Basic Guide to Research on Africa: Journals

Selected Journals

Online Journal Services

  • Africa Portal Library (Centre for International Governance Innovation, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, South Africa)
    A digital library of over 5000 books, journals, and documents related to African policy issues; a directory of experts; plus, current news analysis and opinion articles.

  • African e-Journals Project (Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan)
    The full text archive of 11 African journals, and a searchable directory of African e-journals--with links to websites. Includes: African Journal of Political Science, Glendora, Journal of Social Development in Africa, Transformation, Zambezia, and others
    See also: E-Journal Directory.

  • AJOL--African Journals OnLine: Free-to-Read Titles (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK)
    "African Journals OnLine (AJOL) is an online service to provide access to African-published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship. AJOL is a Non Profit Organisation based in South Africa."

  • AnthroSource. -- Berkeley, California: University of California Press [in partnership with the American Anthropological Association], 2004-
    A searchable database providing access to the full texts (via AnthroSource or a link to JSTOR) of all of the journals and bulletins of the American Anthropological Association since the 1880s.

  • Bioline International Publications: Abstracts, Full Texts for Selected Journals, and Subscriptions (Centro Referência Informação Ambiental, Brazil ; Electronic Publishing Trust for Development, UK.)
    A selection of African medical, crop science, insect science, and/or general science journals, plus numerous others from outside of Africa, can be accessed online. There are also links to technical reports and newsletters. NOTE: To view online or receive full texts, paid registration is required. There are journals from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa.

  • Black Studies Center (ProQuest Information & Learning, Cambridge, Massachusetts)
    Combines three resources: Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience, International Index of Black Periodicals (IIBP)---with back issues of major journals in full text, and The Chicago Defender.

  • Digital Library of Open Access Journals (UK)
    A searchable, online library of open access journal articles which can be read online; downloading the full text is only possible through an institutional subscription.

  • Electronic Journals and Newspapers on Africa, (Columbia University Libraries).

  • Global Journals Portal---Africa (Institut national d'histoire de l'art, Paris, France)
    An annotated catalog of open access, digitized collections of selected African journal titles from the 19th and 20th centuries.

  • JSTOR: the scholarly journal archive
    (New York)
    ---Select "Advanced Search" -and-
    "African Studies" filter

  • Persée: portail de revues scientifiques en sciences humaines et sociales. ([Paris]: Aliacom;
    Lyon: Université Lumière Lyon 2, pour le Ministère de l'éducation nationale, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, 2004-)

  • Sabinet Reference -- Open Access South African Journals in Social Sciences and Sciences (Sabinet, Centurion, South Africa)

  • SciELO-SA: Scientific Electronic Library Online-South Africa (Pretoria, South Africa: Academy of Science of South Africa)
    Open access, searchable full text journals.
    • Last Updated: Oct 15, 2025 1:43 PM
    • URL: https://guides.library.columbia.edu/basic_guide_to_research_on_africa
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