Otherwise known as peer-review. Refers to the system of critical evaluation of manuscripts/articles by professional colleagues or peers. The content of refereed publications is sanctioned, vetted, or otherwise approved by a peer-review or editorial board. The peer-review and evaluation system is utilized to protect, maintain, and raise the quality of scholarly material published in serials. Publications subject to the referee process are assumed, then, to contain higher quality content than those that aren't.
Refers to periodical publications which subject all submitted articles to a group to scrutinize or evaluate the material before it is accepted for publication.
Sometimes, peer-reviewed. A refereed journal contains articles that have been vetted or reviewed by other knowledgable people in the same or a similar field to ensure the quality of the contents.
A thorough review with emphasis on novelty and soundness. The refereeing process seeks to advise the editor whether to reject or provide specific guidance for revisions prior to acceptance by the editor. Persons serving as referees are independent of the editors who request their advice.
Something, usually a research article, that has been examined by someone else to determine and comment on whether or not it is suitable for publication.