Resource of the Week #122: Especially for African Studies Authors

Hello again. This week’s resource is mainly for researchers specializing in African studies. Parts of it, though, also can aid researchers in other fields.

The resource is a blog post titled Guide on Writing in African Studies Journals. It is by Dr. Hartmut Bergenthum, Africa Librarian, Frankfurt University Library, Germany.

The post includes guidance on choosing a journal, advice on making an article exciting, and information on other aspects of the topic. It also has links to author guidelines from 12 journals publishing articles in African studies.

Here are some points in this resource that apply to writing in many fields:

• Cite only literature that is directly relevant.
• Avoid using too much specialized jargon.
• Limit the amount of quoted material, and remember to interpret what is quoted.
• In choosing journals, consider such factors as regions and disciplines covered, general focus, and amount of time from submission to publication.
• Before deciding on a journal, look at its website, its mission statement, and some articles in it.

The content of this resource came from sessions at the European Conference on African Studies. Conferences in many fields include sessions on writing journal articles. Consider attending such sessions if you can.

Until the next post—

Barbara