Submission Guidelines

Preparing Your Manuscript

Length

Papers cannot exceed 32 pages, including all references, tables, graphs, and appendices, when typeset using either the Latex or Word style files for Service Science. In addition to the regular manuscript, authors may submit as a separate file a supporting document intended for publication as an online supplement to the paper; the online supplement is restricted to be at most 16 manuscript pages. Shorter manuscript lengths are encouraged as they typically lead to shorter review cycles.

Writing

Strong English writing helps a paper make it through the peer review process. We encourage you to consult a language editing service as necessary before submitting your paper. Please see some suggestions in the INFORMS Author Portal.

Format

Documents should use double spacing (defined as at most 33 lines per page) throughout the regular manuscript, including abstract and references. Please do not use footnotes in papers. Papers should have one-inch margins on all sides, be one column, and use 11-point font. The manuscript file should be uploaded as a PDF and contain the paper's title, abstract, main body, references, figures, tables, and appendices. See Style Templates below for LaTex files.

Double Anonymous

Service Science conducts double-anonymous reviews, meaning that both the authors and the reviewers are not provided with the identity of the other. Authors must remove explicit indications of the authors' names and institutions and all acknowledgments must be removed. The paper should be written in such a way that it does not reveal an author's identity (e.g., "I extend the work in my dissertation (Norman 1995)" should be written in a neutral manner like "This work extends the research in Norman (1995)"). Proper attribution of prior work, especially work done by the authors, is a must and takes precedence over maintaining anonymity. Author names, institutions, and acknowledgments will be returned to the printed manuscript upon acceptance for publication.

Style Templates

Papers written in LaTeX must be converted to PDF before submission. The manuscript style is specified in the template file Style-instructions.tex, which handles most stylistic issues. You can find the template and other necessary files here.

Abstract

Manuscripts must include an abstract of no more than 300 words that summarizes the paper's contribution to general readers clearly.

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). Avoid references to unpublished works. Click here for examples of reference style.

Tables and Figures

Please be sure that figures are effective and efficient in their use of space. Please write captions for figures and tables as complete sentences that explain the figure or table fully without forcing the reader to refer to the text. Conversely, readers should not have to refer back and forth from the text to the exhibits to understand the paper. Please refer to figures where appropriate with "(Figure 1)" and explain the meaning and implications of your data fully in the text. Do not require the reader to interpret the figure to understand what you have done, as in "Figure 1 shows the outcome of this survey." Tables should list information in logical order.

Submitting Your Manuscript

Manuscripts should be submitted online at the ScholarOne Manuscripts site for Service Science.

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

The "Minor or Pass" manuscript is now available. See the "Minor or Pass" heading below in the "The Review Process" section for more information.

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

Step 1: Type, Title & Abstract: Enter your manuscript type (e.g., original article, special issue, minor or pass. Provide the manuscript title and a running header. Add the abstract (not more than 300 words).

Step 2: 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. Remember that Service Science has double-blind review. The "Main Document" should be a clean copy, without author information. Please upload a separate "Title Page", listing authors/addresses in the order that they should appear, should the paper eventually be published.

Step 3: Attributes: Please provide three to five keywords that describe your paper.

Step 4: 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 5: Reviewers & Editors: Manuscript submission must include a list of five potential referees, three Associate Editors, and two Deputy Editors, each of whom does not have a conflict of interest with the author(s). An author has a conflict of interest with (a) his or her major professor or a student for whom the author served as a major professor, (b) people working at the same institution, or (c) coauthors on work completed or in progress during the last three years. Please check the Editorial Board to find a good match of editors for the paper.

Step 6: Details & Comments: Authors can include their cover letter either in the text box or as a separate file. This information will be viewed by the Editor and the Associate Editor but will not be viewed by the reviewers. If you selected the manuscript type “minor or pass” (whose review process is detailed below), you should also provide in your cover letter (i) a copy of the decision letter by the Editor of the formerly targeted journal and (ii) a bullet list of the key changes made to the paper through the former rounds of revision to demonstrate improvement since the original submission. Authors will also denote funding in this section. Last, authors will certify that they are complying with the journal's ethical policy.

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

Prior Submission

Has this manuscript been submitted previously? 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 Service Science's guidelines for ethical behavior in publishing (/page/serv/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.

Confirm that all the research meets the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country.

Plagiarism & Copyright

I acknowledge that in submitting this paper I am aware of INFORMS policy on plagiarism and copyright (http://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.

Troubleshooting

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

Contact Your Managing Editor

Machelle Zellers
INFORMS
5521 Research Park Drive
Suite 200
Catonsville, Maryland 21228
[email protected]

The Review Process

Email notification will be sent to the corresponding author announcing that a decision has been made. The possible decisions are as follows: Reject, Major Revision, Minor Revision, and Accept. If you selected “minor or pass” as your manuscript type, a “Major Revision” is not a possible outcome. All feedback will be emailed to the submitting author.

Authors should promptly act on the feedbacks from reviewers if a revision-type decision (Major Revision Required or Minor Revision Required) is recommended.

Review for fit and significance is made by the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor. Only manuscripts deemed consistent with the journal's objectives and judged to have the potential to make a significant contribution are sent on for further review. This should take less than two weeks.

A detailed review will be typically made by two qualified reviewers. Based on reviewer recommendations, the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor will decide whether the manuscript should be accepted, revised, or rejected.

Decisions will be sent to the submitting author.

“Minor or Pass” Manuscript Type. Available now

This manuscript type may be selected if the manuscript was submitted to another journal and went through a substantial round of revision to address reviewers' comments before or after a negative decision from this journal. Manuscripts selecting this type are deemed to be at an advanced stage of development and will therefore not be given the option of a major revision. The review process will be leaner than for manuscripts selecting the “original article” type, typically involving at most one reviewer, to offer faster feedback than for regular submissions. In their cover letter, authors should provide evidence of the revision history of the paper, including (i) a copy of the decision letter by the Editor of the formerly targeted journal and (ii) a bullet list of the key changes made to the paper through the former rounds of revision to demonstrate improvement since the original submission. The formatting requirements are identical to the “original article” manuscript types. As stated in the ethical guidelines above, the manuscript cannot be under review or submission elsewhere at the time of its submission to Service Science.

After Acceptance

We respectfully request that authors upload their final files to the submission site within seven days from receipt of the acceptance decision letter. The decision of accept is not considered binding until final files have been received.

Final Submission

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. Source file of the manuscript (e.g., Microsoft Word or LaTeX), including Title Page;
2. A PDF file of the manuscript (generated by the author, not the ScholarOne system);
3. High-quality figure files (PostScript or PDF), either embedded in the manuscript file or as a separate file(s);
4. Online supplemental materials (if any) in the format they should have when appearing online (PDF, plain text, etc.);
5. The signed copyright transfer form (link below);
6. The completed Editorial Checklist; and
7. A media promotion form (optional).

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 that will be assessed during the production process. Authors who would like to make their article Open Access 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

• SERV Copyright transfer agreement
• SERV 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 KnowledgeWorks Global, Ltd. at [email protected].