• Organization Development Journal

      Author Guidelines

      The Organization Development Journal (ODJ) is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles related to Organization Development (OD) for a targeted audience of experienced practitioners and academics. 

      The journal has an international scope and includes submissions from countries all over the world. We accept many types of work in the ODJ, but the main objective is that every article tells the academic or practitioner about some useful application of an idea, research, or suggestion to improve the field of organization development and change. If you have an interesting research, theory, or practitioner-oriented manuscript, we would like to hear more about it. Send submissions to the ODJ for consideration using the submission guidelines below.  

      Submission Checklist


    • Before Submitting: We recommend that you read articles similar to your own before submitting to get a feel for the ODJ style and format. If you are a member of ISODC, you have online journal access. If you are not a member, the ODJ is included in the major academic databases. 


    • Requirements


    • Relevance: Articles must be relevant to the field of OD.  Derivative works that build on studies conducted for other purposes must clearly explain their relevance to OD theory and/or practice.
    • Originality: The ODJ accepts only original manuscripts.  Ensure your submission constitutes a new contribution to the field, not a restatement of prior work. Related works must be appropriately cited, and the manuscript must clearly address any similarities.  
    • Copyright: Published articles are the property of the Organization Development Journal and cannot be redistributed in any form without the ODJ Editor-in-Chief’s written permission. 
    • Authors: Up to four authors per article will be accepted without explanation. If there are more than four, the lead author must write to the Editor-in-Chief, providing a detailed explanation of each author’s contribution.  
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI), Large Language Models, and other generative computer programs may not be authors. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies retrieve their data from the Internet. Hence, using these technologies may lead to using the work of others without proper attribution. AI tools do not hold responsibility for their content. Articles not meeting the following standards will not be published
    1. Authors are responsible for ensuring their work is original. Using generative AI should be done with human oversight and verification. Authors should review and edit the output of any AI engine since AI output can be incorrect, biased, inconsistent, or undeveloped.
    2. AI may be used to improve readability.
    3. AI cannot be listed as an author nor a co-author of a paper.
    4. Authors should disclose if they used AI technologies for data collection or research. Include a detailed explanation of any use of these technologies in the methodology section. Ensure that any use of large language models or other artificial intelligence capabilities is cited per APA guidelines. https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-policies?tab=4
    5. AI generated figures or images are not allowed.

    • Note: The above restrictions do not apply to AI tools used for checking grammar, spelling, or references.

    • Exclusivity: Feel free to submit articles presented at conferences, provided they have not been published in a proceeding. Manuscripts that are placed in public view on the internet are considered published and will not be accepted.  This includes any online publication, including blogs, university, business, and personal websites, Social Science Research Network (SSRN), Google Scholar, etc.  Manuscripts under consideration by another journal will be rejected without future consideration. 
    • Style: Follow the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual, 7th edition. If APA 7 is not clearly followed, the paper will be rejected immediately, and the author will be asked for a rewrite to comply with this standard. See APA Style or the Purdue University OWL site for resources, including Sample Papers.  
    • Length: Articles are limited to 25 double-spaced pages of content, including tables and figures, and no more than 5 pages of references (may be single-spaced). 
    • Abstract: On a separate page, provide an abstract no longer than 250 words. Ensure that it explains the main issues addressed in the work and highlights the importance of your article to the field. Most importantly, the abstract should be compelling and convince readers to read the entire article.  At the end of the abstract, include three to five words, phrases, or acronyms as keywords for research.
    • Software: Use Microsoft Word® or a Word-compatible program for the manuscript (not a PDF). 
    • Figures & Tables: Provide attractive, telling visuals in black-and-white. There is a limit of five (5) tables AND figures, combined, per article. 
    • Follow APA 7 guidelines for table format, numbers, and captions.
    • Place each figure/table in the text where you want it and refer to it in your discussion. In addition, submit all figures and tables singly (one per file-large) as PDFs for typesetting. 
    • Unless critical to the reader’s understanding, limit figure/table size to half a printed page (portrait). Make the lines bold enough to be clear; use good alignment and legible fonts; check spelling. 
    • If the figure/table is not your own creation, you must have written permission from the original creator(s) or owner(s) and include their name(s) under the image. Include documentation of approval for reused or derivative figures and tables with your submission.

    • How to Submit

    • Email delivery: Email two copies of your manuscript to ISODCODJ@gmail.com, each in a separate file; one for a blind review (no author identifying information) and one for editing (with author information). Please create a new email for each submission (not part of a string of prior correspondence) and ensure that the subject line clearly identifies the correspondence as an article submission for publication in the ODJ.  
    • What to send: Your submission email should contain the following items. 
    • Blind review copy: Submit the article, including a title page (with author names removed), abstract, all figures and tables, and a list of references. Please ensure references to the authors are kept to a minimum in the content.
    • Edited copy: To the blind review copy, add author name(s) and high-level contact and affiliation information to the title page. You may include your ORCID reference here as well.
    • PDFs of Camera-Ready Figures and Tables: As individual files, formatted and clear enough for printing. (See details below.)
    • Photo: For each author, submit a digital photo that is a clear, in-focus, mid-chest and head image (JPEG format, at least 300 dpi or 1MB). See the journal for examples.  Photos must be submitted in separate files, not embedded in a document.
    • Biography: Submit a short (50-75 word) biography for each author. Each biography may include (as word limit permits):
    • Name
    • Affiliation
    • Academic and/or corporate experience in OD
    • Professional focus in OD (e.g., professional or theoretical approach)
    • Honors
    • Publications
    • Associations

  • APA-7 BASICS:


    • Title page: Include a separate title page. Titles cannot exceed 12 words in length. 
    • No Introduction: APA7 does not include a section titled “Introduction.”
    • Headings: The article title (in bold) should be the first line of the first page of your article (Heading 1, centered). Mark headings by level from the style menu, i.e., Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3, following APA style guidelines. 
    • Text style: Titles should be bold-faced. The body text should be Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with one space following the period at the end of each sentence. Margins should be justified to left side only (ragged right), with paragraphs indented ½ inch (1.27 cm).   
    • Citations and references: Include up to five pages of references (may be single-spaced).  Strictly follow the APA 7 style guide for format.  To reduce the number of editorial inquiries, follow these tips:
    1. In the "Reference" section, include all sources cited in the body of the paper, and list only the sources cited in the text.
    2. In the body of the paper, make it clear whether the discussion is your commentary or that of the authors you cite.
    3. Check the spelling of authors' names.
    4. For in-text citations, include page numbers for all direct quotations.
    5. Reread your article carefully for misstatements, omissions, and other errors.
    6. Test all links and Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) to ensure they are valid.
    7. Ensure that any use of large language models or other artificial intelligence capabilities is cited per APA guidelines
  • An Example:
  • When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

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