EMJ publishes research manuscripts (including applied research), tutorials, opinion pieces, and book reviews. All manuscripts are refereed, with research manuscripts being subject to a double-blind peer review process. Following the peer review process, all accepted manuscripts are still subject to editorial review and revision. Submitted manuscripts must not have been copyrighted, published, accepted for publication, or be in review for another publication. Copyright for published papers vests in the publisher. To judge the submission's fit with EMJ's mission and goals, the editorial and referee team evaluates the paper against eleven criteria. The following questions should be used to assist authors in preparing their manuscripts:

1. How well does the paper provide new data/knowledge?
2. How well does the paper provide content to the practicing engineering manager?
3. How well is the engineering management problem defined?
4. How well is the methodology clearly and succinctly defined?
5. How well is the conversation with EMJ continued? How well are references to relevant past EMJ articles used?
6. How well are implications to the engineering manager defined?
7. How logical and valid are the arguments and results given in the paper?
8. Is the length of the paper appropriate for the contribution?
9. How well are the references used to support the discussion and to identify sources for further knowledge?
10. How well are the exhibits used?
11. How well does the paper make a contribution to the practice of engineering management?

When a manuscript is first received, the editorial team makes an initial judgment about the suitability of the manuscript for EMJ. Manuscripts that do not align with the editorial goals of EMJ, do not make a significant contribution to engineering management knowledge, do not clearly identify practical implications for engineering managers, are poorly written, or do not follow the manuscript submission requirements will be rejected at this point. For each manuscript that passes this initial editorial review, an associate editor is assigned who manages the review process for the manuscript. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two reviewers. The associate editor, in partnership with EMJ’s editors, makes the final publication decision. The double-blind review process ensures the anonymity of the reviewers and authors. If a manuscript is accepted, authors must complete and return a signed copyright form (supplied by EMJ). Accepted manuscripts are still subject to editorial review and revision. The author is solely responsible for all statements made in his or her work, including changes made by the editor. A 75 word biography for each author must also be submitted prior to publication of any manuscript. Authors will receive a final PDF file of their article.

During the submission process, authors will be required to certify that their manuscript has been prepared in accordance with all EMJ manuscript requirements; that the manuscript represents original work completed by the authors identified in the submission; that the manuscript has been submitted solely to EMJ and is not published, in press, or submitted elsewhere; that no authors on the manuscript have any conflict of interest with people or organizations that could be perceived as inappropriately influencing the work; and that they have read the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) international standards for authors.

Formatting Requirements

Authors should comply with all of the following formatting requirements to avoid delays in processing.

Papers must be submitted in English. No maximum length exists, but authors should write concisely. The manuscript should use 12-pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, with 1" margins.

Abstract: The manuscript must include a 100-word abstract suitable for retrieval purposes. The abstract should summarize the purpose, scope, and principal results and conclusions. It should not contain literature citations.

Author Information: The manuscript should not include the authors' names or affiliations on the cover page. EMJ uses a double-blind review process. In other words, authors do not know the names or affiliations of the reviews, and the reviewers do not know the names or affiliations of the authors. Prior to submission, authors should carefully read their manuscript to ensure that a reviewer cannot identify the authors, whether through a direct citation or indirectly. It may be necessary to use indirect references. For example, rather than identifying the name of an organization which might identify the author, authors should instead refer to the organization more generally, such as using "a large manufacturer in the Northwest." If the authors wish to cite their own work in the manuscript, when referring to that work the authors should be careful not to reveal that the work is their own. For example, rather than stating "in our previous work....", the authors should instead state "In previous work conducted by Johnson and Brown, ...."

Exhibits: Instead of tables and figures, EMJ uses "exhibits." Exhibits, along with their exhibit captions, should be placed in a separate file and should be numbered consecutively. The manuscript file should indicate placement of each exhibit within the text. If the paper is accepted, exhibits must be submitted in an acceptable electronic format; where possible, these should be the original files (e.g., Excel, Word, etc.)

Footnotes: Footnotes are not allowed in the manuscript.

References: References should follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. Style: Write clearly, simply, and directly. Authors should run a final spell-check and review the manuscript carefully for grammatical errors before submitting.

Common Problems with Initial Submissions

As an aid to authors, we have listed the most common problems associated with initial manuscript submissions to EMJ. Authors are encouraged to carefully review all requirements to facilitate the timely processing of manuscripts.

• Authors should remove all author-identifying information from the manuscript submission. Specifically, initial submissions should not include any author information within the manuscript and should not include author biographies. This is necessary to ensure the integrity of the double-blind review process.
• Self-cites within the body of the paper may identify the authors to the reviewers. Authors should carefully read their manuscript to ensure that a reviewer cannot identify the authors, whether through a direct or indirect citation. See above.
• References do not follow the format used by EMJ. EMJ uses APA style for references and citations. Authors should review the reference formatting requirements from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
• The EMJ format requires the use of Exhibits, sequentially numbered. EMJ does not use Figures or Tables. Exhibits should be included at the end of the paper, with statements throughout the paper to indicate where each exhibit should be placed - e.g., "Insert Exhibit 1 here." Additionally, the EMJ format does not include the use of numbers for section headings.
• Authors fail to connect the manuscript to previously published work in the discipline of Engineering Management. Manuscripts should connect to the previous body of knowledge and clearly state how the work extends the existing body of knowledge.
• Authors have insufficient discussion of how the work is relevant to practicing engineering managers. This is a very important aspect of EMJ's editorial aims. Authors should clarify how this work provides practicing engineering managers with some important insight(s). This may be done at the beginning of the manuscript in the framing the paper, as well as by including a section specifically calling out the practical implications for engineering managers. Authors are encouraged to read several previously published articles from EMJ for insight on how to best meet this editorial aim.

Submitting a Manuscript

EMJ uses an online paper submission and review system. To submit a paper for consideration for publication in EMJ, authors must complete the following steps:

1. Authors are encouraged to contact the EMJ editor if there are any questions about the suitability of a manuscript
2. Prepare the manuscript using the EMJ manuscript format requirements.
3. Go to Engineering Management Journal Editorial Manager website.
4. If the author has not previously submitted a paper using EMJ’s Editorial Manager, select “Register Now” and follow the instructions to register as an author.
5. If the author has already created an account in the system, select the “Author Login” button and login.
6. Enter author information and follow the step-by-step instructions to submit the manuscript.
7. Complete all required fields when submitting a manuscript. Authors are highly encouraged to include the names and e-mail addresses of suggested reviewers for each manuscript.
8. Do not include any author information in the manuscript file. Manuscripts prepared in a way that compromises the double-blind review process will be returned to authors prior to being reviewed.