Submissions

Author Guidelines

The African Journal of Geographical Sciences is a peer-review interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary scholarly/academic journal published by the Department of Geography and planning, University of Jos, Nigeria, dedicated to publishing original research papers in all academic fields that are of geographical interests. These include, but not restricted to, Geography, Spatial analysis, Locational Analysis, Tourism and Recreation, Economics, History, Plant Technology, Zoology, Urban and Regional Planning, Geology, Geographical Information Systems and Science, Remote Sensing, Land Surveying, Law, Conflict and Peace Studies, Demography, Political Science and Political Geography, Archeology and Geoarcheology, Soils Studies, Agricultural Sciences, Environmental Studies, Human and Veterinary Medicine, Medical Geography, Epidemiology, among others.

The journal also encourages young scientists to send in synopses of dissertations and theses that are relevant and groundbreaking. Incisive reviews of books, comments on articles, books and other publications within or outside the journal, reports of scientific research projects, and short posthumous biographies of exceptional scientists are also welcome.

The Journal is an international publication that seeks to open up robust conversation and discussions between and among scientists. It therefore expects original articles to be well-grounded in theory and rigorous in methodology with cutting-edge and compelling results, exciting discussions and conclusions that would inspire and generate lively conversations in the scientific community.

The Journal therefore invites papers to be submitted for publication by interested persons. Generally, articles should be between 4000-5000 words long (about 15 pages; Times New Roman, size 12; double spacing; current APA citation and referencing format). Justifiable longer papers may be considered. The Abstract should be between 200-300 words followed by 3-6 keywords. All images should be at least 300 dpi resolution in either TIF or EPS formats. All tables and figures should be clearly labeled and evidence of permission to use copyrighted materials should accompany accepted articles. All financial and other supports as well as sources of materials used in the study should be acknowledged. The title page of the article should contain the name (s) of the author(s) and affiliation(s) but the main body of the article should only have the title of the paper but no names/affiliations of authors. At least the First name and Last name (Surname) of authors should be in full, while an initial for Middle name is acceptable.

Articles should be submitted to the Secretary of the Editorial Board, Dr. Leonard S. Bombom, or through this email address: ajgssociety@gmail.com, or using the submission button on this website. A processing fee of N5000 per article applies (US$20 for international authors).

The review process is expected to take not more than 6 weeks and the decision will be communicated to authors within that period. After the paper has been accepted for publication, a publication fee of N20,000 (US$80 for international authors) will be charged per article accepted. Account details of the journal will be provided when articles are submitted.

Manuscript Language and Length: All manuscripts must be in English. There are two broad categories of papers that will be considered for publication: Research articles: Articles should be within 5000 words in length (including title, abstract, and references). Where additional word length is warranted and clearly justified, extended papers of up to10,000 words will also be considered. Contributions in this category may take the form of research or project reports, program evaluations or case studies of practice, critical essays relating to philosophical or policy issues, critiques of previously published articles, and literature reviews that are relevant to environmental, geographical and interdisciplinary education. Theoretical essays or research reports should include a description of the practical application(s) of the ideas raised or tested, while reports of practice should contain an explanation of the theoretical foundation underlying the practice in question. Shorter pieces: Communications, scholarly opinion, discussion, story, posthumous biographies of eminent scholars, or review pieces of up to 3000 words in length (including title, abstract, and reference).

Thesis/Dissertation Synopsis
∙ A synopsis of only examined and passed masters or doctoral level research studies in the last two years will be accepted.
∙ An insightful overview of the research study including a title, research problem and questions, study context, theoretical frameworks, methodologies, key findings and conclusion.
∙ No more than 500 words in length excluding references.
∙ Include biodata of the research study author (100 words) and current contact details.
∙ Acknowledge the conferring institution and the research supervisors by name and institution.
∙ List the full online access details of thesis to facilitate broader dissemination. ∙ Note any publications arising from the research study.
∙ Provide three key words pertaining to the synopsis to facilitate online searches.

Title Page: The title page is not shared with the referees. The title page must state the following:
∙ The title of the document and suggested running head of no more than 50 characters.
∙ The name and affiliations of all authors; the name, affiliation, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author
∙ a short (50-100 words) biodata note of author(s);
∙ any acknowledgements, financial support, or competing interest statements that may identify the authors;
∙ that this manuscript is an original work that has not been submitted to nor published anywhere else;

REFERENCING STYLE: All references should follow the format and style described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Include all and only those references cited in the paper. Papers "in press," may be cited but not papers in preparation. These examples illustrate the recommended format:

Journal articles:
Jickling, B. & Spork, H. (1998). Education for the environment: A critique. Environmental Education Research, 4(3), 309– 327.

Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2009). Multicultural school gardens: Creating engaging garden spaces in learning about language, culture, and environment (special issue guest edited by D. Greenwood and M. McKenzie). Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 14(1), 122–135.

Books and Reports:
Hart, P. (2003). Teachers' thinking in environmental education: Consciousness and responsibility. New York: Peter Lang.

Australian Government Department of the Environment Water Heritage and the Arts. (2009). Living sustainably: The Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Chalkley, M. Haigh & D. Higgitt (Eds.). (2009). Education for sustainable development: Paper in honour of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) (pp. 199– 213). New York: Routledge.

Theses:
Hillcoat, J. (1999). Beyond the commodity: Meaning-making, sustainability and the self. Unpublished PhD thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. For further information, please contact us.