Submission Guidelines

The journal features a double-blind review process. We expect authors to follow the general principles laid out in the AIS code of conduct. We allow for submissions of extended conference or workshop papers as long as the submission respects the copyrights of conference proceedings. All relevant prior published papers need to be addressed in the cover letter upon submissions. Every conference paper by the authors, which is relevant to the submission needs to be cited. Such self-citations need to be anonymized for the review (e.g., use “Author citation” as author, “Blinded for peer review” as title). If the paper is currently under review at another journal or conference that takes copyright, it must not be submitted to BISE.

To maximize the chances of your research to become published, consider our Author Guidelines.

Types of submissions

Research Articles are full-length papers that seek to theoretically and/or empirically examine significant information systems phenomena. Appropriate submissions should offer a contribution that is sufficiently original and significant so as to warrant a full-length article for the authors to develop and present their argument.

Registered Reports emphasize the importance of the research question and the quality of methodology by conducting peer review prior to data collection. High quality protocols are then provisionally accepted for publication if the authors follow through with the registered methodology. Registered Reports are currently only accepted in the Department “Human Computer Interaction and Social Computing”. For more information on registered reports and a checklist to help you craft an effective submission see https://cos.io/rr/.

Research Notes promote dialog among the information systems community providing methodological commentaries, discussing a roadmap for future research, or extending the network of constructs that currently underlies the community’s understanding about specific phenomena. Methodological commentaries provide important ideas about the application of specific methodologies, critique their usage in research, and offer valued guidelines for improving the conduct of research. Research Notes can also be designed to provide a critical evaluation and roadmap for future research on an important phenomenon. Finally, authors can introduce a new phenomenon of choice in a Research Note and the dominant model shaping the prevailing understanding about it.

State-of-the-Art (SOTA) Articles summarize and organize recent research results in a novel way that integrates and adds understanding to work in the field. A SOTA Article assumes a general knowledge of the area; it emphasizes the classification of the existing literature, developing a perspective on the area, and evaluating trends.

Catchwords describe emerging technologies and important phenomena for the BISE community. Please submit your catchword article directly via the journal’s online submission tool (see below).

Discussions provide statements of experts on a particular subject relevant to the field. Suggestions for discussions can be submitted to the respective Section Editor in form of a 5-10 phrase teaser.

Manuscript length and components

The typical manuscript length (including abstract and references) should be around 20 pages. Since we assume a constant contribution/length ratio – longer submissions are expected to have larger contributions – we also allow manuscripts (including abstract and references) with no more than 36 pages (A4; 210×297 mm) of text (11-point Times Roman font, 1.5-spacing, justified text, margins: 25mm 25mm 20mm 25mm), and less than 15,000 words (if the manuscript is submitted in a different format). Please count every full-page illustration as 500 words.

The latter two bold numbers are strict upper bounds – please try to be concise.

It is easiest (and highly recommended) to use our templates (so you can use the 36 pages rule): Word template, LaTeX template.

Appendices are excluded if they are only published online. Consider moving additional details (e.g., analytical proofs, psychometric details of the measures, copies of the measurement items, etc.) in an online appendix as a separate document. If the paper is accepted, the appendix will be published online as an electronic companion.

Manuscripts should be submitted in the English language. Research notes should be limited to no more than 12 pages of text (paper formatting see above) or 6,000 words.

Each submission must comprise the following components:

  1. cover letter,
  2. title page,
  3. blinded manuscript,
  4. additional information (e. g., questionnaires, previously published versions)
  5. all figures in separate files (just for the final submission)

The title page must include:

  • title and subtitle,
  • name of author(s) including full given name,
  • author’ addresses for publication,
  • corresponding author for proof copy (if different from first author)

The blinded manuscript of submissions must include:

  • title and subtitle [English],
  • abstract [English],
  • keywords (up to 8) [English]

A blinded submission does not include any reference to the authors. This includes:

  • (Research) Grant references
  • Meta data within the submitted document file(s), including supplemental material. Please ensure that submitted Docx, PDF or LaTeX-Files do not include any of the authors name in the file’s meta data.
  • Embedded links to external data or file repositories. Authors may be identified by the presented information or even the registered domain

Please double check that your submission is fully blinded to help to prevent a lengthy review process.

In the abstract, please do not use the personal form (“we”, “our”). The abstract should answer the following questions and should be structured as follows:

  • Problem definition: What is your research problem?
  • Relevance: How is your research problem relevant to the IS research community and practice?
  • Methodology: What is the underlying research method?
  • Results: What are your key findings?
  • Managerial implications: How can academics/managers/decision makers benefit from your study?

Keywords always start with a capital letter. For composite keywords only the first word is written with capital letter, e. g. “Enterprise resource planning”.

If a questionnaire was used, a one-page extract should be included in the manuscript in order to illustrate its structure and content. Additionally, the complete questionnaire must be submitted in order to be able to conduct the review process properly. As in case of acceptance the complete questionnaire will be published online only, the manuscript should include an appropriate reference.

Figures

Figure captions (underneath) and table headings should be formatted as follows: “Figure” or “Table”, number and brief description. Colons are not used. Example:

Figure 1: Caption 1 for the test figure

In-text references to figures and tables must refer to the respective numbers. Do not use phrases like “the following figure“.

Color art is free of charge for online publication only. Make sure that the main information will still be visible if printed in black and white. Please do not refer to color in the captions.

“Hairline” is not suitable as a line thickness as this will be too thin when printed. If possible, the font “Arial” should be used in figures. If it is necessary to scale down in the final layout, the type should be large enough to ensure good readability.

In case of acceptance, figures for a manuscript must be supplied in separate files via e-mail preferably in the following formats:

  • PPT (PowerPoint)
  • XLS or XLSX (Excel)
  • VSD (Visio)
  • CDR (CorelDraw)
  • AI (Adobe Illustrator)
  • EPS

For screenshots and photographs only:

  • TIFF
  • JPEG
  • BMP
  • PSD (Photoshop)

Footnotes

Annotations should be avoided wherever possible. If unavoidable (e. g. references to errors in the original source, acknowledgements in exceptional cases), footnotes may be used.

URLs

URLs (www or FTP addresses) which appear in the body of the text or in tables are treated in the same way as URLs in the references in terms of notation and formatting; the protocol (e.g., http://) must always be stated.

Calendar Dates

Calendar dates should be expressed in the form D Month YYYY, e. g.: 28 October 2020.

References and Citations

As an BISE author you contribute to promoting the scientific reputation in the field. We encourage authors to reference articles in the journal that are related and relevant to the subject matter in their article to show how the paper contributes to work and discussions in the community.

All in-text and references should be formatted following the guidelines provided by the Springer Basic style. The style is available in all major citation management systems such as Citavi, EndNote, or Mendeley. A full description of the citation style including in-text reference and the reference list can be found here.
For Endnote users, the Springer Basic style can be downloaded here.

In case of acceptance, a BibTex file containing all citations must be supplied as a separate file via e-mail. 

For online sources, indicate the date of access in the format “Accessed 28 Oct 2020”. For conference papers, specify the venue of the conference or the location of the publisher. For journal papers, give the volume, issue, and page-range.

Submission of Manuscripts

Research Articles,  Research Notes, Registered Reports, and State-of-the-Art Articles need to be submitted via the journal’s online submission tool at: http://www.editorialmanager.com/buis/.

Manuscripts for the journal’s other sections must be submitted by e-mail to the respective section editor. The current departments and sections as well as responsible editors can be found here.

Review process

All submissions go through a double-blind review process, i.e. the identity of the authors is not disclosed to the reviewers and vice versa. In general, there are at least two scientific reviewers. Manuscripts undergo multiple (usually two to three) review rounds. At present, it takes about two months from the (re-) submission of a (revised) manuscript to the receipt of the reviews. The final decision on whether to accept, decline, or impose modifications lies with the department editor or the editor-in-chief.