discussion lists | blogs | "invisible colleges"

Description: Scholars communicating with each other informally about issues related to their work. Most of this communication is accessible only to colleagues engaged in the same research track around the country and the world, groups that comprise "invisible colleges" across institutions and countries, organized around specific areas of interest.

Types of informal communication

Discussion lists
Specialized listservs exist for every discipline or interest and have varying functions. Some are strictly informational and distribute announcements of upcoming conferences, new publications, etc. to their subscribers. Others are meant to accommodate the exchange of ideas among subscribers. If the subscriber list is very large, or if the list moderator does not enforce high standards, the listserv postings may become unfocused and amateurish. In that case, serious scholars may withdraw and establish their own, highly restricted, or even unpublicized discussion list.

Blogs
Abbreviation for "WeB LOGs," an online diary or journal, frequently documenting the day-to-day reflections of an individual. Many blogs are shared on-line journals where visitors can post entries about their personal experiences or professional interests. Like discussion lists, which are not open but require subscription, blogs tend to be organized around a particular activity or interest.

"Invisible colleges"
"Invisible colleges" are research communities that share an interest in a common subject or discipline and communicate informally about it. The "college" is made up of a relatively small group of individuals who function as the scholarly in-group within a given specialization; and most of the significant research within that specialization is usually produced by its members. This research is facilitated by the informal exchange of information through contacts within this social/professional network. Much of this shared information is in the form of informal correspondence (e-mail, phone calls, personal conversations, etc.), information that is largely inaccessible to anyone but the individuals directly involved and typically is not authoritative "evidence" for research findings because it can seldom be retrieved at a later date for verification and use.

Currency -- allowing you to "listen in" to hot topic debates and collect information on current issues and directions before they even reach the research arena, let alone the stage of formal publication. May provide an opportunity to see how research really takes place, the early, less-structured progress of a project before it comes together, becomes formalized, and enters the mainstream of the disciplinary knowledge base. Permits discovery of names and contact information of people with whom you may share a common interest within the field, or who may have collected otherwise inaccessible data useful to your work. May permit discovery of "gray literature" -- difficult-to-find or previously undiscovered materials and ephemera, information sources that are not designed to last long. May help to identify areas for potential new research.

Phone calls, most personal e-mail, diaries, letters, conversations, and other ephemera are (and will likely remain) off-limits to any but their immediate audiences. Letters and diaries of noted individuals are occasionally published posthumously. Web discussion lists, listservs, bulletin boards, and even chat-based communication often have searchable archives but they are of variable quality. A lack of formal vocabularies and a frequent focus on issues not yet fully articulated through formal research and writing may make searching for what you need an adventure and a discovery and depend on your existing knowledge of the field. In cyberspace, everyone has a tendency to appear an "expert." What do you know about the person whose work you read? This material places a premium on your ability to evaluate disciplinary information and its creators and owners.

Selected resources for finding informal communication

Discussion lists

Google groups
Google Groups is a free online community and discussion group service that offers the Web's most comprehensive archive of Usenet postings.
Search Google groups >>

SciScoop: Science News Forum
Free general science Blog with a search function for finding relevant marine affairs discussion threads.
Search SciScoop >>

In Marine Affairs and Oceanography Department offices
By making appointments with faculty in Marine Affairs, Oceanography, Environmental Studies, etc. (or, indeed, even hanging out in the departmental office) one can be present when conversation and activity relevant to specific research is taking place. Some faculty are less inclined to discuss this information with students until it is formally concluded; but others will share freely with those who express a scholarly interest.
Go to the UW School of Marine Affairs >>

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Use Catalyst Portfolio Tool to build your own bibliography of informal REECAS communication >>