and implications and literature used.
- Abstract must be 200 words maximum or very close to 200 – no references and subheadings in abstract. A good abstract should ideally be a paragraph of six sentences covering the following: Social problem/issue followed by questions or hypothesis; Philosophy or philosophical approach that shaped the understanding of the problem and the approach to the study or thinking; Theory that shaped analysis and discussion; Methods used to bring out the data; Results/findings and conclusions; and Implications and recommendations. Please note: We openly, actively and proudly promote use of Africa philosophies and theories as a journal. We do this to revalue Africa knowledge that has for long been neglected or colonised. If Africa writers use Africa literature, theories and philosophies, this can be achieved easily.
- Introduction – one paragraph only, no references, the final sentence must inform the reader what the article contains or how it is structured.
- Using minimum of 75% African references/authors/sources including orature and databases 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, frameworks and ethics, 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 (scoping, systematic or meta synthesis), provide a list of your sources (e.g. databases, libraries etc) and list of authors with works used in the review. Use African libraries, sources and databases such as Africa Journals Online (AJOL).
- Your conclusion must be one paragraph, no references.
- Length of manuscript must be 5000 words maximum including references. Longer articles are difficult for our editors and reviewers.
- Follow ASWNet formatting guide for headings, subheadings, citing and references.
- Ensure that you read your paper more carefully before submission to get rid of minor errors.
- Did you receive ethics clearance or advice for your research, if not, please apply for ethics advice here https://africasocialwork.net/african-independent-ethics-committee/ (AIEC)? We accept any of these (1) ethics clearance number from an Ethics Board – this is provided before the research (2) ethics advice number from the AIEC – this advice is provided before or after the research (3) a personal statement about ethics that you use in your family or community and a reflection about how you applied these in the current research.
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/
Ethics https://africasocialwork.net/african-independent-ethics-committee/ (AIEC)
Template for manuscripts
Use the template below to make it easy to draft your manuscript. Simply download the template and replace the text in the template with your own. It saves time for you, for editors and the staff that does formatting.
Open access fees
The journal publishes articles that are accessible online free of charge. The number of manuscripts submitted to the journal increased tremendously following the journal’s indexing and accreditation with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), South Africa; Africa Journals Online; SCOPUS, Elsevier’s abstract and citation database; and several other indexing systems. The increase means we need to increase frequency of publications. But this comes at a cost. To cover this cost, in 2021 the publishers introduced charges for authors after peer review and acceptance. This practiv=ce is widely used globally to ensure that that research remain open access. Most of our writers are affiliated with universities and government departments that provide funding for publishing but we understand that other authors will not have access to such funds.
Current fees since 22 February 2021
African countries: ZAR875/USD60 per manuscript peer reviewed and accepted
International: ZAR1460/USD100 per manuscript peer reviewed and accepted
Fees beginning 1 June 2024
Our fees were introduced in 2021 in line with trends in the publishing industry. They will be reviewed in June 2024 but still lower than other journals in our category in Africa (average USD250), and far lower than global journals (average USD2000).
African countries: ZAR2300/USD120 per manuscript peer reviewed and accepted
International: ZAR3750/USD200 per manuscript peer reviewed and accepted
The peer review process was not impacted by the introduction of these charges. Acceptance of manuscripts is not ensured by the potential of a writer to pay, they are accepted based on their quality and how they meet the requirements of the journal.
Discounts are available upon request from confirmed students, members of national social work associations in Africa and members of the Africa Social Work and Development Network (ASWDNet).
There are journals that do not charge page fees published under the ASWDNet banner. These journals are listed below.
Other journals to consider
Journal of Development Administration – https://jda.africasocialwork.net
There is not payment for this journal
Journal of Social Issues in Non-Communicable Conditions and Disability – https://sinccd.africasocialwork.net
There is no payment for this journal