Open Access Teaching Case Journal

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OATCJ publishes descriptive/evaluative or decision-based teaching case studies in all disciplines. Cases must be based on factual real-life occurrences that involve actual organizations and people (OATCJ does not accept fictional cases). Authors may choose to disguise the names (organizations or people) in the case. Previously published cases or articles (except those in proceedings or workshop presentations) are not eligible for consideration.

Authors may submit their manuscripts using our online Scholastica submission platform. All submissions must include a manuscript for the case study and an instructor’s manual. Please carefully read the case study and instructor’s manual guidelines provided below before submitting your manuscript to avoid delays in the review process.

It is the author(s)’s responsibility to ensure that they have permission to publish material contained in the case. To verify acceptance of this responsibility, include the following paragraph on a separate page at the beginning of the submission.

In submitting this case to the Open Access Teaching Case Journal for widespread distribution in print and electronic media, I (we) certify that it is original work, based on real events in a real organization. It has not been published and is not under review elsewhere. Copyright holders have given written permission for the use of any material not permitted by the “Fair Use Doctrine.” The host organization(s) or individual informant(s) have provided written authorization allowing publication of all information contained in the case that was gathered directly from the organization and/or individual.

The target audience for published case studies is students. Instructor’s manuals will be made available upon request only for instructors via an internal vetting process that requires a school e-mail account, bio on the school website, and an ORCID identification number.

All submissions are double anonymous-reviewed (both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other) by OATCJ reviewers. Submissions are expected to require at least one round of revision prior to acceptance. The target turnaround time from submission to OATCJ to author feedback for each revision is 60 days.

All submissions will be identified and tagged based upon relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals content. Manuscripts addressing the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education are preferred; however, all topics are considered for publication.

GENERAL FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

Manuscripts files must be in MS Word format. Authors are expected to use the following templates:

Case Study Template
Instructor’s Manual Template

Files should be thoroughly proofread before submission to ensure grammatical integrity. All files should be edited by the contributor before submission to ensure correct and consistent format, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

OATCJ uses Canadian spelling, the Canadian Press Stylebook, and a modified APA style for citations and formatting. OATCJ style will be applied by the OER Hub team to ensure consistency and accessibility for all learners; contributor will have the opportunity approve any substantive changes, but minor corrections will not be subject to approval.

CASE STUDY

Please remove the author name(s) from your manuscripts to ensure the integrity of the double anonymous-review process.

OATCJ adheres to the following teaching case study outline: Opening paragraph; background information for the organization, industry, and the protagonist(s); case narrative; decision points (where applicable); and the closing paragraph, followed by exhibits (where applicable). Successful manuscripts will follow this format.

Images and tables must be captioned, numbered, and cited appropriately in the text. Images should be supplied directly within the document in the highest quality possible (coloured or B&W). High quality image files might be requested from authors if the manuscript is accepted for publication.

Author(s) must use past tense when describing the case events except for direct quotes from people. The manuscript limit is 30 pages, including references and appendixes. It is recommended that the main case body be a maximum of 10 pages. References must be in APA format and cited in the case text as footnotes. Footnotes may also be used for short explanations when needed to maintain the logical flow of the text.

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL

Please remove the author name(s) from your manuscripts to ensure the integrity of the double anonymous-review process.

All cases submitted to OATCJ must be accompanied with an instructor’s manual that will only be made available to instructors. Please use the following guidelines, as appropriate for your case submission.

Case Summary

A short summary of the case, consisting of no more than 500 words. The summary should include at least, 1) the organization upon which the case is based; 2) an introduction of the protagonist; and, 3) an explanation of the key problem, or decision in the case.

Learning Objectives

List the learning objectives for the case – typically no more than three to five. While cases may often be used to explore a variety of learning objectives, restrict the learning objectives listed in this section to those that are directly explicated in the instructor’s manual.

Theoretical Linkages

In this section, provide a concise overview of the key theoretical concepts and frameworks that will inform the analysis of the case. Aim to support the instructors in effectively applying and teaching the relevant concepts.

Relevant Courses

Describe where the case may be used in coursework. Specifically, describe the types of programs in which the case may be used (e.g., undergraduate, graduate courses) as well as the types of courses and business disciplines (e.g., HR, MIS, Operations Management, etc.).

Recommended Reading

Include several associated readings that may be used by instructors to augment course material to provide theoretical context to the learning objectives. Cases are meant to provide students with an opportunity to apply theory, these readings are an opportunity to guide instructors as to which theories may be applied in search of the case resolution. These readings are in addition to any appendices that you may choose to include at the end of the instructor’s manual.

The readings should be included here as full APA references. If there are permanent web links to the articles, such as DOI article links, provide these in addition to the APA style references.

Suggested Teaching Approaches
In this section, include a description of how the case could be used in classes. This could include usages in major projects or in-class teaching plans. When describing in-class teaching plans, make note of the amount of time required to follow the plan. Instructors will want to know whether the teaching plan is appropriate for 80-minute, 110-minute, or 170-minute classes.

Research Methods

The Research Methods section explains how you obtained the data for the case, the data gathering process you implemented, and the details regarding these research activities. For example, you can indicate whether you obtained data for the case based upon interviews with the main protagonist in the case story, the number and length of the interviews, and how you gained access to the organization’s material used for the case. Or did you obtain information from secondary sources? Identify all sources.

Analysis and Discussion Questions

Include discussion questions appropriate either for in-class, group, or online discussion. The discussion questions should be answerable reading the case study and the associated readings and should relate to the specified learning objectives identified in the instructor’s manual. The discussion questions should match your plan described in the “suggested teaching approaches” section. For example, if your teaching plan describes an 80 minute in-class discussion, then the depth and breadth of discussion questions should be commensurate with answering the questions within that period.

Provide an exemplar answer to each of the discussion questions. In particular, describe how theory may be applied to address the discussion question. As appropriate, provide instructors with guidance about common student mistakes when answering each question. Include all relevant analyses necessary to address the key problem and the intended learning outcomes of the case.

Appendices (Exhibits)

Appendices are for the use of instructors, who may choose to share them with students. They may be frameworks or models related to theory described in the “additional readings,” or they may be of the author’s own devising. Always provide a “source” reference below each appendix. The inclusion of copied/reproduced visuals from other author’s work is not allowed without explicit permission from the original author. If a visualization is included that is derived from another’s work, then that should be referenced using APA style format.

Epilogue (where applicable)

If you have information about what happened chronologically after the end of the time-period described in the case, then include it here. The epilogue need not provide a suitable, or “correct” resolution to the case – the intent of the epilogue is to provide students with further information about the real-world case. In fact, non-ideal solutions to the case problem provide a cautionary tale and may offer further emphasis of learning objectives.

Use of Artifical Intelligence

AI tools and platforms (such as ChatGPT, Bing, Bard, etc.) pose risks related to data, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property (IP); and do not provide attribution and citations accurately. We strongly recommend that authors do not include content generated by such AI tools. OATCJ cannot apply a Creative Commons license to the content, without clarity on where the original works came from. In addition, inserting a substantial amount of copyright-protected works, including one with a Creative Commons license, into any type of AI without the copyright owner’s permission would violate current copyright law, including Creative Commons licenses (Copyright Act C-42 Canada). OATCJ will continue to monitor the developments in the AI field and will update as necessary.

If your manuscript includes content that has utilized AI tools, please share how the tools have been used so that it can be assessed. Authors are accountable for their content’s accuracy, integrity, and originality.

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Please make sure the following points have been addressed in your manuscript:

  •      Use past tense throughout the case.

  •      Run a spell check with the language set to English (Canadian).

  •      Be consistent with currency usage and specify whether dollar amounts refer to U.S., Canadian, Australian, etc. dollars.

  •      Number exhibits/appendixes in the order they are referenced and provide them in that order.

  •      Indicate the source of each exhibit (author’s work, case subject, or third party).

  •      Ensure URLs in the references list are live and clean (remove tracking information).

Example:
https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/april/apple-computer-founded#:~:text=and Photographs Division.-,Apple Computer%2C Inc.,in their homes or offices 
Should be listed as the following:
https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/april/apple-computer-founded

  •      Only list sources in the References list that have corresponding citations in the case text.

  •      Create tables using Word’s table function; avoid providing tables as images only.

  •      Ensure each column in tables has a header.

  •      Do not use third-party assets without permission unless they have a Creative Commons or open license.

  •      Include a credit line for each exhibit stating the copyright status and permissions.

  •      Provide links to social media posts, not just screen captures.