Journal Aim
The aim of the Journal of Social Issues in Non-Communicable Conditions and Disability is to promote the creation and dissemination of knowledge of social issues in non-communicable diseases and disability on the African continent. There is currently a gap in Africa in terms of academic publications for non-communicable conditions and disability, particularly the social issues. The journal is interested in the social issues of cancer, neurological conditions, disability, cardiovascular diseases (e.g. heart attack and stroke), diabetes, obstructive lung diseases, psychiatry, mental health, substance use, asthma and ageing. Issues of reducing risk factors, prevention and determinants are central to the journal. The Journal is an open access, free online, refereed journal publishing original articles on research, practice and education, policy and service user experiences.
Types of Articles
- Original research articles
- Interviews
- Case studies
- Conference or webinar papers or slides
- Screening or assessment tools
- Literature reviews, all types
- General or basic literature reviews
- Rapid reviews
- Systematic literature reviews
- Meta-analysis (review of systematic reviews)
- Oral literature analysis or reviews
- Media analysis, including social media analysis or reviews
- Patient stories
- Letters
- Teaching slides
- Proposed models, frameworks or theories
- Raw data
- Biographies
Copyright Policy
The author holds copyright to all published work. The author can re-use the published article for their future research, use the article for teaching, presentations or deposit in their institutional repository or non-commercial archives.
The author guarantees the publisher that they have submitted original work, the work has not been submitted elsewhere or will not be submitted elsewhere in future for publishing, it is not a product of unethical practice and all third part information included has been acknowledged appropriately.
The author licenses the publisher to edit, publish in any media, reproduce, distribute the article, translate, edit, adapt and enforce copyrights on behalf of the author.
Licensing Policy
Our content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License which allows others share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) but not to make commercial use of it (non-commercial). Appropriate credit must be given (attribution), a link to the license provided, and changes indicated if any.
Open Access
The journal is freely available online. Authors are required to agree with our open access policy which enables unrestricted access and reuse of all published articles. Users are allowed to copy and redistribute the material in printed or electronic format and build upon the material, without further permission or fees being required, provided that appropriate credit is given.
No Author or Page Fees
The Journal does not charge any author or page fees.
Peer Review Policy
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 and author guidelines and 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
Cost of review
The review work is voluntary. Letters and certificates of review are provided to recognise the work of reviewers.
Work load
Each reviewer may review up to two articles per issue. In other circumstances, articles may be increased but shall not exceed four. In such cases, review time shall be extended.
Improvement of peer review process
We are continually getting feedback from our reviewers and authors about our review process and using the feedback for continuous improvement.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy (read policy). 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.
//October 2024