Submission Preflight (ijoc-submission)

When to trigger

• "Submitting tomorrow" — last check before pressing submit on ScholarOne
• Unsure which files, area, and declarations the IJOC submission expects
• Confirming the 25-page limit, the LaTeX template, and the single-blind format are met
• Preparing (or stubbing) the IJOC GitHub Software and Data Repository deposit

Process facts (source map refreshed 2026-06; re-confirm on the official INFORMS pages)

• IJOC is the INFORMS journal at the OR/MS ↔ computer-science interface; content is hosted on INFORMS PubsOnline. Submission is through ScholarOne Manuscripts at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijoc, a six-step process.
• Technical area: you select one of the journal's 10 technical areas; the Area Editor judges suitability and desk-rejects roughly 40%, then assigns an associate editor whose identity is never disclosed to authors.
• Review model: single-blind — reviewers see author names; the title page carries all authors and affiliations. (Do not blind the manuscript.)
• Length policy (effective May 2025): main manuscript ≤25 pages including all references, tables, and figures, plus up to 10 pages of appendices; longer appendices go to online supplements. Code/data are hosted on GitHub and excluded from the page count.
• Abstract: ≤300 words, no formulas or mathematical notation.
• Format: single-column, 1.5-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins; LaTeX strongly preferred (JOC-template.tex in the Author Portal); MS Word accepted; PDF for the main document.
• Editor-in-chief: David L. Woodruff (UC Davis), succeeding Alice E. Smith (term ended 2025-12-31); confirmed via INFORMS (检索于 2026-06-22；投稿前以官网为准).
• Open access: optional INFORMS Open Option, US$3,000 assessed at production (not a submission fee); standard publication has no APC.

Preflight checklist

Format & length

• Single-column, 1.5-spaced, 12pt, 1-inch margins; pages numbered
• Main paper ≤25 pages incl. references/tables/figures; appendices ≤10 pages (longer → online supplement)
• Abstract ≤300 words, no formulas; covers questions/challenges → methodology/results → importance
• LaTeX JOC-template.tex used (or compliant Word); main document as PDF
• Algorithms as numbered pseudocode; equations numbered; notation defined once
• No significance asterisks; statistical comparisons reported in text/profiles

Area, files & ScholarOne

• One of the 10 technical areas chosen to match the method; justified in the cover letter if straddling
• Title page with all authors/affiliations (single-blind — not anonymized)
• Cover letter; supplemental files (long proofs, extra tables) designated as supplements
• Conflict-of-interest disclosure and ethical certifications completed in the six-step form

Reproducibility deposit (IJOC GitHub)

• Repo started from the template github.com/INFORMSJoC/2019.0000; placeholders → manuscript ID
• Root files present: README.md (with ## Cite first subheading), LICENSE, AUTHORS
• src/ data/ scripts/ results/ docs/ organized; dependencies pinned (requirements.txt/Manifest.toml)
• README replication path regenerates each table/figure; results match the manuscript
• Aware that acceptance snapshots a tag vXXXX.YYYY and mints a code DOI ….cd

Anti-patterns

• Submitting to a technical area that mismatches the method → fast Area-Editor desk reject
• Anonymizing the manuscript as if double-blind (IJOC is single-blind)
• Exceeding 25 main pages by leaving full proofs and raw result tables in the body
• A formula in the abstract, or significance asterisks in tables
• Treating the GitHub deposit as an after-acceptance chore; arriving with no reproducible artifact
• Mistaking the US$3,000 Open Option for a required submission fee

Output format

【Format】1.5-spaced / 12pt / 1-in margins / ≤25pp main (+≤10 appendix)? [Y/N]
【Abstract】≤300 words, no formulas? [Y/N]
【Area】one of 10, matched to method? [area]
【Single-blind】title page with authors, not anonymized? [Y/N]
【Exhibits】no significance asterisks; tests in text/profiles? [Y/N]
【Deposit】template/README+Cite/LICENSE/AUTHORS/scripts ready? [Y/N]
【Next step】submit via ScholarOne → ijoc-review-process for what to expect

Supplementary resources

• templates/checklist.md — submission self-check
• templates/manuscript_template.md — lightweight manuscript scaffold
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — official URLs and volatile facts