from the press release:

Should peer review detect fraud and misconduct? What does it do for science and what does the scientific community want it to do? Will it illuminate good ideas or shut them down? Should reviewers remain anonymous?

On 8th September 2009 the preliminary findings of one of the largest ever international surveys of authors and reviewers, the Peer Review Survey 2009 1, were released. The findings were presented in the session “Science Fact or Science Fiction: Should Peer Review Stop Plagiarism, Bias or Fraud?” at the British Science Festival, where Tracey Brown of Science About Science, David Adam of The Guardian and Peter Hayward of Lancet Infectious Diseases debated the challenges of publishing research.

For more information go to the Sense About Science Website.