ZRDC TRAINS RESEARCHERS IN JOURNAL AND ABSTRACT WRITING

The Zambia Research and Development Centre (ZRDC), through its Research Department, conducted the third session of its ongoing Research Skills and Capacity Building Programme on Wednesday, 28th October 2026, at the Computer Lab. The session focused on journal writing, abstract preparation and academic publication, as part of efforts to strengthen participants’ research and academic writing skills.

The training was opened by Mr Castrol Lisole, Research Officer at ZRDC and Training Lead, who emphasised the importance of strengthening research capacity and promoting high-quality academic publications. The programme brought together researchers and students seeking to improve their ability to communicate research findings and prepare their work for publication.

The session was facilitated by Ms Amanda Njovu, a ZRDC researcher, who guided participants through the principles of writing academic journal articles and preparing effective research abstracts in line with established academic publication standards.

“An academic journal article is basically a publication that shares analysis, methods, and discussions within a particular field,” Ms Njovu explained, highlighting the role of journal articles in communicating scholarly work to a wider audience.

She further explained that journal articles helped researchers build on existing knowledge, identify research gaps and contribute to discussions within their respective fields.

“One of the reasons why we should write a journal article is to analyse the already existing literature and give well-informed critiques about certain issues, research gaps, and everything,” Ms Njovu said during the session.

The facilitator outlined different types of journal articles, including literature reviews, case studies, doctrinal legal articles, methodological articles and research articles. She explained that these publications served different purposes, from examining existing literature to analysing specific cases and presenting research findings.

Ms Njovu also highlighted the importance of research publications in informing professional practice, institutional decisions and public policy. She noted that published work could provide useful information for other researchers and institutions seeking to understand issues and identify areas for improvement.

The training further focused on transforming research projects into publishable academic journal articles. Ms Njovu advised participants to identify their strongest research question or finding and select a suitable journal before beginning the writing process.

“The easiest approach is usually not by starting to write the abstract or the introduction,” she told participants, emphasising the need to first identify the central research question or finding.

Participants were also guided on preparing effective research abstracts that clearly presented a study’s objectives, methodology, key findings and conclusions. The session further highlighted the importance of proper referencing and selecting relevant keywords when preparing manuscripts for journal submission.

The training forms part of ZRDC’s broader commitment to strengthening research competencies, promoting quality academic publications and preparing participants to present their work on scholarly platforms, including the International Multidisciplinary Conference (IMDC 2026).

The programme also includes further research development activities, such as poster presentation training, research supervision and the evaluation of participants’ progress. These sessions are intended to help participants refine their research work and prepare it for academic presentation and potential publication.