INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Submit a text to one of the CERES journalsPropose the abstract of a proposed text

Plagiarism: how to avoid it

The heart of CERES' inclusive language and writing policy

Length and formatting of submitted texts, once the abstract has been accepted

How to cite your bibliographic references in your text

Formatting references in the bibliography

Figures, illustrations and tables

Typographic elements

SUBMIT A TEXT TO ONE OF THE CERES JOURNALS

Persons wishing to publish in a journal that is part of the CERES journals should first familiarize themselves with the main editorial policies of CERES which apply to all journals:</ p>

CERES Editorial and Open Access Policy

CERES Inclusive Language and Writing Policy

CERES Integrity and Plagiarism Policy

Peer review process / Peer review policy

 

They are in particular invited to carefully read the Authors' Commitment which summarizes it. CERES is a scientific research center that shares values and an ideal, in particular the aspiration to the highest quality and cognitive justice, and not a simple online service. Future authors are also invited to discover below the different types of text that can be published:

 

  • Article: presents carefully and thoroughly analyzed research data, as well as many up-to-date scientific references – will be subject to external peer review
  • Synthesis/debate: presents a synthesis of recent articles and books on a specific topic or debate, without research data – will be submitted for external peer review
  • Research note: presents research data, preliminary analyzes and some scientific references – will be subject to internal review by the editorial board
  • Practice/return from the field: presents field work or practical experience without scientific references – will be subject to the internal evaluation of the editorial board
  • Research question: presents a research question or a problem, without (or little) data and with few scientific references – will be subject to the internal evaluation of the editorial board
  • Interview: presents the transcript of an interview with a scientist or practitioner about their activity or a specific issue – will be subject to the internal evaluation of the editorial board.
  • Report: present in one or two pages a book, a dossier, a thesis, an article, a symposium – will be subject to the internal evaluation of the general management of CERES

 

Finally, it is important to know the list of journals in case the submission of an abstract is not done in response to a call for papers. All the journals accept articles "outside thematic file" at any time. To consult the list of journals: https://www.revues.scienceafrique.org/ According to the language policy of CERES (see section below), it is possible to submit a text in a language other than French, but the authors must be able to produce a French version which will also be published if the text is accepted. It is possible to republish pre-prints, texts already published elsewhere or to publish a translation, with the agreement of the authors and the original publisher, if this constitutes an interesting contribution to the journal. Please contact the journal's editorial board directly in such a situation. In short, to submit a text to a CERES journal, here is the procedure and the conditions to be respected.

 

  • Read at least this page to the end and the CERES Authors' Pledge.
  • Visit the website of the journal that interests you.
  • Read CERES’ Inclusive Language and Writing Policy, summarized below.
  • Use one of two abstract submission forms, depending on whether or not it is responding to a call for papers. Indeed, instead of submitting a complete text, authors are asked to submit, for validation, an abstract of their proposal using the official abstract submission form (see below). No sending of text by email will be accepted.

 

Messages addressed to the CERES General Secretariat should only address questions and not propose texts or summaries. Address: ………………………@....................ceres.rnrt.tn

 

PROPOSE THE SUMMARY OF A TEXT PROPOSAL

An abstract is a way to quickly present your draft text in order to receive approval or recommendations from the journal's editorial board before diving into the writing the full text. A summary must clearly and concisely present the theme of your draft text, its theoretical approach, its methodology, as well as its link with the call for papers, if applicable. It is recommended that key concepts be repeated in the summary to make them easier for search engines to find.

Each abstract submission must include the following metadata:

 

  • A title and, if applicable, a subtitle.
  • An abstract of 200 to 250 words, in French. 5 to 6 bibliographic references 5 to 6 keywords, descriptive but general: those that you would use to search for an article such as yours.
  • The first name(s), surname(s) and official affiliation of all the authors, with their email address.
  • An identification of the type of text. The editorial board may suggest another categorization of your text.

 

Please use one of the two forms below to submit your abstract. Please note that you will need to (re)read the Authors' Commitment before you can submit a submission. Note the name of the journal you have chosen so as not to make a mistake when submitting.

 

  • For abstracts in response to a call for papers, use this form.
  • For varia abstracts, not related to a call for papers, use this form.

 

If the text of your article is already written, you must still submit only the abstract and await the verdict of the editorial board. Indeed, the recommendations about your summary could be used to improve your text. During this wait, you can format your text so that it meets CERES standards, using the style sheet (downloadable here) or by scrupulously respecting its standards (see below). The committee's response may take several days or weeks. Don't worry, your summary will be considered if you saw the acceptance message appear after clicking "Submit".

 

PLAGIARISM: HOW TO AVOID IT (EXTRACT FROM THE INTEGRITY AND FIGHT AGAINST PLAGIARISM POLICY)

Plagiarism consists of reproducing an extract from a text already published elsewhere without explicitly indicating it with graphic signs (quotation marks, withdrawal, bibliographic reference with page number). This practice is not acceptable because it does not do justice to the author of the extract thus plagiarized and attributes the merit of this extract to the person who in fact plagiarized it. Plagiarism is therefore both a form of cognitive injustice inflicted on an author who has worked alone to write quality work (since it is deemed "worthy" of being plagiarized) and a sign of insecurity or intellectual laziness on the part of the plagiarizing author.

In case this plagiarism is an accident, CERES will always give the author a chance to make up for it by adding quotation marks to the plagiarized extract (to a quotation of three lines or less) or a withdrawal (quotation of four lines or more), as well as the exact reference accompanied by the page number. It is also possible to replace this extract with a personalized paraphrase, while adding the reference of the text inspiring the paraphrase. If neither of these actions is chosen by the author, their text will be removed from the editing process.

To learn more about plagiarism and how to avoid it, here is an essential reference:

Tio Babena, Gilbert Willy. 2020. The Art of Quoting and Plagiarism. In A decolonized and pluriversal guide to research training in the social sciences and humanities. Quebec: Science and Common Good Editions.

Free access at https://scienceetbiencommun.pressbooks.pub/projetthese/chapter/lart-de-citer-et-le-plagiat/

The two golden rules to avoid plagiarism:

 

  • Clearly indicate the source of any information or excerpt from an external source, whether it is a printed source, a web page or an oral informant.
  • Cite your sources accurately and rigorously, using quotation (with quotation marks or indentation), paraphrase or a combination of the two. Adequate citation of sources respects copyright, demonstrates a sense of professional ethics, facilitates understanding of the text and avoids cognitive injustices.

 

How to check that your own text does not contain any plagiarism, even unintentional?

 

  • Check that all quoted excerpts are in quotes (quotation of three lines or less) or indented (quotation of four lines or more).
  • Check that all these extracts are accompanied by a complete reference (author, date: page number).
  • Check that all paraphrases of an extract are a complete reformulation, without identical reproduction, and include the complete reference of the external text in the form (author, date: page number). If the paraphrase is unclear, the reader can go read the text that inspired the paraphrase.
  • Compare quotations and paraphrases with external texts to check that no errors of transcription or rephrasing have been made (leave errors as they are by indicating [sic]).

 

THE HEART OF CERES' INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND WRITING POLICY

CERES journals adopt inclusive writing that aims to ensure equal visibility for men and women in the French language – an issue that arises differently in African languages… This policy is accessible on the CERES website by clicking on this link. It follows the recommendations of the Inclusive Writing Guide of the Science and Common Good Editions. In short, this Guide suggests using neutral formulations ("the readership", rather than "the reader" or "the reader") and doublets: "Men and women", "readers and readers”, “teachers”, “citizens”. Read the Guide to learn more. The linguistic revision will follow these principles.

LENGTH AND FORMATTING OF TEXTS SUBMITTED, ONCE THE ABSTRACT IS ACCEPTED

CERES journals recommend a length of 15 pages for an article or a summary, including bibliography, but could accept longer or shorter texts if justified. An excerpt from a thesis without context or adaptation is not acceptable. If necessary, the editorial work (evaluation, revision) will recommend reducing or expanding a text. In accordance with the language policy, it is essential that the text be accessible, with as few notes as possible, jargon, new or rare concepts devoid of explanation or allusions to very local debates or very local instances without in context. The formatting must follow that of the CERES style sheet and in any case, include as little formatting as possible (because we will have to erase it for entry into our software). This is why we do not recommend any typeface or margin etc. The only recommendation concerns the styling of section titles: only two section levels should be specified and styled using the "Style" function of the word processor: Heading 2 for main sections and Heading 3 for subsections. The style sheet is formatted in the correct way and should be taken as an example. Short quotations (less than four lines) are placed in the text between French quotation marks (no italics). For long quotes (four lines or more), use the "Quote" style, which indents the quote, without quotes or italics. To call a footnote, place the cursor after the word calling the comment, but before the final punctuation mark. Footnotes should be kept to a minimum and presented in ascending order. Do not call out footnotes in section headings and subheadings.

HOW TO CITE YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES IN YOUR TEXT

The four basic rules of bibliographic quality:

  • All references cited in the text must appear in the bibliography, with all the essential information (surname, first name, title of the journal or book, publisher, pages, etc.)
  • All titles in the bibliography must be mentioned in the text.
  • All excerpts of external text must be quoted (three lines or less) or indented without quotes (four lines or more).
  • All quotations in quotes or indented must display the page number from which they are taken. The style of the CERES references is inspired by the APA style in French, as explained in this guide: http://benhur.teluq.uquebec.ca/~mcouture/apa/. The references in footnotes do not are not accepted. To quote a reference in your text, you have several possibilities. In all cases, the page number from which a quotation is taken must always be present.
  • Culioli (1990) develops a linguistics of enunciation…;
  • in his 1990 book, Culioli develops a linguistics of enunciation…;
  • according to Culioli (1990, p. 13), “our era makes it difficult to belong to a community that calls itself free research”…;
  • our “time makes it difficult to belong to a community that calls itself free research” (Culioli, 1990, p. 13).
  • there are several theoretical reading grids to better understand the vernacular and endogenous dynamics that inhabit the Senegal River estuary (Collignon, 2005; Levy and Lussault, 2003; Le Roy, 1997; Claval, 2007; Sarr, 2016 ; Ndoye, 2015).
  • Vernacular knowledge is defined as "what gives meaning to a situation or an event by mobilizing a series of units of information possessed by the person who implements this knowledge" (Collignon , 2005, p. 323). Knowledge is an internal coherence of units of information and its implementation is a movement (Collignon, ibid.).
  • For an article online only, replace the page numbers with "online": It is necessary to "read it well so as not to miss any errors" (Tio Babena 2019, online).
  • Using this style assumes two crucial elements:
  • mention in the bibliography only the texts that have actually been cited in your work (see the linguistic policy), without forgetting any;
  • each reference must be complete, including first name, pages, etc.;

APA style allows you to quote two (1), three (2), four (3) or five (4) authors in your text.

  • Cite the names of the two authors each time.
  • Cite the names of the three authors at the first occurrence, then quote just the name of the first, followed by "et al." »
  • Cite the names of the four authors at the first occurrence, then quote just the name of the first, followed by "et al." »
  • Cite the names of the five authors at the first occurrence, then cite just the name of the first, followed by "et al." »

N. B.: From six authors, just cite the name of the first, followed by “et al. »

REFERENCE FORMATTING IN BIBLIOGRAPHY

We strongly recommend using the free and open-source Zotero bibliographic management software to create your bibliography. Zotero incorporates APA style, which would make your work much easier. Zotero can also store the first names of authors that the APA style sometimes hides.

Present the unique alphabetical list of your references in this section. This list should contain only the references that you have cited in your text.

References are presented in a variant of APA style, in alphabetical order and without headings. According to this variant, it is requested to include the first names of the authors cited, to facilitate identification by the readership.

Do not add any references that are not cited in the text.

In the case of references to several authors, you can cite up to five names in full (please use the coordinating conjunction "and" for the last one). Beyond five authors, cite only the first author and add the mention “et al. in italics.

Always add the web address of the cited document when one exists, to help readers access this source.

  • Cite a work Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. 1996. The Talk. Paris: Threshold.
  • Cite a collective work Rolland-Lozachmeur, Ghislaine (dir.). 2016. Warring Words. Polemic discourses: semantic, stylistic, enunciative and argumentative aspects. Reindeer: PUR.
  • Cite a translated work Gumperz, John. 1989. Starting the Conversation. Introduction to interactional sociolinguistics (M. Dartevelle, M. Gilbert and I. Joseph, trad.). Paris: Midnight.
  • Cite a periodical article. Note: no quotation marks, title in italics, do not forget the page numbers, add the hyperlink if it is an article available online (even if it is also in print) Koulayan, Nicole . 2008. Globalization and intercultural dialogue: Ubuntu from South Africa. Hermes. Review 51(2), 183-187. https://revue-hermes-la-revue-2008-2-page-183.htm Charmillot, Maryvonne and Dayer Caroline. 2007. Comprehensive approach and qualitative methods: epistemological clarifications. Qualitative Research, 3, 126-139. http://www.recherche-qualitative.qc.ca/documents/files/revue/hors_serie/hors_serie_v3/Charmillot_et_Dayer-FINAL2.pdf Piron, Florence, Diouf, Antonin Benoît, Dibounje Madiba, Marie Sophie, Mboa Nkoudou, Thomas Hervé, Ouangré, Zoé Aubierge, Tessy, Djosse Roméo, Acaffert, Hamissou Rhissa, Pierre, Anderson and Liré, Zakari. 2017. Open access seen from French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. French Journal of Information and Communication Sciences [Online], 11. http://journals.openedition.org/rfsic/3292 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/rfsic.3292</li >
  • Cite a chapter/text from a collective work Tio Babena, Gilbert Willy. 2016. Corrupting Thought: War of Places or War of Voices?. In Rolland-Lozachmeur, Ghislaine (dir.), Les Mots en guerre. Polemic discourses: semantic, stylistic, enunciative and argumentative aspects (135-154). Rennes: Presses of the University of Rennes.
  • Cite a communication at a symposium/conference without text in Acts Métangmo-Tatou, Léonie. 1999. Linguistics and development: a challenge to take up. Communication presented at the international conference on the university and its environment, Ngaoundéré, November 18.
  • Cite a communication at a colloquium/congress with text in Proceedings Mondada, Lorenza. 2008. Contributions from interactional linguistics. In Durand, Jacques, Habert, Benoît and Laks, Bernard (eds.), Discours, pragmatique et interaction. World Congress of French Linguistics 08 (881-897). http://www.linguistiquefrancaise.org
  • Cite a report (research or from an association/organization) – put the full title and not just the acronym Office for Climate Education. 2019. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report. Heating at 1.5°. Summary for teachers. http://www.oce.global/sites/default/files/2019-04/1.5degree_FR_final_LR.pdf
  • Quote a memoir Babaa, Chafika. 2005. The study of rituals of greetings and thanks in Algerian transactions: an intracultural and constructive approach. Master's thesis in didactics and linguistics, Mentouri University of Constantine. https://bu.umc.edu.dz/theses/francais/BAB877.pdf
  • Citing a doctoral thesis Candea, Maria. 2000. Contribution to the study of silent pauses and so-called “hesitation” phenomena in spontaneous oral French. Doctoral thesis, University of Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle.

FIGURES, ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES

When using illustrations, make sure they are copyright free or that you are the author. There are royalty-free image banks that you can draw from, for example wikimediacommons or creativecommons. Use the search.creativecommons.org/ search engine. Figures, illustrations and tables are numbered in ascending order and inserted in the correct place in the text. They must be accompanied by information (title, source, mention of credit, date, licence, etc.) which allows them to be referenced and must systematically be the subject of a commentary in the text to be understood by the reader. . Examples: Figure 1. Diagram of social reproduction. Source: author, date. Illustration 1. A hamlet in northern Cameroon, Source: , date. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0. Table 1. Number of female teachers in the city of Parakou in 2018. Source: , date.

 

TYPOGRAPHIC ELEMENTS

Do your best to respect them, the language review will take over.

Quotes and apostrophes Use angle brackets (“”) with a non-breaking space inside. English quotation marks, without spaces after and before (“”) are reserved for the quotation within another quotation.

Dashes

Use an en dash (–) for enumeration, a quote, dialogue replies, not a hyphen (-).</p >

Spaces

Not to be placed before punctuation marks? ! ; %

Put some

    • before and after:
    • after an en dash (–) and in the case of an incise after the opening hyphen and before the closing hyphen
    • between a number or a letter and what quantifies it (t. 4, p. 65; book X, n° 36, XVII century, April 2003, etc.)
    • in Latin abbreviations (a fortiori)

Uppercase

Use:

  • at the beginning of a sentence
  • for proper nouns
  • for acronyms;
  • only for the first letter in the first use of a noun phrase (L'Association science et bien commun)
  • emphasis on capitals (state).

Italic

To be used for: words, expressions, quotations in a foreign language (except names of associations, institutions, organizations, events, foreign political parties); Latin phrases: op. cit. ibid., infra, supra, a priori, a posteriori, a fortiori, vice versa (but cf. and etc. are used without italics). Others

    • The years 2000-2010 (and not 2000-10 or 2000/2010)
    • From 3000 to 4000 participants (and not from 3 to 4000 participants)
    • n°, n°S: the letter o in superscript (and not the degree sign °)
    • etc. (not etc…): do not forget to put a comma before
    • Cut in quote: […]
    • Insertion of a word, expression or sentence in a quotation: [word/group of words/phrase]

Example: For Culioli (1990, p. 13), this "time makes it [more] difficult to belong to a community that calls itself free research".</ p>

    • Use "and" instead of "& », « in » instead of « in », « et al. » instead of « et al. », « dir. instead of "Ed." or "Eds." », « par. 5” instead of “para. 5”, “p. 45-47” instead of “pp. 45-47”, “in press” or “to appear” instead of “in press”.

      COMMON ERRORS TO WATCH FOR

       

      Here are common mistakes in texts submitted by authors that slow down our workflow. Please try to avoid them.

      Note to proofreaders: use this list as a checklist for your work. If you discover other common errors, you can describe them in a message to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    • Adding spaces between letters or between lines to "look pretty" or page or section breaks: no. They have to be removed. Only one space between each word, no space between paragraphs.
    • Capitalize or bold words: Clear this formatting. Important ideas should stand out from the text, not from the typography.
    • An introduction that is too long: report it in a comment in review mode.
    • Paragraphs too long, without breaks. In review mode, suggest cuts. A paragraph should offer reasoning or empirical evidence, no more.
    • Number the titles in the bibliography: to be removed. The bibliography should be in alphabetical order only.
    • Make a bibliography divided into segments according to the type of document: useless. The uniform bibliography must be made in alphabetical order.
    • Using English quotation marks in French text. Replace them with ", followed by a space, and " preceded by a space.
    • Use italics for an article title or for a quotation: no. The italic style is reserved for the titles of books, journals, theses and reports and for words in a foreign language (except proper nouns).
    • Table and figure numbering errors. Look at all the figures and all the tables following to check that the numbering is correct and that there is always a legend which mentions the source and the license.
    • Forget the title…