Webinar - Presentation of Sources “Varia” and “Sources of Madness”

IFRA-Nigeria, IFRA-Nairobi, and IFAS Research were pleased to welcome on 23 January three esteemed collaborators - Dr Jackson Kago, Dr Adedeji Adebayo and Rosebelle Otieno - for a special webinar on the two latest issues of Sources, the free-access, double peer reviewed journal publishing African-based research by African researchers.

Both reflected on the writing of their articles, Dr Kago exploring Google Street View as a research tool and Dr Adebayo on reaching the "out of reach" in the context of his research on women's political participation in south-west Nigeria. They not only provided interesting insights on their research methods, but also practical tips for any researchers looking to publish. As for Rosebelle Otieno, she offered concrete advice on producing quality articles, based on her extensive experience in the academic publishing world. You will find a summary of this insightful webinar below.

If you're interested in learning more about Dr Kago, Dr Adebayo or Sources' work, you can find their articles as well as the journal's publication guidelines on Sources' website

Dr Dorothée Boulanger started by presenting the Sources journal : based on a double-peer review process, it is a multidisciplinary journal entirely online and free of access for all as it is publicly-funded. Its agenda is to share research with an empirical basis on the African continent, with the objective of democratizing access to research. Multilingualism is a main value of the journal, as all articles have a French, Portuguese and English summary. Sources is also committed to publish and translate work in vernacular African language. Moreover, she announced it is currently in the process of being registered in the international classification of journals.

The conference started with Dr Jackson Kago, lecturer at the School of Engineering & Architecture, Kenyatta University (Kenya). He reflected on the writing journey of his article "Application of Google Street View Images in Identifying Mobility Patterns in Small and Intermediate Towns (Kiambu County, Kenya)" published in Sources vol. 7 "Varia", which started in 2020 following an exhibition of photography in Bordeaux Montaigne University. In his article, he explores the potential of Google Street View images as an alternative form of data, which he used during his PhD dissertation focused on mobility patterns and the impact on urban-rural linkages.

His article explores the full scope of these resources, including its limitations. In his case, mapping the businesses selling milk and milk related products in a Githunguri market, Google Street View only provides images of the main road axis at a certain time. It does not permit to see what happens in smaller pathways or the difference in activity at different times of the day.

Next, Dr Kago talked about the writing process itself, providing useful tips on overcoming challenges such as setting a daily time for writing and having an accountability partner. He also mentioned the importance of feedback and that though it can be challenging, it's ultimately useful to better your article.

He chose Sources because of its focus not only on field work experience, but also on methodological thinking and he concluded by saying that he benefited from the visibility that Sources, being an open-access journal, provides.

The next speaker was Dr Adedeji Adebayo, IFRA-Nigeria research fellow and lecturer at the Peace & Conflict Department, University of Ibadan (Nigeria). His article "Getting in Touch with the Out of Reach: Fieldwork Strategies in Research on Women and Politics (South-West of Nigeria)" looked back at the access challenges he faced while writing his PhD dissertation on  women’s representation and legislative policymaking in south-west Nigeria.

His PhD research objective was to understand the dynamics of the political participation of women in several Nigerian states, in different sectors: their political recruitment, their place in policy making and their participation in Nigerian constituency services. Starting his research, Dr Adebayo quickly faced a number of challenges such as the access to political elites and the issue of poor record-keeping.

For these reasons, his supervisor encouraged him at the end of his dissertation to write this article detailing how he was able to obtain sufficient data despite these obstacles. Dr Adebayo commented on the challenges of writing, what he learnt from it and its use as a tool for teaching his students. He highlighted the role his support system gave him, offering advice and feedback. He expressed that the double review process of Sources was particularly useful to him, including regarding the data-sharing.

The final speaker was Rosebelle Otieno, associate publishing officer at IFRA-Nairobi. Based on her extensive scientific publishing experience, she was able to detail some important elements for prospective Sources' writers.

First, she mentioned the authors guidelines, accessible on Sources website. They are precise, specifically concerning data materials, and she encouraged all to take this into account from the beginning of the writing process.

Next, she emphasized the importance of having feedback from other researchers, even before the peer-review process, as she notes a significant difference in quality between articles that have taken this step and those who haven't.

Finally, she noted that the publication process, no matter the quality of the article, will be long and involve a large amount of feedback and changes to be made. She urged everyone not to be discouraged by this process, which will help create a better paper.

The interventions were followed by a Q&A who touched on writing tips and strategies, the time necessary to create a good draft, the benefit of unrestricted access to resources for both writers and readers and the transition between writing a dissertation and an article.

To read more free and expert articles on the African continent, you can access Sources vol. 7 "Varia" and Sources vol. 8 "Sources of Madness".