Instructions for Reviewers

Reviewer Guidelines

The Journal of Geography Education in Africa (JoGEA) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed refereed journal. A double-blind review process is adhered to. This means that author(s) are not told who the reviewers are nor are reviewers made aware of who the author(s) are. Thus, it is very important that you do not include any information that identifies you as the reviewer. 

To review an article, log on to the platform using the link provided and you will be directed to the appropriate manuscript file. This may be in Word or pdf format. The UP Journal Portal system operates by download/upload and dialogue boxes. Once you have accepted the invitation to review the manuscript you are able to download the document(s) provided by the author(s).

Read the editor's letter of invitation to review and determine whether you can complete the review by the deadline which is 4 weeks from the email invitation. If you cannot meet the stipulated deadline, or you have a conflict of interest, please inform the editor immediately. You may not give the manuscript to a colleague to review.

The manuscript sent to you is a privileged and confidential document. Please protect it from any form of exploitation. Do not cite a manuscript or refer to the work it describes before it has been published and do not use the information it contains to advance your own research or in discussions with colleagues.

In your comments to the author(s): provide an introductory paragraph summarising the major findings of the article; your overall impression of the significance of the findings; and highlight the successes and major shortcomings of the article.

This paragraph should be followed by specific comments referring to the appropriate line numbers. Critique should be presented dispassionately and constructively; offensive remarks are not acceptable. Reviewers are encouraged to provide comments that are formative and developmental and that will help authors to improve their manuscript.

If you wish to comment via Tracked Changes on the original document, please ensure that your settings on Word are set to Anonymous.

Confidential remarks directed to the editor should be typed into the “reviewer comments” dialogue box. It is advisable to first type in a Word document and then cut and paste into the dialogue box.

Once you have reviewed the manuscript, please select one of the following options in adjudicating your decision: Accept,  Minor revisions required, Moderate revisions required, Major revisions required, or Reject.

The Editor will access your review and you will receive a message of acknowledgment and thanks. As two reviews are obtained for each manuscript, the final decision regarding modification, acceptance, or rejection of a manuscript rests solely with the Editor. Please submit your review by the stipulated deadline, which is 4 weeks after the initial invitation to undertake the review. We will send you reminders if you are late.

While files are maintained electronically by the UP Journals Portal operating system, it is recommended that you retain an electronic copy of the review for your files. The manuscript may be returned to you for a second review, particularly if the requested modification was extensive. In addition, if the manuscript is resubmitted after rejection, the new version may be sent to you for review. In either case, you will need to evaluate the author's responses to your original review.