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The Thinker

University of Johannesburg Β· South Africa Β· Est. 2019

ISSN2075-2458eISSN2616-907X
βœ“ DOAJβœ“ Open Access
52
/ 100
Established
PubScope credibility score from verifiable indexing & ethics signals
Score Breakdown
β—† DOAJ-listed52
Total52
Third-party records Β· how this is calculated Β· Report an error β†’
H-Indexi
6
Total Worksi
319
Total Citationsi
202
2yr Mean Citednessi
0.24
Open Impact Factor alternative

Aims & Scope

The Thinker (a pan-African quarterly) publishes peer reviewed articles with well-constructed opinion pieces. We welcome Africa-centred articles from diverse perspectives, in order to enrich both knowledge of the continent and of issues impacting the continent. The Thinker fills a gap which we identified, between academic publications and very superficial newspaper journalism, where people can be given a chance to discuss issues in greater depth but perhaps in simpler language. The Thinker seeks to open up the space for public discourse, the clash of ideas, to stimulate intellectual debate and scientific discourse. The Thinker is a partisan journal for progressive change, but non-partisan with respect to party-political positions and activities. It strives to give all its contributors the freedom to express what they think, understanding that openness in the context of ideas, theoretical divergences and multi-dimensional practice is a necessary condition for fundamental social transformation. We are committed to providing a forum for honestly-expressed views, mindful that the ideas, analyses and commentaries that we publish may be uncomfortable for some and anathema for others. We shall endeavour to produce a quality and authoritative journal which will critically analyse and comment upon the political, economic, social and cultural developments, challenges and opportunities in our continent. The Thinker seeks to provide a platform for progressive African thinkers and their allies to develop strategies to achieve the fundamental social transformation outlined in the article by former President Thabo Mbeki in the January-March 2014 issue. It aims to enhance the capacity of individual African countries and the continent to consolidate, protect and enhance democracy, peace and justice, economic integration as well as development. As a journal we shall be part of the struggle for the empowerment and emancipation of women. Without this, the continent will continue to underutilise the great capacity and talents of women in Africa. We shall devote special attention to the on-going processes driving an African Agenda and the African Renaissance. African challenges, problems and conflicts require African responses and solutions.

General Information

Country / RegionSouth Africa
Primary LanguageEnglish
1st Year Published2019
Frequencyquarterly
StatusActive (last: 2025)
Total Publications319
Publisher OrgUniversity of Johannesburg
OA Since2012
Visit Journal Website

Submission Info

Peer ReviewDouble anonymous peer review
Review Timeβ€”
Acceptance Rateβ€”
OA LicenseCC BY
OA Rateβ€”

Ethics & Quality

COPE Memberβœ— No
OASPA Memberβœ— No
Not on Predatory Listsβœ“ Yes
Plagiarism Detectionβœ“ Yes
πŸ“¦ Long-term Preservation
LOCKSSCLOCKSSPKP PN

Think.Check.Submit Compliance

10/12 Β· 83%
βœ…
Do you know the journal / publisher?
University of Johannesburg
βœ…
Does the journal have a website?
βœ“ Linked
βœ…
Is the ISSN verified?
2075-2458 / 2616-907X
βœ…
Indexed in a trusted database?
DOAJ
βœ…
Peer review process documented?
Double anonymous peer review
❌
Follows ethical publishing standards (COPE)?
N/A
❌
APC fees clearly disclosed?
N/A
βœ…
Not on predatory/blacklists?
βœ“ Clean
βœ…
Long-term digital preservation?
LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, PKP PN
βœ…
Plagiarism detection in place?
Yes
βœ…
Listed in DOAJ (verified OA)?
DOAJ verified
βœ…
Primary language documented?
English

Based on the Think.Check.Submit framework by DOAJ, COPE & OASPA. All data from verified open sources.

Publication & Citation Trend

Articles published
Citations received
16
2
2019
38
24
2020
75
48
2021
50
86
2022
44
32
2023
35
23
2024
61
8
2025
13
0
2026

Source: OpenAlex Β· Each year’s green bar = citations earned by that year’s papers, counted to date β€” so recent years look lower simply because their papers haven’t had time to be cited yet.

Subject Classification

Research Topics (OpenAlex)

South African History and CultureAfrican cultural and philosophical studiesLegal Issues in South AfricaAfrican history and culture studiesCOVID-19 Pandemic ImpactsPostcolonial and Cultural Literary StudiesAfrican Sexualities and LGBTQ+ IssuesAfrican studies and sociopolitical issuesNuclear Issues and DefenseHIV/AIDS Impact and Responses

Frequently asked questions about The Thinker

Is The Thinker a predatory journal?

PubScope has no integrity flags on record for The Thinker: it is indexed in DOAJ, and is not on DOAJ's withdrawn list. Its PubScope Trust Score is 52/100. Indexing is a transparency signal, not a guarantee β€” always confirm fit and policies before submitting.

What is the impact factor of The Thinker?

The Thinker is not in the Web of Science Core Collection, so it has no official Clarivate Journal Impact Factor. Its open 2-year mean citedness is 0.24.

Is The Thinker indexed in Scopus and Web of Science?

The Thinker is indexed in DOAJ.

What is the aims and scope of The Thinker?

The Thinker (a pan-African quarterly) publishes peer reviewed articles with well-constructed opinion pieces. We welcome Africa-centred articles from diverse perspectives, in order to enrich both knowledge of the continent and of issues impacting the continent. The Thinker fills a gap which we identified, between academic publications and very superficial newspaper journalism, where people can be given a chance to discuss issues in greater depth but perhaps in simpler language. The Thinker seeks to open up the space for public discourse, the clash of ideas, to stimulate intellectual debate and

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How to tell if a journal is predatoryWhat Q1–Q4 quartiles meanWeb of Science vs Scopus vs DOAJWhat is an APC?

Data updated: 2026-05-26 Β· Sources: SJR, DOAJ, OpenAlex, WoS, Crossref