brycewang-stanford Pre-Submission Preflight (ors-submission)
When to trigger
- "We're submitting this week" — the last check before hitting submit.
- Unsure what the INFORMS Author Portal / ScholarOne requires for Operations Research.
- Verifying area routing, anonymization, the contribution statement, and page limits.
Always re-verify current limits and required files on the official OR submission-guidelines page and the Code and Data Disclosure Policy before submitting — specifics change. As of 2026-06-20 the key specs below were corroborated; items marked 待核实 / re-confirm should be checked on the live page.
Verified OR specs (confirm current values)
- Submission system: ScholarOne Manuscripts via the INFORMS Author Portal.
- Review model: soft double-anonymous — omit author names from the submission; reviewers cannot see authors; the Area Editor and Associate Editor can; authors can see the handling Area Editor's name but not the AE or reviewers.
- Area routing: select the correct editorial area so it reaches the right Area Editor (confirm the current area list and Area Editors' Statements — 待核实 names).
- Nominations: recommend 3 Associate Editors from the chosen area and suggest 5 reviewers.
- Contribution statement (since 1 June 2023): cover letter must include a statement in fewer than 500 words on the novel, innovative, and rigorous original contribution to operations research.
- Abstract: ≤ 200 words, text-only; up to 3 keywords.
- Introduction: must be equation-free (no equations or notation).
- Length tiers (excl. references): Focused Technical = 20 pages; Context-and-Challenge = 20 pages; regular = 30 pages; lengthy generally ~40 pages. E-companion (regular/lengthy) must not be longer than the manuscript; Context-and-Challenge papers have no e-companion.
- Formatting: 1.5-spaced, 11-point font, 1-inch margins; PDF at submission (source LaTeX/Word on acceptance); LaTeX style files provided; author-year citations.
- Fees: no submission/processing fee is stated in the official guidelines; the only fee is the optional INFORMS Open Option open-access fee (US$3,000, after acceptance). Re-verify on the live page before relying on it.
Pre-submission checklist
Anonymization (soft double-anonymous)
- Manuscript omits author names, affiliations, and acknowledgments
- Self-citations worded neutrally ("Norman (1977) shows ..."), not "our prior work"
- Prior conference version cited anonymously; disclosed in the cover letter
- File metadata/properties scrubbed of identity; file names carry no identifiers
Article type, area & nominations
- Correct manuscript type chosen (Focused Technical / Context-and-Challenge / regular / lengthy)
- Correct editorial area selected (matches the contribution)
- 3 Associate Editors recommended and 5 reviewers suggested (non-conflicted)
Format & files
- Abstract ≤ 200 words (text-only); up to 3 keywords
- Introduction equation-free
- Within the page tier for the chosen type (excl. references); e-companion ≤ manuscript
- 1.5-spaced, 11-pt, 1-inch margins; PDF built and previewed; LaTeX style files used
- Author-year citations; reference list complete and consistent
Cover letter & policies
- Contribution statement < 500 words included
- Prior conference version disclosed/linked; incremental contribution justified
- Code/data deposit prepared for the ORJournal GitHub workflow, or an exemption requested with rationale (confidential/licensed/non-public data or purely methodological paper)
- INFORMS Generative AI Guidelines followed and disclosed as required
Anti-patterns
- Submitting to the wrong area, forcing a re-route and delay.
- Self-identifying language or a non-anonymized conference citation left in.
- Missing or over-length (≥500-word) contribution statement.
- Introduction with equations; abstract over 200 words.
- Exceeding the page tier by forgetting the e-companion length rule.
- No code/data deposit and no exemption requested where the policy applies.
Output format
【Anonymization】pass / fix: [...]
【Type & area】type ...; area ...; 3 AEs + 5 reviewers listed?
【Format】abstract ≤200 / 3 keywords / equation-free intro / page tier: pass?
【Cover letter】contribution statement <500 words; conference disclosure: yes/no
【Reproducibility】ORJournal deposit ready or exemption requested?
【Next step】await decision → ors-review-process; on revision → ors-rebuttal
Resources
../../resources/external_tools.md— OR/MS modeling languages, solvers, simulation/stochastic tools, and the ORJournal reproducibility workflow../../resources/official-source-map.md— official INFORMS/OR URLs behind every verified fact in this pack (accessed 2026-06-20)