Submission Guidelines

Preparing Your Manuscript

Submission types

There are 4 types of submissions: Focused Technical, Context and Challenge, Regular Manuscripts, and Lengthy Manuscripts. The final published manuscript does not designate the submission category in the title.

• a. A focused technical paper is a short paper that has results on a technical problem of broad interest to the OR community. The OPRE journal in the past has had success publishing shorter papers, and this category serves to specifically remind us that page length does not equate with importance. The maximum length for a focused technical paper is 20 pages (excluding references), and the Electronic Companion (EC) is for code and experiment details only (no proofs – proofs should be in the published portion of the paper).
• b. A context and challenge paper is a short paper giving background on a wicked applied problem, that invites the OR community to illuminate ways to make progress on the problem using rigorous OR methods. Some examples of wicked problems are: climate change, the AIDS epidemic, famine, and homelessness. The maximum length for a context and challenge paper is 20 pages (excluding references), and there should be no EC. Context and challenge papers are usually invited submissions.
• c. Regular manuscripts are the bread and butter of the journal. The maximum length for a regular manuscript is 30 pages (excluding references). The EC should not be longer than the length of the manuscript.
• d. Lengthy manuscripts are longer than regular manuscripts. Lengthy manuscripts are generally no more than 40 pages in length (excluding references). The Electronic Companion (EC) should not be longer than the length of the manuscript.

Promised review time is tied to manuscript length. Review time is a precious commodity, and authors must respect that lengthy submissions require more from reviewers.

Format

Manuscripts should be 1.5-spaced, with 11-point font and 1-inch margins all around. Manuscript title should be included on the first page of the manuscript. Appendices that are crucial for understanding the manuscript should be included as regular appendices; those that represent optional supplemental material should be submitted as ‘electronic companions’ and will be published online-only. The text should be arranged as follows:

• Title page (including title, abstract, subject classification, and area of review)
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Main sections (which may include Tables and Figures)
• Appendices (required for print and online publication; optional)
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Electronic companions (for online-only appendices; optional)
• Code and data files and ReadMe uploaded in zip file (published online as supplemental material)

Readability

The abstract and the introduction of every paper must be free of unnecessary jargon. These sections should be written in an expository style that will be comprehensible to readers who are not technical experts in the subject matter.

The message of the paper will be enhanced if it is presented in active, forceful, and concise prose. While the editors and staff will correct minor lapses from good style in the manuscript, they cannot undertake wholesale revisions of poorly written papers. Conciseness and clarity of presentation are important publication criteria.

Double Anonymous

The review process is soft double-anonymous.

What is soft double-anonymous?

Transportation Science recently defined soft double-anonymous as follows, which is in line with our views at Operations Research: "In a soft double-anonymous review process, authors’ names are omitted from the submission, but authors may still post their work online. The rationale for this choice is to acknowledge potential bias that exists with single-anonymous reviewing, while not overly burdening authors and journal administrators in the process."

OPRE's double-anonymous review process ensures authors cannot see the names of the Associate Editor and reviewers (but can see the name of the Area Editor).The Area and Associate Editors can see the names of the authors, but the reviewers cannot see the author names. Authors should eliminate references to their names when preparing their manuscript. Authors should cite their own work in such a way that does not reveal their identity.

Style Templates

Authors can write their manuscript using their preferred software as long as they can create a PDF that meets the above guidelines. For those who prefer to use LaTeX, style files are available here.

Mathematical Notation

Mathematical notation should be chosen so that the formulas and ideas presented in them are clear. Important details can be found in the Mathematical Notation section of the Author Portal.

Subject Classification Scheme for the OR/MS Index

Determine the appropriate subject classifications (up to 3) and accompanying descriptive phrases for all work submitted. Choose from one to three subject categories for each manuscript. For every category chosen, write a short phrase that puts the paper in context. (The phrase can be a concise rendering of the title, or it may specify some aspect of the paper that is important but not apparent in the title.) The length of each phrase, including spaces and punctuation, should not exceed 60 characters. This information will be printed on the title page of every article, technical paper, and letter that is published. Subject categories and phrases must appear on the title page of the manuscript. Subject classifications can be found here.

Cover Letter

Authors must declare in their cover letter whether they have any relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in their paper. If there are no financial conflicts, authors must state this clearly in their cover letter.

Abstract

Preface each article with a self-contained, one paragraph abstract that summarizes the problem and the principal results and conclusions. It should not exceed 200 words.

It is important that your abstract not contain mathematical notation that may be difficult to properly present in web browsers. The abstract is not only a part of the full article (print and online) but, more importantly, serves as the only free-to-all record of your paper. It is reused and remapped by a variety of online portals and metadata databases, some of which are text only. Please provide a text-only abstract, or, if that is impossible, try to minimize the use of math symbols and avoid accented variables.

Introduction

The introduction must clearly state the problem, the results to be found in the paper, and their significance to the operations research community. It should not contain equations or mathematical notation.

Main Sections (which may include Tables and Figures)

The main sections of the paper must be readable, the level of the mathematics and/or the terminology appropriate to the topic, and the material logically presented.

Acknowledgments

Place acknowledgments of presentation, support, and assistance in a final section that precedes the references.

Footnotes

Operations Research does not use footnotes. Instead, authors should either incorporate subsidiary material in the main text in parentheses, or use an endnote.

References

References should be listed alphabetically by author name at the end of the paper in conformance with journal style. In-text citations should be indicated by the author’s last name and year of publication, e.g., (Norman 1977) or Norman (1977). Click here for examples of reference style.

Tables

Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, have a title, and be referred to sequentially in the text. Column headings should be brief and not use abbreviations. Do not use vertical rules. The use of footnotes is encouraged; designate these by lower case letters. Tables should be placed together after the Reference List, not embedded in the manuscript text.

Figures

Figures should be embedded in the manuscript, with the placement near the most relevant text.

Code and Data

Authors are expected to provide instructions after the last section in the main body of their paper specifying where their code and data, along with README file, can be found.  The code and data and README file can be either uploaded as a separate zip file to ScholarOne (and will not be included in the combined PDF document), or can be made available on github.  If the paper received a code and data exemption, then the reason for the exemption should be stated after the last section of the main body of the paper. 

Submitting Your Manuscript

To submit a manuscript to Operations Research, authors should complete the submission process using the ScholarOne Manuscripts website.

IMPORTANT NOTE: By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication, including, when necessary, sharing with the publisher (INFORMS) and partners for production and publication. The publication and the publisher recognize the importance of protecting the personal information collected from users in the operation of these services, and have practices in place to ensure that steps are taken to maintain the security, integrity, and privacy of the personal data collected and processed. You can learn more here.

The ScholarOne Submission Process

There are seven steps for uploading a manuscript in the ScholarOne system:

Step 1: Type, Title, & Abstract: Enter the manuscript type (ie, Focused Technical, Regular Manuscript, Lengthy Manuscript). Provide the manuscript title and an abstract of no more than 200 words. Last, select the appropriate area of review (a listing of subject areas can be found here).

Step 2: Attributes: Please enter up to 3 keywords.

Step 3: Authors & Institutions: All authors and their institutions must be identified. Please note that the submitting author is required to provide their ORCID iD (more information about ORCID iDs can be found here).

Step 4: Reviewers & Editors: Authors should recommend 3 Associate Editors from the corresponding area and 5 reviewers. The 3 Associate Editors selected should usually be from the corresponding area. See the Associate Editors listed with the corresponding Area Editors here. If the 3 Associate Editors are not all from the corresponding area, there should be an explanation provided in the cover letter.

Step 5: Details & Comments: Authors can include their cover letter either in the text box or as a separate file. Authors must include in their cover letter a statement as to whether there are financial conflicts of interest related to the paper (if none exist, please state this). This information will be viewed by the Editors but not by the reviewers. Authors will denote funding in this section. Next, authors will list the number of figures their manuscript contains. Last, authors will certify that they are complying with the journal's ethical policies.

Step 6: File Upload: Authors will upload as many files as needed for their manuscript. These files will be combined into a single PDF document for the peer review process. For revisions, authors should include only the latest set of files.

Step 7: Review & Submit: As the final step, authors will review the previous six steps for completeness and view the PDF proof generated by the ScholarOne system (this is required). Be sure to select “Submit” when done.

Ethical Statements Authors Will Certify

As part of Step 5 (above), authors will certify the following ethical statements within the ScholarOne System:

Prior Submission

Has this manuscript been submitted previously to Operations Research? If yes, what is the manuscript ID of the previous submission?

Duplicate Submission

Confirm that the manuscript has been submitted solely to this journal and is not published, in press, or submitted elsewhere.

Ethical Guidelines

I acknowledge that I am aware of Operations Research's guidelines for ethical behavior in publishing (http://pubsonline.informs.org/page/opre/submission-guidelines) and all INFORMS policies referred to therein and that this submission conforms to those policies. I have disclosed (in my cover letter and in any related submission questions) any possible perceived conflicts of interest and noted all of my work that has substantial overlap to prior publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, and papers submitted to this journal or any other journals. I also certify that the copyright for all portions of this paper can and will be transferred to INFORMS upon acceptance.

Plagiarism & Copyright

I acknowledge that in submitting this paper I am aware of INFORMS policy on plagiarism and copyright (https://pubsonline.informs.org/authorportal/copyright-plagiarism). Further, I acknowledge that I will report to the editor(s) of the journal all of my manuscripts (e.g., prior publications, conference proceedings, book chapters, papers submitted to other journals) that have substantial overlap with the submitted paper. I also certify that the copyright for all portions of this paper can and will be transferred to INFORMS upon acceptance.

Reproducibility

I will provide sufficient computer code and data for others to reproduce the results in my paper if it is accepted for publication, or I will provide justification for not providing this information (e.g., because of a non-disclosure agreement with a data source) and an alternative means of reproduction (e.g., a dataset of similar characteristics to that used in the paper and anonymized for public distribution).

Troubleshooting

For additional training and support for using the ScholarOne Manuscripts submission system, please visit ScholarOne’s Author Resources page.

Contact Your Managing Editor

Hayes Simpson
INFORMS
5521 Research Park Drive
Suite 200
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
[email protected]

After Acceptance

Operations Research respectfully requests that authors upload final files to the submission site within 14 days from receipt of the acceptance decision letter. The decision of accept is not considered binding until final files have been received.

As a condition of final acceptance of a paper for publication in Operations Research, authors must indicate if their paper is posted on a working papers website other than their own. They are responsible for ensuring that, if any part of the paper has been copyrighted for prepublication as a working paper, the copyright can and will be transferred to INFORMS when the paper has been accepted. This includes both print and electronic forms of the paper.

Final Files

A decision of accept will cause the manuscript to appear in the “Manuscripts Accepted for First Look” section of the submitting author’s Author Center, where the author will submit the following files:

1. A source file of the manuscript in LaTeX or Microsoft Word, with a cover page that includes full author contact information and keywords;
2. A PDF file of the main paper;
3. A PDF file of online appendices (‘e-companions’; these are not edited, so source files are not needed);
4. Data and code files uploaded in zip file as Supplementary file(s);
5. ReadMe included in data and code files;
6. Figure source files;
7. A brief news story;
8. A signed copyright transfer form;
9. The completed editorial checklist (please do not convert to PDF);
10. Brief “author biographies,” which will appear at the end of the article; and
11. A media promotion form (optional).

Figures

Authors are responsible for the quality of the final form of figures in their papers. To avoid an undesirable moire effect, figures should be shaded in various solid grays. Different shadings of gray are preferred over patterns because they will produce a clearer result. Line weights should be uniform and at least 0.5 points after reduction. Lettering in the body of the figure should be printed in proportion to the graphic. Most figures will be reduced to approximately 3 1/4 inches in width. For optimal quality, submitted figures should be close to that size. Bitmap files of maps, photos, Web pages, etc., must be at least 300 dpi. Do not clutter the figure with information that makes it difficult to read. Each figure must be numbered and have a caption. Do not differentiate between illustrations and figures.

Color figures will publish online in color but be converted to black and white for the print journal unless the authors agree to pay the additional expense associated with printing color.

Open Access

The INFORMS Open Option (IOO) provides an Open Access alternative for articles accepted in any INFORMS journals that would have otherwise been available only through subscriptions or pay per view. Please be advised there is a $3,000 (US) fee to make an article Open Access. If you would like to make your article Open Access, you do not need to complete the regular copyright transfer form. Additional details for IOO as well as other types of Open Access can be found here.

Publication Forms

• Copyright transfer agreement
• Editorial Checklist
• Media Promotion Form
• IOO Publication License (if you would like to make your paper Open Access)

Contact Your Production Editor

After receipt of final files from authors, manuscripts are sent to production for copy editing and layout. Questions about the publication status of an accepted manuscript should be directed to [email protected].