In the referee process (also called peer review):
- Researcher submits manuscript for publication to the journal editor
- Editor sends a copy to one or two anonymous reviewers
- Reviewers, who are peers of the author (researchers in the same field), evaluate it and make recommendations
- Editor notifies author if accepted, accepted with changes, or rejected
- If the article is accepted with changes, it is the author's choice whether to make the changes or submit to another journal.
This process provides quality control by peer review.