Submissions

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Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Articles

MADSEJ uses MLA 9 edition style manual

1.    Book

Format

Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. Title. Publisher, Year.

In-text citation: (Author Last Name Page Number)

Examples

Works Cited List: Waliya, Yohanna Joseph. La Récolte de Vie. UP of Calabar, 2015.

In-text citation:(Waliya 25)

2.    E-Book

Format

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title. Edition if given and is not first edition, Publisher Name often shortened, Year of publication. Name of Library Database, Permalink URL.

Example

Works Cited List: Lévi-Strauss, Claude. The Savage Mind.  University of Chicago Press, 1966. EBSCOhost, e-book, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=452187.Journal Article from Database

In-text Citation

(Lévi-Strauss, Chapter of the book)

3.    Journal Article from Database

Format

Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title." Journal/Magazine/Newspaper Title, Publication Information [volume, issue/number, year, pages]. Name of Database, DOI, Permalink or shortened URL for article in the database. 

In-text citation: (Author Last Name Page Number)

Examples

Works-Cited:
Okhueleigbe, O. A. “Interpretive Journalism Perspective on Brewing Contextualized Citation and Referencing Practices in African Scholarship.” Communicate: Journal of Library and Information Science, vol. 27, no. 1, 2025, pp. 93-108.

In-text citation:
(Okhueleigbe 95)

4.    Website

Format

Works Cited List: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Page or Article." Title of Site, Sponsor or Publisher [include only if different from website title or author], Date of Publication or Update Date, URL. Accessed Date [optional; include date you accessed source if it is likely to help readers].

In-text citation: (Author Last Name or page title)

Examples

Works Cited List: Achebe, Chinua. "The Role of the Writer in a New Nation." Chinua Achebe: The Official Website, 2012, www.chinuaachebe.com/the-role-of-the-writer-in-a-new-nation. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

In-text citation:
(Achebe)

Note: If an author is not listed, begin the citation with the title of the page. For example if the author was not evident on the citation above, the works cited entry would be:

“The Role of the Writer in a New Nation." Chinua Achebe: The Official Website, 2012, www.chinuaachebe.com/the-role-of-the-writer-in-a-new-nation. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.

5.    Works Cited in another Source

Format

Sometimes an author will mention work by another author by using a quotation or paraphrased idea. For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith. The basic rule is that in both the works-cited list and In-text citation, cite Kirkey. Use the words “qtd. in” for the In-text citation.  

Examples

Works Cited List: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story in African Media Narratives.” African Studies Review, vol. 64, no. 3, 2021, pp. 15–28. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2021.45.

In-text citation:
According to a statement by Said (qtd. in Adichie), representation shapes the way power operates through storytelling.
Said (qtd. in Adichie) observes that “narrative authority determines whose voice becomes truth in global discourse” (22).

  1. TikTok (Individual video/post)

Format

Works Cited List: TikTok Account Name [@username]. "Title or First Words of TikTok video." TikTok, Day Month Year of posting, URL.

In-text citation: (Account Name)

Examples

Works Cited List: Ava [@avafashionista]. "The hottest trends from Paris Fashion Week #PFW2024." TikTok, 23 May 2024, www.tiktok.com/@avafashionista/video/83146.

In-text citation: (Ava)

  1. TikTok (Platform as a whole)

Format

Works Cited List: TikTok [Mobile application]. ByteDance, 2016.

In-text citation: (TikTok)

Examples

Works Cited List: TikTok [mobile application]. ByteDance, 2016.

In-text citation: (TikTok)

  1. WhatsApp (Personal message)

Format

Works Cited List: Last Name, First Name. WhatsApp message. Day Month Year.

In-text citation: (Last Name)

Examples

Works Cited List: Smith, John. WhatsApp message. 5 Mar. 2025.

In-text citation: (Smith)

  1. WhatsApp (Group message)

Format

Works Cited List: Last Name, First Name. WhatsApp message to [Group Name] group. Day Month Year.

In-text citation: (Last Name)

Examples

Works Cited List: Doe, Jane. WhatsApp message to the "Project Team" group. 6 Apr. 2025.

In-text citation: (Doe)

  1. ChatGPT (AI-generated text)

Format

Works Cited List: "Text of prompt" prompt. ChatGPT, Version, OpenAI, Day Month Year, chat.openai.com/chat.scribbr.com

In-text citation: ("First few words of prompt")

Examples

Works Cited List: "Summarize the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra" prompt. ChatGPT, GPT-4, OpenAI, 30 Jun. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat. 

In-text citation: ("Summarize the book")

  1. ChatGPT (Platform as a reference)

Format

Works Cited ListChatGPT [Large language model]. OpenAI, 2023.

In-text citation: (ChatGPT)

Examples

Works Cited List: ChatGPT [large language model]. OpenAI, 2023.

In-text citation: (ChatGPT)

Quick How To for MLA Citation.

 

Authorship Guidelines

Prospective authors should check the specific publishing ethics policies of each journal for additional authorship requirements. When no other criteria are stated, authorship is determined by the following principles:

  • Making significant contributions to theconception or design of the study, or to the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data.
  • Writing or critically revisingthe manuscript to add meaningful intellectual content.
  • Givingfinal approval of the version that will be published.
  • Takingresponsibility for all parts of the work and ensuring that any concerns about accuracy or integrity are properly addressed.

Some journals may have their own rules about anonymous or pseudonymous authorshipgroup or consortia authorshipequal first authorshipappendix authorship, or other special authorship arrangements.

 

Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author has the following key duties:

  • Reviewing, correcting, and proofreading the manuscript. Managing all revisions and resubmissions until the paper is accepted.
  • Signing theAuthor Publishing Agreement on behalf of all co-authors and obtaining any required signatures from third-party copyright holders.
  • Representing all co-authors after publication by responding to any questions or concerns about publishing ethics, content reuse, or access to data, materials, and resources.

AI Use in Research

  • Authors must clearly state and explain how AI was used in their research papers, just like any other software or tool. AI should only be used for grammar correction, plagiarism checking, and improving writing flow — not for generating the main text.
  • AI or large language models (LLMs) cannot be listed as an author in any publication by MADSEJ. However, using AI to help with code generation or text editing is allowed.
  • Authors are fully responsible for the truthfulness, originality, and accuracy of their papers, including any parts where AI tools were used.
  • Any paper that breaks MADSEJ’s AI policy will be rejected. All research must be original, and any borrowed ideas, data, or words must be properly cited usingMLA 9th edition.

African Digital Poetry

Submit your original digital poems as JavaScript (.js) or Python (.py) files. Include your name, title, date, and a short bio (100–150 words). Works should be interactive, generative, or multimedia-based, and any AI assistance must be declared (only allowed for editing or code help, not content creation). Ensure your code runs correctly and any borrowed ideas or code are properly cited. By submitting, you allow MADSEJ to publish your work digitally with credit. Upload via the MADSEJ portal or designated email.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.