Invisible Colleges: A Literature Review

Generation and consumption of information are among the functions unique to higher education. Scholarly communication plays an essential role in this process to such a degree that some consider it as being the cornerstone of science. Thus it could be said that no education could be realized without communication. Scientometrists analyze and assess formal scientific communications by studying the level of citation of such scientific outputs as books, journals and etc. Nevertheless, there is a special type of communication that lacks any external manifestation such as citations. Informal learning and education are indebted to such communication. This kind of informal communication for generating knowledge leads to an informal association among the scholars, which is called as "The invisible college". There are various definitions and interpretations concerning an invisible college. According to Price’s opinion, an invisible college is comprised of over a hundred colleagues that are engaged in communication with one another. He believed that members in such an association are reasonably in touch with and could consult and influence one another. The present paper, by reacquainting with the concept of invisible college, would review the role of informal links in the production of knowledge and higher education system, various assessment methods and critical notes, as well as the impact of modern ICT tools on the concept of invisible college.