Journal profile · Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
African Journal of Social Work
ISSN 2409-5605 · National Association of Social Workers Zimbabwe · Zimbabwe
African Journal of Social Work: fully open access; APC about USD 300; review about 24 weeks (community reports); 48 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
African Journal of Social Work is published by National Association of Social Workers Zimbabwe. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Social Work Education and Practice, Social Sciences and Policies and African cultural and philosophical studies, together about 39.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The African Journal of Social Work (AJSW) is a refereed journal that serves as a forum for exchanging ideas and knowledge and discussing issues relevant to social work practice, education and research in the African region. The journal is committed to reflecting culturally relevant and decolonised African social work. The AJSW uses a double-blind peer review process. We ask authors to value communities that they research by being open in dealing with them, including them in the review process, providing opportunities for co-analysis and co-authoring and providing them with results of our research in accessible formats. The journal publishes empirical papers but also accepts reviews, philosophical, theoretical, historical, methodological or epistemological articles. In addition to these articles, the journal is interested in brief notes and analysis of up to 1000 words on policy, programmes, legislations, organisations or interventions on social work that would be of interest to African social workers and the international social work fraternity. Other submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching aids, think pieces, news from professional associations and professional interviews. To help with our objective of decolonizing African social work, we anticipate that authors will have a majority of their citations from the continent including African books, articles, definitions, concepts, theories, frameworks and orature (oral literature) that is abundant in Africa but has not been adequately tapped in social work. The journal publishes articles that are accessible online free of charge and are indexed with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), South Africa; Africa Journals Online; SCOPUS, Elsevier’s abstract and citation database; and several other indexing systems. To cover the open-access service, in 2021 the publishers introduced charges for authors after peer review and acceptance. This practice is widely used globally to ensure that research remains open access. Further information and the fees are available on the journal website www.ajsw.africasocialwork.net/author-guidelines/ The journal publishes 6 issues per year in February, April, June, August, October and December. African Journal of Social Work (AJSW) content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Editor-in-chief Rugare MugumbatePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 4, United Kingdom 1, Kenya 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Social Work Education and PracticeSocial Sciences18.2%
- Social Sciences and PoliciesSocial Sciences11.3%
- African cultural and philosophical studiesSocial Sciences9.9%
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences7.7%
- Child Welfare and AdoptionSocial Sciences5.1%
- Aging, Elder Care, and Social IssuesHealth Professions4%
- Intimate Partner and Family ViolenceSocial Sciences3.8%
- Legal and Social Justice StudiesSocial Sciences3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Social Sciences | Q3 | 161/286 | 43rd |
| Health (social science) | Q3 | 276/387 | 28th |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Africa Journals OnlinePublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.42LetPub ·
- h-index
- 16OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.59OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 331 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 34 | 34 | 98 |
| 2025 | 48 | 48 | 201 |
| 2024 | 45 | 45 | 162 |
| 2023 | 34 | 34 | 200 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 172 |
| 2021 | 26 | 26 | 92 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 24 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 24 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 300 / ZAR 5,000 | No | CC BY-NC | |
| Publisher website | USD 120 / USD 200 / USD 240 / AUD 340 / USD 300 / AUD 440 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 120
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare10 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 5,000 words
- Reference style
- ACS
- Templates
- Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted12
- book reviewsOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- brief notes and analysisIn addition to these articles, the journal is interested in brief notes and analysis of up to 1000 words on policy, programmes, legislations, organisations or i…Length not stated
- curriculum development or teaching aidsOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- empirical papersThe journal prefers empirical papers but also accepts review, theoretical, historical, methodological or epistemological analyses.Length not stated
- literature reviewWhat if I am doing a literature review only paper? At times, authors are submitting an article based solely on a review of literature. This is possible. In your…Length not stated
- media reviewsOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- news from professional associationsOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- professional interviewsOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- published article commentary or repliesOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- reviewsThe journal publishes empirical papers but also accepts reviews, philosophical, theoretical, historical, methodological or epistemological articles.Length not stated
- suitable bibliographiesOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
- think piecesOther submissions may include book reviews, media reviews, published article commentary or replies, suitable bibliographies, curriculum development or teaching …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteConflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
Authors disclose all conflict of interest, financial, relational or otherwise. Model summary
If you are related, befriended or working with an author of a paper you are asked to review then there is possible conflict of interest. Please inform the Editor so that he/she can make an informed decision.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics PUBLICATION ETHICS AND MALPRACTICE STATEMENT
Research ethics undergirded by the philosophy and practice of Ubuntu; commitment to research ethics and response to malpractice for board, editors, authors, reviewers and publisher. Model summary
This document should be read in conjunction with AJSW Guidelines for Peer Reviewers and Guidelines for Authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Online publishing licence is Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC BY NC) International Licence; readers may copy and redistribute material for non-commercial purposes with credit to authors. Model summary
Our online publishing licence is Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC BY NC) International Licence which means that readers can copy and redistribute our material for non-commercial purposes under creative commons licence but should credit our authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access FEES TO SUPPORT OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING
Open access Model summary
Published articles are accessible online free of charge immediately after publication and there is no registration required. This means readers can read, review, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts for no fee and without restrictions. The journal is indexed with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), South Africa; Africa Journals Online; SCOPUS, El…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Double-blind peer review plus community review Model summary
At least 2 reviewers for each article submitted. Some papers require a 3rd reviewer at the discretion of the editor. Editor provides editorial review. Review often takes a month. Review is double blind. The editor makes the final decision at the recommendation of reviewers. Guidelines are attached. We also encourage reviewers to use AJOL guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Authors declare manuscripts not submitted to other journals and articles not published before. Model summary
Authors declare that they have not submitted their manuscripts to other journals or their articles have not been published before.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Publisher maintains an archive for online and print content; endeavours to have a LOCKSS archiving policy. Model summary
While the AJSW may be hindered by resource availability, the publisher endeavours to have a Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) archiving policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving
Authors may use published articles for non-commercial educational purposes such as depositing into institutional repositories; for non-institutional repositories, authors may provide a link from the journal website without uploading articles. Model summary
Authors have rights to use their published articles for non-commercial educational purposes such as depositing them into institutional repositories. For non-institutional and online repositories, authors have a right to provide a link from the journal website without necessarily uploading their articles on non-institutional repositories.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- National Association of Social Workers Zimbabwe
- Country or region
- Zimbabwe
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2409-5605
- Print ISSN
- 1563-3934
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 16, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about African Journal of Social Work
How long does peer review take at African Journal of Social Work?
Authors report an average review time of about 24 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of African Journal of Social Work?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 5,000 words; Reference style: ACS; Templates: Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of African Journal of Social Work based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (4), United Kingdom (1) and Kenya (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index African Journal of Social Work?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, African Journal of Social Work is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is African Journal of Social Work open access, and what is the APC?
African Journal of Social Work is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 300.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, DOAJ, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-30). Last updated: .