Refereált

Refereált is a Hungarian term used to describe scholarly work that has undergone external evaluation by independent experts in the field. It is equivalent to the English terms peer-reviewed or refereed. The label is commonly applied to journal articles and occasionally to conference papers or other scholarly outputs.

In practice, a manuscript submitted to a refereált journal is first screened by an editor and then sent to one or more referees with relevant expertise. Referees assess the work for methodological soundness, accuracy, originality, significance, clarity, and ethics. They provide written reports with recommendations, such as acceptance, acceptance with minor revisions, major revisions, or rejection. The editor makes a final decision, which may depend on the referees’ comments and the authors’ revised manuscript.

There are variations in how reviews are conducted, including single-blind reviews (reviewers know the authors, but authors do not know the reviewers), double-blind reviews (neither side knows the other), and open peer review (identities and sometimes reviews are disclosed). Some journals publish review reports or summaries as part of the article record. The term refereált is typically applied to journals that require external review as part of their publication process; individual articles within such journals are described as refereált.

Significance: Refereált status is often taken as an indicator of quality and credibility, and it can influence academic evaluation, funding decisions, and indexing in bibliographic databases. However, peer review is not flawless and practices vary across disciplines, journals, and publishers.