Submissions

Author Guidelines

Register

All authors and reviewers for Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk are required to register on the journal's website.: Login | Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk (journals.ac.za)

The managing editor of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk may be contacted for assistance to register: socialwork@sun.ac.za

Definition of authors

Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk defines an author as an individual who has made substantial contributions to various aspects of a manuscript. These contributions include the conception or design, acquisition and analysis of data, interpretation of data, drawing conclusions, formulating recommendations, drafting and revisions, as well as approval of submissions and the published version. Authors are accountable for all aspects of the manuscript.

Each manuscript must have a designated corresponding author, who may not necessarily be the first author but assumes responsibility for the submission of the manuscript and all correspondence with the journal. All authors are required to sign the Journal's Publishing Agreement before publication, in the predetermined order of their names. Please refer to the Journal’s Authorship Policy  for more information.

Modifications to authorship constitute a substantial alteration, and it is strongly recommended that authors clarify the authorship details of their manuscripts, including the sequence of authors' names, prior to submission. See the Journal’s Changes in Authorship Policy for more information.

Conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors are obligated to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. When uncertain, it is advisable to err on the side of transparency by making a disclosure. It is essential to note that the presence of a potential conflict of interest does not necessarily result in the rejection of the submission. Please refer to the Journal’s Conflict of Interest Policy  for more information.

Submissions Details Form

Corresponding authors must mandatorily submit the Journal’s Submissions Details Form along with the manuscript as a separate file. Manuscripts will not be processed without this form. To download the Submissions Details Form, please click here.

(Added on step 3 after uploading the manuscript: "confirm"; "add another file" - upload submission details form)

ORCID iD

An ORCID iD is a persistent, unique, numeric identifier for individual researchers. The complete ORCID iD URL of all authors must be included in the Submissions Details Form. Visit the ORCID iD website to register if needed.

Submit an article online through the journal's website

Articles must be submitted via the journal's website. Please refer to the User Guide for submissions: making a submission. For assistance with registration, contact the managing editor of Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk at socialwork@sun.ac.za.

Article length

The length of articles is between 7000 and 11000 words, from the first to the last word.

Language

Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk promotes accessible and inclusive language in articles. Accessible language is characterised by clarity and simplicity, making it comprehensible not only to social work professionals but also to readers from diverse disciplines and those for whom English is not their first language. Inclusive language is essential as it recognises and values diversity, demonstrates sensitivity to differences, and conveys respect for all individuals. For more information, please refer to the Journal’s Accessible and Inclusive Language Policy.

Professional language editing of articles before submission is highly recommended and may facilitate the review process.

Confidentiality and media embargo

Authors, reviewers, and editorial staff are expected to treat all submitted manuscripts and correspondence with the Editorial Office as confidential. From the moment of submission until the online publication or rejection of the manuscript, all manuscripts are deemed to be under a media embargo. See the Journal’s Confidentiality and Media Embargoes Policy .

Please ensure that no meta-data is captured in your manuscript. This refers to all identifying details that could give an indication of who the author(s) are. This safeguards the author(s) confidentiality, ensures that the double-blind peer review process is effectively executed. Failure to check this will delay the processing of the article. Please see the Article Structure Guide for steps on how to remove meta-data.  

Referencing and article formatting style

Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk uses the APA 7^th edition as referencing style but also incorporates specific formatting requirements for the Journal. Authors are required to consult the Journal’s Referencing and Formatting Guide before drafting manuscripts for submission. Manuscripts that do not adhere meticulously to this guide will not be processed and will be returned to the authors with a request to comply with the guide before resubmitting the manuscript. The Journal managing editor will subject all articles to Reciteworks scrutiny during the proofing stage, generating reports on the accuracy of references. Authors will be required to rectify any referencing errors until all queries are resolved. This process may entail a significant amount of time, potentially causing delays in the publication of an article. Consequently, authors are strongly encouraged to ensure the 100% accuracy of referencing before submitting an article for peer review, a feasible expectation in light of freely available modern technology.

Article structure

Authors are strongly advised to consult the Article Structure Guide and Article Content Checklist  before commencing the writing of an article. This comprehensive resource is made available to prospective authors intending to submit their work to Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk for peer review and potential publication. The guide and checklist elucidate the Journal's stipulations regarding the maintenance of anonymity in manuscript preparation for peer review. Additionally, they provide thorough guidance to authors on formulating a title, abstract, and keywords for the manuscript. The documents also expound in detail on the Journal's requirements pertaining to the overall structure of the manuscript and referencing. Referees will utilise this Article Structure Guide and Content Checklist as a benchmark during the peer review process.

Peer review process

All manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo double-blind peer review: (i) Submitted manuscripts undergo an initial assessment by the Editorial Office to ensure compliance with author guidelines; (ii) Manuscripts deemed potentially suitable undergo a similarity and AI detection process; (iii) If a manuscript is suitable for review, the Editor-in-Chief invites two editorial advisory committee members or editorial board members to act as reviewers; (iv) Reviewers are requested to make comments directly using track changes on the manuscript and, based on this, to complete a referee report using the template provided to them; (v) Reviewers have five options to recommend regarding the articles they review, namely “accept as is”, “accept with minor revisions”, “revise in accordance with recommendations and resubmit for review”, “reject” and “refer to a more appropriate journal”; (vi) After receiving at least two review reports, the Editor-in-Chief collates the recommendations of reviewers and makes a decision on the manuscript; (vii) Authors have one month to revise a manuscript and to resubmit manuscripts, whereafter the manuscript goes through a second round of review if recommended; (viii) Accepted manuscripts enter the production queue for copy-editing, layout, and proofing in date order of acceptance. See the Journal’s Peer Review Process Policy for more information.

Submission-to-publication timeline

The typical timeline from article submission-to-publication ranges from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 24 months. The first round of review feedback is provided within three months after submission. Appointed referees have one month to review and submit their reports to the Editor-in-Chief. If revision and resubmission are recommended, authors have one month to revise and resubmit the manuscript. If a manuscript is provisionally approved, the final editorial editing and publication queue time will not exceed 12 months from that point. Articles may be deemed unsuitable for publication after the first or second round of review and are usually rejected if they remain unsuitable after the third round. Please refer to the Journal’s Submission to Publication Timeline Policy for further details.

Production process and publication

Upon acceptance, manuscripts undergo a production process at the editorial office, entering a queue for copy-editing, layout, and proofing. Authors are given the opportunity to review and approve copyediting changes and address any author queries during the proof stage, managed by the managing editor. Articles are typically produced in chronological order of acceptance but, subject to the Editor-in-Chief's discretion and for compelling reasons, may be assigned to a specific issue. The submission date and the provisionally accepted date of the manuscript will be explicitly specified in each published article. The article's publication date is automatically generated and displayed on the website of the journal issue. Refer to the Production Process and Publication Policy of the journal for more details.

Publication Agreement

All authors are required to sign a Publication Agreement, which will be provided to the corresponding author before the publication of the article.

Responses and rebuttals

Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk encourages formal responses to articles published in the Journal, fostering constructive scholarly discourse. All commentaries undergo review by two editorial board members. Refer to the Responses and Rebuttals Policy of the Journal for more details.

Data publishing ethics

In the domain of data publication, Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk upholds best practices in data publishing ethics. The Journal is dedicated to addressing and investigating any ethical issues pertaining to the data associated with a submitted manuscript or a published article. In the event that ethical concerns arise regarding the data linked to a published article, the Journal will enact its correction and retraction policies. For further details, please consult the Journal’s Data Publishing Ethics Policy .

Appeals and complaints

In instances of grievances, any individual may follow the steps outlined in the Appeals and Complaints Policy of the Journal. Authors retain the right to appeal decisions made on their submissions if they deem them unfair. All complaints submitted through the designated channels will be duly acknowledged and subjected to thorough investigation.

Corrections

A correction may be issued if a published article contains a substantial error that impacts, for instance, the accuracy of the content. Corrections are disseminated in the form of either an erratum or corrigendum version. Minor errors may be rectified at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief without the issuance of a formal notice of errata or corrigenda. For further details, please refer to the Journal’s Corrections Policy.

Article retraction

In exceptional situations, such as instances of plagiarism, the creation of texts solely by artificial intelligence (AI), redundant publication, or data errors, articles may require retraction. Retraction entails the removal or replacement of an article, aiming to preserve the integrity of the Journal. See the Article Retraction Policy for details.

BOOK REVIEW GUIDELINES

The Editor-in-Chief will extend invitations to qualified experts to provide reviews of books considered suitable for the Journal's readership. Typically, book reviews are around 2000 words and adhere to the same format and referencing style as articles. Prior to publication, book reviews undergo a review process conducted by the Editorial Office to ensure the maintenance of the Journal's elevated scholarly standards.