1. Initial Internal Screening. Each submitted paper will be initially delivered to the PHAIR's Editor-in-Chief, who will screen if the submission fits the scope of the journal and is methodologically sound. The Editor-in-Chief decides, sometimes in collaboration with the editorial team, whether or not it should be sent out for review. Manuscripts that do not fit PHAIR's scope of interest or the standards of our journal (e.g. data transparency) are rejected without being sent out for review. Manuscripts that are not properly prepared will be returned to the authors for revision and resubmission. Initial screening of the submissions is usually performed within the first 5 days.

2. Double-Anonymized External Peer-Review. Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it is assigned for peer-review. The Editor-in-Chief appoints an Action Editor. The Action Editor will seek and invite competent external reviewers. The final editorial decision is made on the basis of the reviews, but the Action Editor is fully responsible for the decision (e.g., they may decide to accept a paper against a reviewer's recommendation, or vice versa). In some cases, papers will be sent out for a second round of reviews, but this is rare. However, it is common for Action Editors to request additional changes beyond the first revision and prior to acceptance.