Submission Guidelines

Decision Analysis uses ScholarOne Manuscripts (formerly known as Manuscript Central), the online manuscript submission and reviewing system, for all new submissions. Please go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/deca to submit your manuscript. Contact Managing Editor, Kelly Kophazi at kelly.kophazi@informs.org with any questions about ScholarOne Manuscripts.

The fundamental objectives of Decision Analysis are to advance the theory, application, and teaching of all aspects of decision analysis. In order to accomplish this effectively, the editors are committed to using the journal’s pages wisely.

Requirements for submitting a manuscript to Decision Analysis

Formatting
Format manuscripts to fit on standard paper (8.5 x 11-inch or A4), using a 12-point font, and one-inch margins on all four sides. All material should be double-spaced, including abstracts, references, and footnotes. Tables and figures do not have to be put in the back of the manuscript. They can remain near the citations. Manuscripts that do not conform to the format requested (as described below), if accepted, are subject to considerable delay pending revisions.

Length
Please write concisely. Although the journal does not have a strict page limit, journal pages are a scarce commodity. The editors will consider each manuscript carefully and will request revisions to make the final paper’s length commensurate with its contribution.

Abstract
Provide an abstract of not more than 200 words in length. This should be written using non-technical language, and without the use of formulas or mathematical notation (see note below on mathematical notation). The purpose of the abstract is to provide a concise, highly readable overview of the manuscript's objectives, methods, and the nature and significance of the conclusions and contribution.

Footnotes
Footnotes should be numbered consecutively and listed separately, double-spaced, at the end of the paper and should be indicated in the text by superscript numbers. Footnote numbers should never be attached to mathematical symbols. To the extent possible, please avoid footnotes; material that normally would appear as a footnote should be placed in the body of the text when it will not impair readability.

Mathematical notation
Mathematical notation should be selected so as to simplify the typesetting process. Please make mathematical expression in the body of the text as simple as possible. Greek letters and unusual symbols (if handwritten rather than typed) should be labeled whenever they first appear in the manuscript, as should the letter symbols "oh" and "el" (as distinguished from the numbers "zero" and "one"). Displayed material should clearly indicate the alignment that is desired. If the equations are numbered, the numbers should be given in parentheses, flush with the right margin of the page. 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-for-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 absolutely impossible, try to minimize the use of math symbols and please completely avoid accented variables.

References
All references are to be listed alphabetically by the author at the end of the paper, and should conform to the style of the journal Management Science. They should also be typed, double-spaced. Reference callouts in the body of the text should be indicated by the author's last name and year of publication, e.g., (Norman 1977).

Preferred and non-preferred referees
Authors may, at their option, submit names of suggested, preferred referees via ScholarOne Manuscripts. The suggested referees should not have a conflict of interest with the author(s). A person has a conflict of interest when the author is or was a) his/her major professor, b) a student for whom the person served as a major professor, c) someone who has worked in the same organization within the last five years, d) a collaborator on work, whether completed or in-progress, during the last five years, or e) someone who has a relationship, whether business or personal, that would reasonably be construed to affect the individual’s impartiality and independence. Authors may also list non-preferred referees.

Source files
Please be prepared to supply an editable, electronic version of the article (e.g., Microsoft Word or LaTeX), including all art, as soon as a manuscript has been accepted. Microsoft Word files can be either .doc or .docx files. Do not convert ".docx" files to an older ".doc" version. LaTex users may download INFORMS style files and instructions for their use.

Tables and figures
Tables and figures can remain in the source files whether using Microsoft Word or LaTeX. It is important that figures be editable. Do not scan a figure. For example, we do not want files with extensions .pgn, .jpeg, or .tiff, unless they are for photos or screenshots. Ideally, we would like to receive the original figure as it was created, especially an Excel file.

Copyrights and permissions
Submission of a manuscript to Decision Analysis for possible publication means that the author(s) certifies that the manuscript has not been published previously nor currently is submitted for publication elsewhere. In addition, please read about Copyrights & Permissions.

NIH Public Access Policy
The author is responsible for complying with the NIH Public Access Policy. INFORMS follows Method C of NIH's submission methods guidelines (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process.htm) and has no obligation to notify an NIH-funded author about the requirement.

Accepted papers

The INFORMS Author Portal is maintained by the publications department as a tool to support authors as they move along the production process. The Author Portal contains the following information:

• Rights & Permissions
• File Preparation
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Contact Your Production Editor
• Key words
• La TeX Style Files
• Author Forms*

* After a paper is accepted, authors are required to formally transfer the copyright to the paper to INFORMS. Go to the INFORMS Author Portal and click on "Author Forms" for the Copyright Transfer Agreement Form and instructions for returning your signed form to INFORMS.