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"Invisible College"

"Invisible College' describes a community of people (frequently scholars) who share an interest in a common subject or discipline and communicate informally about it. It is traditionally "invisible" because most of it is not accessible to the general public. Some of it is as casual as a conversation between colleagues over coffee in the faculty lounge.

Since most of the information in the "Invisible College" never reaches publication, it is hard to find. The Internet is making some of these communications available, however. Important sources of "Invisible College" information are electronic discussion lists, e-conferences, and Internet bulletin boards. Researchers in political science use many of these forums for communication. For example, there are electronic discussion lists such as POLI-PSY and ECO-POL .

The following web sites provide directories of electronic discussion groups and e-conferences:

• The Directory of Scholarly and Professional E-Conferences
  

• E-Mail Discussion Groups/Lists and Resources