Organization Development Journal Author Guidelines 

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

The journal has an international scope and includes submissions from countries all over the world. If you have an interesting research, theory, or practitioner-oriented manuscript we would like to hear more about it. Send submissions to the Organization Development Journal for consideration, using the submission guidelines below. 

Submission Guidelines 

Please read these guidelines carefully to ensure a smoother publication process. If you are a member of ISODC, you have access to the journal. It is advised that you read articles similar to yours first before submission to get a feel for the style and format of the ODJ. If you are not a member, the ODJ is in the major databases so read some articles first before submission. 

Please know that we accept may types of work in the ODJ but the main objective is that every article tells the academic or practitioner some useful application of this idea, research or suggestion to the field of organization development and change. 

Submission Requirements 

Email delivery: 

Send in a new email two copies of your manuscript to Joanne Preston (isodcodj@gmail.com), each in a separate file, one for a blind review and one for editing. Please refrain from sending in a string of emails. 

Contents of the two copies 

For the blind review copy: The article including a title page (with author names removed), abstract, all figures and tables, and a list of references. Please make sure references to authors are at a minimum in the content. 

For the edited copy: To the blind review copy, add author name(s) and high-level contact and affiliation information to the title page. Upon acceptance, you will also be asked to provide a photo, biography, and full contact information for each author. Those do not need to be submitted at the time of initial review. 2 

Authors: 

Up to four authors on an article will be accepted without explanation. If there are more than four authors, the lead author must write to the Editor-in-Chief to explain the contribution of each author. 

Manuscript length: Limit the article content to 25 double-spaced pages of content and no more than 5 pages of references (which may be single-spaced). Include tables and figures (no more than four (4) in total) that is in camera-ready format. 

Software: Microsoft (MS) Word document (not a PDF). 

Style guide:

Follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association [APA], 7th Edition. Online resources include the Purdue University OWL site (with an Annotated Sample Professional Paper) and the APA Style site (with Sample Papers by research methodology).

If APA 7 is not clearly followed the paper will be rejected immediately and author asked for a rewrite to comply with this standard, which will be processed as a new paper. Key aspects of that style for this journal include the following:

Key aspects of that style for this journal include the following: 

Text style: Body text should be Times New Roman, 12 points, double spaced, 1 space following the period at the end of each sentence. Margins justified to left side only (ragged right), with paragraphs indented ½ inch (1.27 cm). 

Title page: Separate page Include a title page (without author information in the Blind Review copy), as described above. 

Abstract: Separate page Include an abstract of no longer than 250 words. Please make sure that it gives detail about the main issues and the importance of your article to the field. Most importantly, it should tell people why they should read your article. Include three to five words, phrases, or acronyms as keywords for research. 

Headings 

Mark headings by level from the style menu: i.e., Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3, following APA style guidelines. Note that the article title should be the first line of the first page of your article (Heading 1, centered), rather than the heading “Introduction.” 

Figures: Create attractive, telling visuals. Unless critical to the clarity of your submission, limit figure size to half a printed page in portrait format. Eliminate colors that will not duplicate well in black and white. Make the lines bold enough to be clear; use good alignment. Make lettering legible and check spelling. Follow APA 7 guidelines for figure numbers and captions, place each figure in the text where you want it, and reference each figure in your discussion. There is a limit of five (5) tables AND figures per article. 3 

NOTE: If the figure is not your own creation you must have permission in writing from the original creator(s) or owner(s) to use the figure as well as showing their name(s) under the image. 

Tables: Follow APA 7 guidelines for table format, numbers, and captions. Place each table in the text where you want it, and reference each table in your discussion. There is a limit of five (5) tables AND figures per article. 

NOTE: If the Table is not your own creation you must have permission in writing from the original creator(s) or owner(s) to use the figure as well as showing their name(s) under the table. 

Citations and references: 

Maximum 5 pages of references (may be single-spaced). Follow the APA 7 style guide 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 actually cited in the text. 

2. In the body of the paper, make clear whether 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. 

Photo: For each author, submit a photo that is a clear mid-chest and head image (JPEG format, 1 MB or greater in size). See the journal for examples. 

Biography: Submit a short (50-75 word) biography for each author. Each biography may include (as word limit permits): your name; affiliation; academic and/or corporate experience in OD; professional focus in OD such as, professional, or theoretical approach; honors; publications; and associations. 

Exclusivity: Feel free to submit articles presented at a conference that have not been published in a proceeding. Manuscripts that are placed in public view on the internet are considered published, such as in a blog, a website, SSRN, Google Scholar, or similar. Manuscripts under consideration by another journal will be rejected without future consideration. 

Copyright post-publication 

Note that once published, the article becomes property of the Organization Development Journal, and cannot be redistributed by the author in any form without the written permission of the ODJ Editor-in-Chief.