Publishing Policy

Note:  A detailed and up to date version of this policy has been produced by our imprint Seereer Heritage Press. Please download and read their publishing guidelines before submitting a proposal. To download a copy of the policy in PDF format, please click here.

This policy sets out the minimum standards expected of scholars/authors prior to the publication of their papers on our Website www.seereer.com. This policy must be read in conjunction with our Terms and Conditions (especially Articles 13 and 14), Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This policy specifically concerns professional scholars and/or university students undertaking their Master's Degree who wish to have their scholarly/scientific papers published on our Website in order to be made available to the general public and other scholars. It also applies to those scholars who wish to author articles requested in the "academia category" of our forum page. Please ensure you are familiar with our policy before submitting any work to us for publication. 


The ability and willingness to share knowledge contributes towards the preservation and education of Seereer history, culture and traditions. The SRC welcome scholars and MA students in all walks of life and disciplines to author or co-author articles relating to the Seereer people and the Senegambia Region. As a author/scholar, a great deal of trust is placed upon you and your work. Not only is trust important for preserving your own professional reputation, but you owe a duty to your reader especially general members of the public who may read your work and believe in what you've written. Whilst a fellow scholar knowledgeable in the subject may possess the analytical skills, a layperson who may not have the expertise might rely on your work. The internet disseminates information very quickly. If an author/scholar has made an error or failed to adhere to proper guidelines, a layperson may cite their work and before long the error would be viral. For this reason, all scholars/authors wishing to have their work published on our Website must abide by the following rules:


  1. You must be qualified in the subject you are writing about
  2. You must support your claims with reliable and verifiable references using "citation in the text" or "inline citation". For guidelines on "citation in the text", see:  "The Harvard system of referencing" published by De Monfort University Library (Leicester).
  3. You must write in a neutral manner, free from bias
  4. You must follow an encyclopedic style of writing
  5. You must not plagiarise somebody else's work or infringe on the rights of others
  6. You must adhere to the Harvard Style of Referencing when submitting any work to us for publication. For more information and guidelines about the Harvard Style, see:  "The Harvard system of referencing" published by De Monfort University Library (Leicester).
  7. Without prejudice to any of the rules stipulated herein, the SRC recognises and respects your rights as a scholar and as someone who is an expert in your field. As such, you have the right to gather and analyse primary sources using your own professional judgement and expertise as long as those sources are complemented by reliable and verifiable secondary sources. You also have the right to analyse secondary sources and any privileges that may reasonably be afforded to a scholar or expert. 


A. YOU MUST BE QUALIFIED IN THE SUBJECT

You must attained a university degree up to a Master's level (or studying for your Masters) if you want your scholarly paper published on our Website. This is also a requirement if you want your work to be taken seriously by other scholars. You must be able to prove your qualifications when requested. 

The SRC recognises the fact that, there are those people (especially in the Senegambia Region) who may not have attained a Master's Degree but are highly revered in their field. This is especially true among certain members of the older generation of Senegambians whose verse knowledge of Seereer and Senegambian history, culture and traditions should be preserved. The SRC encourages such individuals to author articles for publication and to contact the Centre for any assistance they may require. 

B.  YOU MUST SUPPORT YOUR CLAIMS WITH RELIABLE AND VERIFIABLE SOURCES USING CITATION IN TEXT OR INLINE CITATIONS

What is a reliable source?

A reliable source is a published book, article, journal or paper authored by an individual (or group of individuals) who is qualified to write about the subject, and whose work has been peer-reviewed. Do not cite Wikipedia as a reference. Wikipedia articles are not reliable sources.

What is a verifiable source?

A verifiable source is a source that can be obtained by the reader either online or offline in order to verify the claims being made. By definition, a reliably published work can be regarded as a verifiable source. Just because a reader cannot gain access to the source (e.g. if it is offline or out of print) does not necessarily mean it is unverifiable. If it is offline or out of print and the reader really wants to examine the source, it is their responsibility to take the initiative and request a copy through their local library or purchase a copy if necessary. In similarity, where a pay to view subscription via an external website is required,  provided the document is reliable, it would be deemed verifiable whether or not the reader elects to subscribe to the service. 

How to cite your sources (citation in the text)?

  1. You must cite your sources using "citation in the text" (see link above for the Harvard Style)
  2. You must provide a full bibliography including links to reliable and non-commercial based external websites if relevant.
  3. A further reading section at the bottom of the paper is always advisable.

Please see this short example of how to cite sources and how your paper will appear on our Website. 

C. YOU MUST WRITE IN A NEUTRAL MANNER

As a scholarly, you must take a neutral stance when writing an article. You must provide both sides of the argument in a fair and balanced manner. The general consensus or majority views should be given precedence over minority views. Minority views should always be included however you should not give them more than their weight. As a neutral author, the reader should not know which side of the argument you support.

D. YOU MUST FOLLOW AN ENCYCLOPEDIC STYLE OF WRITING 

The tone in which you write your paper must be formal and similar in tone to the reliable sources you are citing. Please refrain from using jargon or abbreviations in scholarly papers. Your paper must be clear and understandable to the layperson and should be written in the third person unless your are quoting someone. 

E.  YOU MUST NOT PLAGIARISE SOMEBODY ELSE'S WORK OR INFRINGE ON THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS

Plagiarising somebody else's work is unprofessional and unscholarly. Infringing on the rights of others is a breach of copyright laws which can result to being sued, and in certain circumstances may be a criminal offence. The SRC accepts no liability where an author plagiarises or breaches copyright laws. If it has come to our attention that an author/scholar has plagiarised the work of another or infringes on the rights of another, the Centre will remove their work from our Website and permanently bar them from publishing their work on our Site. If you suspect plagiarism or breach of copyright, please e-mail us at info@seereer.com providing evidence to support your claim. Please see Terms and Conditions. 

General

Submitting your work to us

  1. Your paper should be submitted in Microsoft Word and each page should be numbered. 
  2. Your paper should have a Table of Content and the page numbers stated next to each content should correspond to the page numbers where the topics are addressed.
  3. Images and tables should be clear and readable. You can save images and insert them in the relevant page(s).
  4. If you have copied special characters from another website (non-copyrighted), please remove any hyperlinks.
  5. E-mail your paper to: tamsier@seereer.com

How your paper is published on our Website

  1. See this short example of how to cite sources and how your paper will appear on our Website. 
  2. Your paper will be published in verbatim - meaning "word for word" with no editions on our part. Although it will be reviewed prior to publication, it is your responsibility to ensure your paper is free from spelling and grammatical errors. After the publication of your work, the url to your paper will be e-mailed to you so you get the opportunity to review your work online.

Who is the copyright owner?

If donating your work for free, you the author are the full copyright owner of your work. We do not own the rights to your work. The Seereer Resource Centre only disseminates it to the general public and the academic world. However you agree to:

  1. give us permission to publish your work on our Website for free
  2. grant the general public and/or academics right to have access to it for free

If we (the Seereer Resource Centre) are paying you to write articles, then we own the rights to the work. Whether donating your work for free or are being paid by us, you are still bound by this policy.

How users will cite your work?

In return for publishing your donated work, the SRC and the end-user agrees to give you credit when citing your work and in accordance with our citing policy. Where you have elected to deviate from our citing policy and have notified us accordingly, we will abide by your instructions by specifying at the bottom of your paper the way you want readers to cite your work followed by : "[in] The Seereer Resource Centre. URL: full url link." Our citing policy supports the following referencing style (for online articles):

         Your surname, your name, "title of your paper", name of university - level e.g. Master's (if relevant) (date or year) [in] The Seereer Resource Centre.
         URL:  www.seereer.com. 
         
         For example: Faye, Wagaan, "History of the Seereer people", Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar - Master's Thesis (2005) [in] 
         The Seereer Resource  Centre. URL: www.seereer.com
         
See this example about citing sources, how your work will appear on our Website and how users will cite your work. 
See  our Terms and Conditions (especially Articles 13 and 14) for further information.