Articles must be written in English, though occasionally permissions are granted to those written in Afaan Oromo. Authors are encouraged to avoid jargon or complicated language in favor of clarity, brevity, and simplicity of expression.

Format and Style

Manuscripts should be typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with ample margins and bear the title of the contribution and the name(s) of the author(s) on a separate sheet of paper. The full postal address/phone/fax/email details of author(s) should also be included. All pages should be numbered.

The journal uses both versions of the Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition. The Author-Date style of citation is recommended for submissions on social sciences subjects and the Notes-Bibliography style for the humanities, including history. In either case, authors must be consistent. Reference list items are listed alphabetically at the end of the research paper for authors following Style II. Authors using the author-date style do not need to submit bibliographic references.

Tables should be typed on separate sheets and their position indicated by a marginal note in the text. All tables should indicate their source(s) typed below the tables. Diagrams and photographs or ‘Figures’ as they are known generally, should be referred to as such in the manuscript and numbered consecutively.

The Review Process

Upon receipt of a manuscript, the editorial team will send an acknowledgment to the author(s). The Editor reads the essay and decides either to go forward with a peer review or to decline further consideration if the submission does not meet the OSA mission or JOS standards.

If the manuscript is to be reviewed, the editorial team assigns two reviewers whose expertise matches the content of the manuscript. Under normal circumstances, reviewers are given 45 days to return their reports.

Based on the reviewer’s report, the editor decides on whether to accept, decline, or request revision of the manuscript for resubmission.

The editor informs the decision, and in all cases, sends the reviewers’ comments to the author(s) upon request.

For those manuscripts that are accepted, the Associate Editor(s) checks the consistency and concordance of citations and references, and improves expression, and copy edits the manuscript for publication. The JOS does not send the copyedited text for final approval to the authors.

Additional Information 

JOS Manuscript Review Criteria 

JOS Ethics and Malpractice Statement 

JOS Editorial and Advisory Board

Submission:  To submit an article for consideration in the JOS,

Please make your submission to JOS Editor-in-Chief.