LibGuides: Open Access: KovsieJournals

Need an ISSN?

Contact the Open Access office to apply.

What you need to apply:

The medium/format of your publication, i.e. print, online, etc.
Publication title
Publication place
Corporate author (if applicable)
Publisher information (and co-publisher if applicable)
Publication information (subject, editorial type, frequency, language)
URL of publication

Definition of a South African Journal

The Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) advises the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in reviewing South African journals for inclusion in their accredited list. There are various criteria, one being that the journal must be South African. What does that mean? There are general principles that can be used to identify a South African journal:

The process for the establishment of the journal must be in South Africa.
The name of the journal is not an issue for the recognition of being South African.
The journal should be initiated by a South African institution, e.g. a university or scholarly society.
The participation of South African scholars as authors of the content in the journal should be at a level of at least 40% of the research articles published in a two-year period.
The focus of the journal should be on scholarly work emanating from South Africa.
The editor of the journal should preferably be based in South Africa, with the editorial board significantly representing South Africa.

The University of the Free State's scholarly journals

Accredited journals published by the University of the Free State:

The journals are hosted on PKP Open Journal Systems by the Library and Information Services. The journals are also archived on the UFS repository, KovsieScholar.

Want to become a KovsieJournal?

To apply to become a KovsieJournals journal, and/or be hosted on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform of the UFS, you need to complete the application form below. The UFS Journal Editors Committee reviews applications for new journals quarterly. Remember, KovsieJournals are Open Access and all the content of the journal you are applying for must be available immediately upon publication. A remit* of the editorial team for the journal should accompany all applications.

New journal application form

*The remit should include:

The composition of the editorial team (two thirds of the editorial board members must be beyond a single institution, and which is reflective of expertise in the relevant subject area).
The status of the members of the editorial board must be stated together with their institutional affiliations.
Contact details of the editorial members.
Duties of the editorial team members.

Here is an example of a remit:

Journal editorial remit example

List and bibliography inclusion criteria

Resources for new journals

An introduction to peer review
African Scientists Directory
The African Scientists Directory aims to promote and facilitate the formation of scientific societies and academies within the continent as well as sub-regional partnerships on the continent. Between scientists and scientists, funders and scientists, postgraduate students and scientists, citizens and scientists, and many more. By bringing scientists together in a collective way, it guarantees that no one is left out or left behind.
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Connect in the African Scientists Directory for collaborations, identifying peer reviewers, and more.
ASSAf best practice guides
Best practice on number of articles to publish per year
COPE Code of conduct and best practice guidelines for journal editors
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

Editor roles and responsibilities
Khulisa Journals
To support good-quality, peer-reviewed, open-access South African journals to adhere to best practice and to enhance their reach through optimising accessibility, discoverability, indexability, interoperability and visibility. ASSAf’s vision for the Khulisa Journals platform is to sustain and grow the hosting service in the long term, and maintain and develop the functionality provided on the platform in line with best practice and ASSAf’s mission.

FAME (Forum for African Medical Editors) guidelines
These guidelines include a list of responsibilities that EiCs have towards authors, reviewers, readers and the general public.

OASPA Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) are scholarly organisations that have collaborated to identify principles of transparency and best practice for scholarly publications.

Peer review: the nuts and bolts
Peer review is the system used to assess the quality of scientific research before it is published. Researchers in the same field scrutinise research papers for validity, significance and originality to help editors assess whether research papers should be published in their journal.

Open Access Journals toolkit
The OA Journals Toolkit provides guidance for new and established open access journals to navigate the rapidly changing scholarly publishing landscape.
Sex and Gender Equity in Research
Editorial policy guidelines