African Development Finance Journal

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice

The African Development Finance Journal (ADFJ) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractices. In this regard, All authors submitting their works to the ADFJ for publication, as original articles, attest that the submitted works represent their authors’ contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works. The authors acknowledge that they have disclosed all and any actual or potential conflicts of interest with their work or partial benefits associated with it. In the same manner, ADFJ is committed to objective and fair peer-review of the submitted works for publication, and it focuses on preventing any actual or potential conflict of interests between the editorial and review personnel and the reviewed material. Any departures from the above-defined rules should be reported as a complaint directly to the ADFJ editorial board. The ADFJ editorial board is unequivocally committed to providing swift resolutions to any of such types of problems.

Author Guideline

Authors are advised to follow the Author Guideline in preparing the manuscript before submission.

Manuscript Preparation

1. Language

The language of the manuscript must be in English (either American or British standard, but not the mixture of both).

1. Length of Paper

The length of the paper should not exceed 25 pages. Paper containing more than 25 pages words will be returned to the author(s) to abridge. Articles should be typed in double-space (including footnotes and references) on one side of the paper only (preferably A4) with wide margins. Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible, but not at the expense of clarity.

1. Title Page

Title page is a separated page before the text. It should include the following information:

Title:
Title should be concise and informative. Try to avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Author’s Names and Affiliations:

Please indicate the given name and family name clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address, and telephone number of each author.

Corresponding Author:

Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing, publication and also post-publication. Ensure that telephone numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.

Sponsoring Information:

If the research is sponsored or supported by an organization, please indicate it.

1. Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length of 150 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list.

1. Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 8 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of').

1. Subdivision of the Article

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1, 2. (then 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2), 1.2, etc. The abstract is not included in section numbering.

1. Table and Figures

Present tables and figures at the end of the article or in line with text. Please note that the article will be published in color but sometimes in black and white.

1. References

Author(s) should follow the latest edition of APA style in referencing. Please visit www.apastyle.org to learn more about APA style

Citations in the Text:

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Avoid citation in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication

Reference List:

References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.

1. Submission Preparation Checklist

Before submitting the manuscript, author(s) should check the following list:

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration. Published manuscripts require reference.
   2.   The submission file is in Microsoft Word file/ PDF format.
   3.   Manuscript has been made in the light of Journal’s author guidelines.
   4.   Author(s) did not mention his or her name and affiliation in the main text
   5.   Author(s) has read all the guideline of the journal.

Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the e-mail to the editor at: editoradfj@uonbi.ac.ke

Copyright
Copyrights for articles published in African Development Finance Journal (ADFJ) are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.

Review Process

African Development Finance Journal (ADFJ) shall not accept or publish manuscripts in its journal without prior peer review. There shall be a review process of manuscripts by one or more independent referees/ reviewers who are conversant in the pertinent subject area.

Authors should strive for maximum clarity of expression, bearing in mind that the purpose of publication is the disclosure of technical knowledge and that an excessively complex or poorly written presentation can only obscure the significance of the work presented. Material which is not essential to the continuity of the text (e.g., proofs, derivations, or calculations) be placed in Appendices.

The editor evaluates the recommendation and notifies the author of the manuscript status. The manuscript may be:

• Accepted for publication as is
• Accepted for publication with minor changes, with no re-review necessary
• Accepted for publication after substantial revision and additional review
• Rejected

The comments of the anonymous reviewers will be forwarded to the authors, and when the authors are ready to submit their revised manuscript, read the comments of the editors and reviewers, and respond to them by telling what modifications they have made in their manuscript or why they have not made the suggested changes. 

Material which has been previously copyrighted, published, or accepted for publication will not be considered for publication in the journals.

The review process shall ensure that all authors have equal opportunity for publication of their papers. Acceptance and scheduling of publication of papers in these periodicals shall not be impeded by added criteria and procedures beyond those contained in the review process.

The editorial board is highly committed to the quick review process of the paper, but not with the sacrifice of the right judgment of a paper. The review process takes maximum two weeks.