NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS 
COMMUNICATING WITH THE EDITOR 
Send postal correspondence to the Journal of Social Development in 
Africa, School of Social Work, P. Bag 66022, Kopje Harare Zimbabwe. 
Send e-mail correspondence to zimreview@mango.zw. Authors should 
make every effort to remain in e-mail contact with the editor at all times 
and to give the editor alternative e-mail addresses when necessary. At 
certain stages of the editorial process authors and editor need to be in 
daily contact: email is the most effective way of doing so. 
THE SCOPE OF THE JOURNAL 
The journal publishes analyses, findings and recommendations relating 
to social development in Africa, including theoretical, empirical and 
descriptive works and relevant scholarly discussions of ethics. 
SUBMITTING THE MANUSCRIPT 
Contributions that further the aims of the journal are welcome. Manuscripts 
should ideally be submitted by e-mail or on a PC disk (in Word 
or similar). A typed copy on single-sided A4 paper, double-spaced and 
with large margins all round, may be required. Please ensure that electronic 
files do not contain a computer virus. If you have any doubts 
please communicate through .txt files. Large files should be zipped. 
Covering page 
A covering page with the author's name, affiliation and address (including 
e-mail address and fax number) is required. These details should not 
appear on the MS. The covering letter should state that the work has 
not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere and will not 
be so submitted unless it is formally withdrawn for consideration or 
rejected by the journal editor. Please note that submission of the MS 
gives the journal exclusive rights to publish, to copyright and to deny 
or allow reproduction of it in whole and in part. 
Abstract 
An abstract of around 200 words, which will be used by abstract 
indexing services, should be prepared. This states (in past tense) the 
principle objectives and scope of the research, briefly describes the 
methods employed, summarizes the results and states the main conclusions. 
Authors should note that the abstract is usually the first 
contact readers have with the article, especially if they have come 
across it on the Internet. The abstract requires, therefore, careful 
VOL 17 NO 2 JULY 2002 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA 185
thought to encourage the reader to venture further into the article. The 
same is true of the introduction and reference sections, which are 
usually the next items examined by readers before they turn to the 
article itself. 
Structure of the article 
• The following parts should appear in the article: an introduction; 
material and methods used; results and a discussion and conclusion. 
A brief literature survey and a theoretical discussion is useful 
for certain types of work. If used, these should be integrated into the 
work and argued for or against in the conclusion. 
• Authors should not, however, hesitate to submit articles that have a 
strongly descriptive, empirical component or discursive theoretical 
one, whether they follow the traditional format outlined above or not. 
Well-designed empirical studies on aspects of social life in Africa 
have a place in this journal. 
• Articles are expected to be between 5000 and 7000 words long. 
References within the text 
Within the body of the text use the Harvard or author: date style as 
follows: 
We find that Makola (1982a:67) argues the view taken by Nkomo 
(1981). Another study (Makola 1982b:21-26), however... 
Bibliographical references 
A list of references (of only those works cited in the body of the text) 
should be listed at the end of the document alphabetically and chronologically 
by author and date as follows: 
For books: surname, initial, date, title, place, publisher. For journals, 
author, initial, date, title, journal name, (or collection or book in 
which this is a chapter), page numbers. More detailed examples can 
be sent on request. 
Footnotes 
List any footnotes necessary consecutively at the end of the article. 
Tables and figures 
Tables and figures will be placed at the top or bottom of the page closest 
to the relevant text. As graphic materials, especially figures, often 
have to be redrawn, the raw data in a spreadsheet or table should be 
appropriately labelled and submitted separately. Other illustrations, e.g. 
maps, should be submitted electronically as .jpg files, or similar, at 360 
186 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VOL 17 NO 2 JULY 2002
dpi. and drawn to A5 or A6 size, as appropriate. An alternative is to 
submit a good quality, laser-printed version scaled to either A5 or A6. 
The position of these graphic elements should be indicated by inserting 
a placeholder in the text, saying "Place Fig. 3 around here", or 
similar. Authors are responsible for the factual accuracy of all such 
material and for the validity of all statistical inferences drawn from it. 
Proof-reading 
Many submissions to this journal are not written in the author's mother 
tongue and the editor is very willing to work with authors to achieve 
academically-acceptable standards of English usage. Authors should, 
however, note that reviewers (whose mother-tongue is also often not 
English) sometimes comment on the author's lack of elementary proofreading 
before submitting work, resulting in sub-standard typing, 
spelling and grammatical mistakes. Such lack of care may prejudice an 
otherwise favourable review. 
Content 
The reviewers and editor welcome articles that display the following 
characteristics: 
• The content is technically competent and professional in format; 
• It displays originality and is presented logically; 
• Mathematical and statistical material, where used, is complete, wellorganized 
and interpreted for the non-specialist; 
• The writing style is clear and unpretentious; 
• The illustrative material is adequate; 
• The literature review is adequate and the bibliography reflects up-todate 
research; 
• The theoretical underpinnings are up-to-date and are well integrated 
with the discussion and argument; 
• The methodological approach is appropriate and clear; 
• The article contributes significantly to current thinking or the development 
of the subject. 
The editor is more than prepared to work with scholars to achieve their 
goals and many of our reviewers are most generous in helping to provide 
detailed and constructive advice on the first draft. 
Complementary copies 
Authors receive two copies of the relevant issue. 
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