Thank you for considering submitting to our journal. We and our readership look forward to reading the final product. This page aims to provide some general recommendations for contributors. However, providing guidelines and being prescriptive about using a particular style of reference in a multidisciplinary journal such as Scientia Militaria is difficult but necessary. The general guidelines and referencing styles below are for uniformity and appearance, to simplify the editorial process, and to avoid unintentionally influencing the peer-review process. Thus, all submissions should conform to the journal’s requirements below. For a downloadable version of this page click here.

Please note that the editorial team will not consider submissions for publication if they do not contain any references, have similarities to other texts, or use an alternative referencing style or method. If you used any electronic referencing system, such as Mendeley or EndNote, you would need to deactivate the program and convert all endnotes to static text before submitting your article to the journal.

Please also remember to provide all the requested information (such as ORCID ID, page numbers, and written permission for material reproduction) to ensure your paper is not delayed while we request the missing information from you. Finally, do not hesitate to contact the editorial team for clarification if any guidelines or explanations are unclear.

We look forward to receiving your paper.

ORCIDs

An ORCID is unique, like an ID or password number specifically referring to an individual scholar. All academics should thus have an ORCID ID since it ensures that potential readers can quickly locate and identify your research, which means you gain more recognition, citations, and followers. You can easily register if you do not have an ORCID ID yet (please click here).

Submissions

Only Microsoft Word files will be accepted. In addition, authors must submit two files. One file should contain all the information, and the other should be anonymised for peer-review. The file containing all information should be saved as (year-Surname-short title), for example:

(2023-Skywalker – The Mysteries of the Galaxy).

The anonymised file should be saved the same but include ‘For Peer-Review’ at the end as here (year-Surname-short title – For Peer-Review). For example:

(2023-Skywalker – The Mysteries of the Galaxy-Anonymised).

 The following information should also be removed from the anonymised file.

• All author names;

• All author affiliations;

• All author e-mail addresses;

• All author ORCIDs and social media handles;

• All author biographical notes;

• Headers and footers that would reveal author identities;

• Self-citation in the main text or endnotes which might reveal your identity;

• Acknowledgements;

• Funding;

• References to authors in figure and tables captions;

• Clinical trial numbers and registration dates;

• File identifiers that would reveal author identities;

Article Processing Charges (APC) and Submission Charges

This journal does not charge any article processing or submission charges.

Publishing from a Treatise, Thesis or Dissertation

We welcome any current or past students to submit research from their ongoing or completed studies. The only requirement is that authors submitting articles, which originally formed or forms part of their treatise, dissertations, or theses, should consult with their supervisor(s) before submission and obtain written confirmation to publish as sole author. Moreover, also ensure that you revise your article before submission, as we will not publish an article that reads as a treatise, dissertation, research proposal or thesis.

Format and Layout

Please see the format and layout requirements in the section below. To save time, we recommend downloading our templates (click here) along with this guide (click here) to help you prepare your article for submission.

Font	Times New Roman
Margins	Normal (2,54 cm)
Text Distribution	Justified
Spacing	1,5 spacing
	No spacing before and  after paragraphs
	One space between paragraphs,
	Two spaces between sections
Paragraphs	Second paragraph                onwards, after the heading, select First Line indented (1,27 cm)
Main Body Text	12 pt font
Page Numbers	Bottom in the middle
	Arabic Numerals

Headings

Indicate the hierarchy of levels, preferably not more than two, as follows:

Article Heading         Bold, 14 pt font

Level 1 Heading        Bold, 12 pt font

Level 2 Heading         Bold, Italic, 12 pt font

Level 3 Heading           Italics, 12 pt font

Lists

All lists need to begin with capital letters. The end of each list item requires semicolons, and the final bullet item requires a full stop. For Example:

• Use this symbol for bulleted lists;

• Use this symbol for bulleted lists;

• Use this symbol for bulleted lists.

(1) Use this format for numbered lists;

(2) Use this format for numbered lists;

(3) Use this format for numbered lists.

Maps, Tables, Graphs and Figures

Where maps, figures and graphs are presented, they must be professionally produced and ready for photographic reproduction. Maps and figures (images) must be in high-resolution format. All tables must be editable.

Tables, graphs, maps and figures should be numbered chronologically using Arabic numerals. Captions (in italics) should be placed below each item and referenced using an endnote (not in italics). Captions must include the matching number from the main text reference. The table, graph, map, figure, and caption should be centred on the page.

Remember to obtain permission and include the acknowledgement required by the copyright holder if it is reproduced from another source. If the item is compiled from self-collected data, it still needs to be referenced. For example:

Map 1: Type your caption here, followed by the reference.²

Table 1: Type your caption here, followed by the reference.²

Numbers

Numbers from one to ten (not 1 to 10) are written out, except dates, page numbers, percentages, etc. Arabic numerals should be used to indicate numbers above 10. For example, 10, 40, 78, 174. The exception, in this case, is when there is a string of three or more numerals in a single paragraph; then, to make comparison easier, all of them are written in Arabic numerals.

A hard space must be used as the thousand’s separator, for example, 1 000, and a comma for decimals, for example, 6,5 per cent.

The term ‘per cent’ is used in the text, while the symbol (%) should be used in tables, graphs, etc.

 

Dates

Use day, month, and year (for example, 13 January 2023).

Do not abbreviate the names of the months.

Do not write “in the year of” or “on the 1^st day of June in 2010”.

Centuries should be written out. For example: ‘nineteenth century’, not ‘19th century’.

 

Quotations

Use curled double-inverted commas [ “ ” ] to indicate informal or colloquial phrases.

Use curled single inverted commas [‘ ’] to indicate direct quotations.

Use square brackets to indicate authors’ insertions and changes to the original text [as here and below]. Additional emphases are noted as [my italics/emphasis]. Omissions are indicated by one space, three ellipses, and another space. For example … as can see here.

If a quote is used, which in its original text starts at the beginning of the sentence indicated by the uppercase, but now forms part of a sentence in your text, show the lowered case in [b]rackets. For example, As Hagrid wrote in his book, ‘[c]entaurs are very proud creatures which should not be disrespected.’⁹ In the original text, the sentence started with ‘Centaurs are very…’, while here, the quote forms part of a sentence; thus, it is written in lower case.

Long quotations (40 words or more) are usually indented (2 cm on each side) and blocked (justified), single spacing and without quotation marks. Do not italicise these indented paragraphs. See the example below:

Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies is published bi-annually by the Faculty of Military Science [of Stellenbosch University]. It is an accredited, peer-reviewed scholarly journal which investigates a broad spectrum of matters and issues relating to military affairs … and publishes both discipline-based and inter-disciplinary research.⁷

If using a direct quote not found in its original source but already used in another secondary source, it should be indicated accordingly in the endnotes. For example:

⁹              Nigel Adhikari quoted in H Giliomee & B Mbengu, New History of South Africa (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 2007), 370

 

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms should be given in full when they occur for the first time, followed by the abbreviation/acronym given in uppercase in brackets. Do not use full stops in acronyms, for example, U.S.A., R.S.A, U.N. Instead, write USA, RSA, UN. Also, avoid using abbreviations/acronyms in headings. For example:

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF)

 

Endnotes

The Journal uses endnotes only; no reference list is published except by prior arrangement in the case of special thematic issue. Endnotes should thus give full details of publications and other sources.

All direct quotes or ideas require a reference with a specific page number. Page numbers referenced should not extend past three pages. For example, 1-3.

No page numbers are required when referring to a central idea in a specific work or information that is common knowledge, such as the year when South Africa became a democracy.

The endnote indicator must be placed after the argument, not after the name(s) of the author(s). For example, Hermann Giliomee and Bernard Mbengu argue that the SADF conducted ‘… one of the most successful counter-insurgency campaigns in history’ in Namibia.⁵ Please note that the indicator always comes after the punctuation. For example:

⁵           H Giliomee & B Mbengu, New History of South Africa (Cape Town: Tafelberg, 2007), 370.

The exception to this rule is in the case of a direct quote. The footnote will be inserted after the single inverted commas in this case.

Endnotes should be numbered consecutively in Arabic figures.

The upper-case style is used for the titles of books and articles.

If the name of the author of a referenced source is unknown, it should be indicated as Anon., indicating Anonymous in place of the initial and surname. The same applies if the date is not known and indicated as n.d. However, authors are encouraged to supply the information and may use World Catalogue for assistance (click here).

Abbreviations and short-hand references such as Ibid., op. cit. and loc. sit should be avoided.

Et al. may be used where appropriate and should be italicised. See further examples below.

A space (Tab key on the keyboard) should follow the Arabic figure and the beginning of the reference. The subsequent lines as well by holding Ctrl and pressing T on the keyboard. Notice the alignment below:

⁵           EP Kleynhans, How to spot a Bird and Identify it for Dummies: A Practical Guide for “Wannebe” Birders in Southern Africa (Kleinmond: Beast Publishers, 2023), 36-38.

⁶           E Jordaan, My Journey: One Man’s perilous Tale of how he conquered Malgas Kop during the Winter Solstice (Bettiesbaai: Strikdas Drukkers, 2019), 12, 67, 309.

⁷              Delport et. al. (eds.), An Exploration of escape attempts from Azkaban Prison over the Ages, 1320-2020 (Diagon Alley: Platform Nine and Three Quarters, 2023).

 

Language

Italics are used for the titles of books, periodicals, and newspapers, as well as the title of legislation. For example, the Defence Act (No. 13 of 1912), subsequently referred to as the Defence Act.

Use gender-neutral language and language free of derogatory assumptions or allusions based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, birth or family status.

Use English (United Kingdom) or English (South African), not English (United States). Set your language preference and spell checker accordingly. Take note of the following differences:

In the UK and South Africa (this journal):

– Use -yse for words such as ‘analyse’;

– Use -our for words such as ‘favour’, ‘flavour’, and ‘colour’;

– Use ae in words such as ‘aesthetic’ and ‘encyclopaedia’;

– Use of e and d ‘learnt’ and ‘centre’.

In the United States:

– Use -yze for words such as ‘analyse’;

– Use -or for words such as ‘favor’, ‘flavor’, and ‘color’;

– Use e in words such as ‘esthetic’ and ‘encyclopedia’;

– Use of e and d ‘learned’ and ‘center’.

Also note, for instance, “learnt” and “learned” are two different things in English. Also, “hanged” and “hung” are very different. So it is good to check if in doubt.