Editing Invisible College (section)

==Modern use==
The concept of invisible college was developed in the sociology of science by Diana Crane (1972) building on Derek J. de Solla Price's work on [[citation network]]s. It is related to, but significantly different from, other concepts of expert communities, such as [[Epistemic community|epistemic communities]] (Haas, 1992) or [[Community of Practice|communities of practice]] (Wenger, 1998). Recently, the concept was applied to the global network of communications among scientists by Caroline S. Wagner in ''The New Invisible College: Science for Development'' (Brookings 2008). 

Alesia Zuccala notes that previous studies on the invisible college have indicated that it functions as "a fairly organized system for scientists" and that "a certain degree of predictable behavior (i.e. information sharing and collaboration)" can be found within this system.<ref name="Zuccala"/>

Lievrow and others note that "In contrast to the considerable research attention that has been paid to examining the communication of scientific knowledge, especially through formal channels like publishing (e.g. Menzel 1968), there has been remarkably little study of why. and how scientific knowledge itself might grow as a function of both formal and informal communication networks."<ref>Lievrouw, L. A., Rogers, E. M., Lowe, C. U., & Nadel, E. (1987). Triangulation as a research strategy for identifying invisible colleges among biomedical scientists. Social Networks, 9, 217-248.</ref>

Price has stated that some but not all scientists in a particular research area maintain a high level of informal communication and that information received in this manner is essential for the conduct of effective research.<ref name="Price"/><ref name="Crane">Crane, D. (1977). Social structure in a group of scientists: A test of the “invisible college” hypothesis. In Social networks (pp. 161-178). Academic Press.</ref>

Crane has stated that although a social circle may occasionally form within a research field, it is unlikely to be present in every field at all times. In some areas, such circles may never emerge. When they do form, their size and significance to the members are likely to fluctuate over time.<ref name="Crane"/>

In the 1960s, a group of academics (including astronomer J. Allen Hynek and computer scientist Jacques Vallée) held regular discussion meetings about UFOs. Hynek referred to this group as The Invisible College.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Eghigian |first=Greg |date=4 August 2021 |title=UFOs and the Boundaries of Science |url=https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/ufos-and-the-boundaries-of-science/ |magazine=Boston Review |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref>

===Cultural references===
The term is mentioned in the novel ''[[The Lost Symbol]]'' by Dan Brown and ''[[Foucault's Pendulum]]'' by Umberto Eco. It was the inspiration for the [[Unseen University]] in the works of [[Terry Pratchett]], and was one of the main reference points for [[Grant Morrison]]'s ''[[The Invisibles]]'' comic book series.