Social Dynamics strives to publish conceptually-informed research on Africa that addresses an interdisciplinary audience. It is the journal of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. It has been published since 1975, and is committed to advancing interdisciplinary academic research, fostering debate and engaging current issues pertaining to the African continent. Articles cover the full range of humanities and social sciences including anthropology, archaeology, economics, education, history, literary and language studies, music, politics, psychology and sociology.
Social Dynamicsis a peer-reviewed journal that runs themed symposia and publishes general papers, essays, book reviews and occasional debates and response papers across three issues per year. Articles appearing in Social Dynamics are indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index and other abstracting and indexing services. The journal is edited by three academics and has received international recognition as a leading Africanist publication.
Peer Review Statement
All research articles published in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two anonymous referees.
Journal metrics
Usage
60K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
0.5 (2023) Impact Factor
0.9 (2023) 5 year IF
1.0 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
0.656 (2023) SNIP
0.232 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
141 days avg. from submission to first
decision
65% acceptance rate
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Editors: Bernard Dubbeld - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Chet Fransch - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Lauren Paremoer - University of Cape Town, South Africa
Associate Editor: Polo Moji - University of Cape Town, South Africa
Copyeditors: Jennifer Poole Ute Kuhlmann
Editorial Assistant:
Alice Sholto-Douglas
Editorial Board:
Tanja Bosch - University of Cape Town, South Africa Hormon Chitonge - University of Cape Town, South Africa Pieter Fourie - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Louise Green - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Heidi Grunebaum - University of the Western Cape, South Africa Ruth Hall - University of the Western Cape, South Africa George Hull - University of Cape Town, South Africa Zethu Matebeni - University of the Western Cape, South Africa Fiona Moola - University of the Western Cape, South Africa Lungisile Ntsebeza - University of Cape Town, South Africa Desmond Painter - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Lize van Robbroeck - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Steven Robins - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Meg Samuelson - University of Cape Town, South Africa Ross Truscott - University of the Western Cape, South Africa
International Advisory Board:
Said Adejumobi - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Signe Arnfred - Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden; Roskilde University, Denmark David Atwell - University of York, UK Yusuf Bangura - UN Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, Switzerland Elleke Boehmer - University of Oxford, UK Colin Bundy - University of Oxford, UK Stephen Chan - SOAS, University of London, UK Jean Comaroff - University of Chicago, USA John Comaroff - University of Chicago, USA Brenda Cooper - University of Cape Town, South Africa; University of Manchester, UK Mamadou Diouf - Columbia University, USA James Ferguson - Stanford University, USA Patrick Harries - Centre for African Studies, Basel , Switzerland Alcinda Honwana - The Open University (International Development Centre), UK John Noyes - University of Toronto, Canada Joyce Nyairo - Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya Adebayo Olukoshi - Codesria, Senegal E Eghosa Osaghae - Igbinedion University, Nigeria Fernando Rosa Ribeiro - University of Malaya, Malaysia Pamela Scully - Emory University, USA Ato Quayson - University of Toronto, Canada Daniel Yon - York University, Canada Paul Tiyambe Zeleza - University of Illinois at Chicago
Updated 28-06-2024
Abstracting and indexing
Social Dynamics is indexed in the following services:
CSA Social Services Abstracts
CSA Sociological Abstracts
CSA Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
EBSCOhost
Index to South African Periodicals (Online)
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences
MLA International Bibliography
OCLC
Periodicals Index Online
PubMed
Scopus
Thomson Reuters Social Sciences Citation Index® (SSCI)
Open access
Social Dynamics is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
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