African Scientist Journal Explained

The African Scientist Journal is catalogued with ISSN 1595-6881 and Ilorin Klobex Academic Publishers as publisher. Its own site states double-blind review and charges fees only after acceptance. Check indexing claims independently before submitting.

Use this profile alongside the wider list of african academic journals to compare titles before you commit a manuscript.

Journal profile: publisher, title and ISSN

A library catalogue record lists the title as African Scientist: Journal of the Nigerian Society for Experimental Biology, names Ilorin Klobex Academic Publishers as the publisher and gives the ISSN as 1595-6881. The same record files the journal under experimental biology.

The journal’s own instructions to authors describe a broader remit: original research papers across the fields of science. The subject areas it lists are agriculture, biomedical sciences, and environment, human health and pollution. That makes it a plausible home for experimental, laboratory or field studies in those areas. A paper outside them is likely to be a poor fit, whatever the review speed.

An ISSN is only an identifier. Before relying on it, look the number up in the ISSN Portal and confirm that the record shows the same title and publisher as the journal’s website. A mismatch is a reason to pause.

How peer review works

The journal describes a conventional pipeline, and each stage is stated on its instructions page. In order:

1. Send the manuscript. Submission is electronic, particularly by email as an attachment to the Editor.
2. Anonymised review. The journal uses a double-blind system, so reviewers do not know the authors’ names and authors do not know the reviewers’. Keep names and identifying details out of the reviewed file.
3. Two reviewers assess the paper. Each completes a standard review form for the article.
4. Decision within the stated limit. The review process takes a maximum of 30 days. Treat this as a ceiling stated by the journal, not a promise for every manuscript.
5. Outcome. The result is acceptance, rejection, or acceptance with modifications.

A defined reviewer count, a standard form and a time limit are all things you can hold the journal to. If your decision arrives well beyond the stated limit, quote that limit when you write to the Editor.

Author guidelines in practice

Manuscript format

The author guidelines are specific, so format the file before you send it.

• Layout. Use 2.5 cm margins, double spacing and Times New Roman 12.
• Abstract and keywords. The abstract should be not more than 200 words, followed by not more than 5 keywords.
• Sections. Use Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgement(s) and References.
• Citations. Cite in the text with the main author’s surname and year, for example (Cheung, 2001).

Treat the abstract and keyword figures as upper limits. A concise abstract that stays under them avoids an early formatting query.

Ethics and originality

Studies involving human subjects need an institutional ethical clearance document submitted with the manuscript, or a statement of informed consent in Materials and Methods. The journal also requires that the same work has not been published and is not currently submitted elsewhere. If your paper is already with another journal, wait for that decision rather than submitting in parallel.

Fees and what you pay for

The journal’s publication charge page separates charges that apply at submission, after rejection and after acceptance.

These charges are taken from the journal’s own publication charge statement.

Charging only after acceptance means the money is tied to a peer-review decision rather than to receipt of a manuscript. The mandatory PDF purchase is an extra cost beyond the processing fee, so include it in any grant budget.

Checking legitimacy for yourself

The journal’s pages describe double-blind review by two reviewers, a stated time limit, a fee that follows acceptance and no charge on rejection. Those are the features of a conventional peer-reviewed journal. They are the journal’s own statements, however, so test them against independent records before you decide.

Indexing and impact factor

Search the journal title and ISSN in the DOAJ directory, the Scopus source list and the Clarivate Master Journal List. Only a listing in those databases confirms that a journal is indexed there. An impact factor quoted on a journal website is worth trusting only if the Clarivate listing supports it. If your funder, institution or promotion panel requires indexing in a named database, settle that question before you submit, not after acceptance.

Editorial board and publisher identity

Look for a named editor and board with institutional affiliations you can verify on university pages. Our guide to the african journal editorial board explains how to carry out that check. Also confirm that the contact details on the site match the publisher shown in the catalogue and ISSN records.

Before you submit

Work through these points in order, since each one can save a wasted submission.

• Fit. Confirm your topic sits within agriculture, biomedical sciences, or environment, human health and pollution.
• Verification. Match the ISSN and publisher in the ISSN Portal and check the indexing lists your institution cares about.
• Costs. Obtain the current processing amount and budget for the mandatory PDF purchase.
• Manuscript. Apply the layout, abstract, section and citation rules, and anonymise the file for double-blind review.
• Compliance. Attach ethical clearance where human subjects are involved, and make sure no other journal holds the paper.
• Covering message. Because submission is by email to the Editor, the message accompanying your attachment is your first impression. Our guide on how to write a cover letter for journal submission covers what to include.

Frequently asked questions