African Journal of Disability

General note on submissions to AJOD

This is an overview of what makes a good submission.

Authors must remember that they are now writing for readers who are interested in their field and may be knowledgeable about it. Most importantly, readers want to learn about their studies and do not want to read through information that is readily available elsewhere.

Young authors guided by their senior team must learn the difference between examiners and readers. Readers are interested in your findings, although they obviously need to see that your methodology is sound. But it is your findings, the meaning of your findings, that is important to them. Think about the outcomes of your study-why do you want to publish your findings?

So here are some brief notes to be read with the detailed information on specific article types below.

Title: The title of your study must only be 10-15 words. So carefully consider what words will explain your study-get potential readers’ attention and explain what your study is about. Many readers search the literature using article titles. We will not accept long, involved titles that are difficult to understand.

Abstract: We only allow 250 words, and they must be structured. This means that each heading is on a new line. Detailed information on abstracts is provided in the description of article types below. Articles will be sent back to you prior to the review process if the abstract is too long and not structured.

Introduction: The introduction should be only three to five paragraphs long. It should not be longer than 10 to 15 per cent of your overall article. Again, readers just want to read about your study and do not want to read the background information.

So, include the context of your study, where your study fits into the context and potentially fills the gap in the available literature. Always include your research question or aim. Include your objectives if appropriate.

Do not include a literature review. Your article is not a research report/dissertation where examiners need to see your ability to review the available literature. Readers are interested in your study and its findings.

Articles will be sent back to you prior to the review process if the introduction is too long or if you include a literature review

Methodology: This must be brief and concise. Do not include basic research methodology descriptions to justify your choices-this detracts from your description and is something readers know anyway.

Your theoretical framework, if you have one, can be included in the first paragraph of your methodology, and again, do not include basic research methodology, but justify your choices for your study appropriately.

The rest of the methodology write-up is in the descriptions for each article type.

Results: See descriptions for each type of article

Discussion: You must showcase your findings and discuss their importance. Also consider their relevance to the field under study. Only compare it with other relevant studies once you have discussed the importance of your study.

Only include brief, doable recommendations if appropriate, not ones that are unlikely to ever be undertaken.

Overall: Edit your article carefully before submission-get help for this if needed. Remove all redundancies and ensure your writing is clear and succinct. Remember you are writing an article, so you are the “author”, not the “researcher”.

Any previous articles that you have written on the topic of this submission must be both cited and referenced.

All other information is in the detailed description of each article type.