Pre-Submission Preflight (isr-submission)

When to trigger

• "We're submitting this week" — the last check before hitting submit
• Unsure what the ISR cover letter must contain (contribution statement, nominations)
• Need to confirm double-anonymization and INFORMS formatting are complete

Current ISR submission specs below were refreshed from official INFORMS pages on 2026-06-20. Re-verify on the official INFORMS ISR submission guidelines before submitting.

Verified ISR/INFORMS specs (confirm current values)

• Length: manuscripts not more than 32 pages of text and no more than 38 pages including all material (references, appendixes, tables, figures). Overflow goes to the electronic companion (published if accepted).
• Abstract: 300 words maximum.
• Formatting: double-spaced; standard font at least 11 points; one-inch margins on all four sides. INFORMS author-date reference style.
• Submission portal: INFORMS ScholarOne / Manuscript Central.
• Review: double-anonymized; a Senior Editor manages review (Associate Editor solicits 2-3 reviewers); final decision by the Senior Editor after an EIC fit assessment.
• Fees: the source-backed ISR fee is the optional post-acceptance INFORMS Open Option open access fee of US$3,000.

ISR-specific cover-letter requirements (do not skip)

• ~500-word contribution statement (required since June 1, 2023): the novel, rigorous, original contribution to IS; what the paper adds beyond existing literature; why it matters. Generic/missing statements are returned for revision and gate the EIC fit assessment.
• Editor/reviewer nominations: nominate 2 Senior Editors, 2 Associate Editors, and 5 preferred reviewers including at least 2 ERB members. Choose non-conflicted experts in the focal IS conversation.
• Statement that the paper is not under review elsewhere; prior conference/working-paper versions disclosed.

Anonymization (double-anonymized)

• Manuscript contains no author names, affiliations, or identifying acknowledgments
• Self-citations worded neutrally ("prior research (Author, 2020)"), not "our earlier work"
• Acknowledgments/funding on a separate title page, not in the manuscript
• File metadata and file names scrubbed of author/institution identity

Format & files

• Separate title page: title, authors, affiliations, contact, acknowledgments, funding
• Abstract ≤ 300 words; main text ≤ 32 pages; total ≤ 38 pages
• Double-spaced, ≥11-pt, 1-inch margins; INFORMS author-date references
• Electronic companion prepared (proofs, full measurement items, extra robustness)
• Each table/figure self-contained and within the page budget

Declarations

• Human-subjects/IRB stated where applicable; conflicts and funding on the title page
• Submitting-author ORCID linked
• Funding, conflict-of-interest, ethics, copyright/plagiarism, and prior-submission statements ready
• Data provenance certification ready; data/code package staged where it supports the claims

Anti-patterns

• Submitting with a boilerplate or missing contribution statement.
• Omitting the editor/reviewer nominations the cover letter requires.
• Self-identifying language or acknowledgments left in the anonymized file.
• Main text over 32 pages because proofs/items were not moved to the companion.

Output format

【Contribution statement】~500 words, ISR-specific? [...]
【Nominations】SEs/AEs/ERB listed? [...]
【Anonymization】pass/fix
【Format vs INFORMS guide】pages/abstract/spacing/style: pass/fix
【Electronic companion】prepared? [...]
【Declarations】IRB/ethics/provenance/data: complete?
【Next step】await decision → isr-review-process; on R&R → isr-rebuttal

Resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — IS data sources and analysis/modeling software
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official INFORMS/ISR URLs behind every encoded current fact (refreshed 2026-06-20)