Academic Discourse

ACADEMIC DISCOURSE

Discourse Communities

The Invisible College

"I called an engineer inmy dad's firm, who explained..."
"I emailed the author of the scholarly article, who was kind enough to take the time to write me back, answering my question. She was really nice about it too."
Because they often use information communication channels, scholars, researchers, and professionals are often described as members of the 'invisible college', a network or web of informal communication among individuals with similar interests. It contrasts with the more formal ways that these individuals obtain information, such as searching printed or electronic media.
The "invisible college" lacks organizational structure and formality in its method of communication. "Invisibility" describes a component of its very existence.
More formal ways in which researchers communicate are through the publication of conference papers, journal articles, and books. Publications in journals usually undergo a strict "peer review" which ensures the quality and accuracy of these professional, researched materials.
Successful research, then, takes its place within an ongoing conversation of people with a fair amount of interest and expertise in their field, and relies on a common understanding of the terminology, conventions, and subject matter that communities scholars and professionals use to communicate information about your topic of interest.
Refereed (peer reviewed) journals have editorial boards and editors who carefully sift articles submitted to them and judge them by exacting standards, such as soundness of research methodology, quality of writing and presentation, and originality of ideas. In this sense, the editors are exercising a gatekeeping function: that is, they control what gets published according to their view of that is valuable or appropriate to their discipline or sub-discipline at the time.

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