Invisible colleges in the adult education research world

Invisible colleges - researchers’ networks of communicating academic work - are power-generating actors shaping research fields. A key question concerns the relation between local research communities and their dependence on global actors. A key arena is articles and citations in academic journals....

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Main Author: Staffan Larsson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Linköping University Electronic Press 2010-09-01
Series:European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela0010
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author Staffan Larsson
author_facet Staffan Larsson
author_sort Staffan Larsson
collection DOAJ
description Invisible colleges - researchers’ networks of communicating academic work - are power-generating actors shaping research fields. A key question concerns the relation between local research communities and their dependence on global actors. A key arena is articles and citations in academic journals. An actor-network-inspired empirical investigation of the geographical origin of articles and references in the journal “Studies in the Education of Adults” and a check of references to journals in “Adult Education Quarterly” was made. The origin of articles and study objects in the International journal of Lifelong education was also analysed. Some conclusions can be drawn from the material. One is the heavy impact of “real” geographical location, i.e. the origins of texts and references are located in very specific areas on the map, i.e. in spite of the possibilities of cyberspace and global mobility. Another conclusion is the unilateral relation between an Anglo-American centre and a periphery in the distribution systems of texts. Adult education is faced with a contradictory situation between culturing invisible colleges in adult education and getting resources in the emerging economy of publications and citations through membership in other invisible colleges.
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spelling doaj.art-f30ae831838640af9b2e7113aa20d07a2022-12-22T01:47:03ZengLinköping University Electronic PressEuropean Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults2000-74262010-09-0111-297112Invisible colleges in the adult education research worldStaffan LarssonInvisible colleges - researchers’ networks of communicating academic work - are power-generating actors shaping research fields. A key question concerns the relation between local research communities and their dependence on global actors. A key arena is articles and citations in academic journals. An actor-network-inspired empirical investigation of the geographical origin of articles and references in the journal “Studies in the Education of Adults” and a check of references to journals in “Adult Education Quarterly” was made. The origin of articles and study objects in the International journal of Lifelong education was also analysed. Some conclusions can be drawn from the material. One is the heavy impact of “real” geographical location, i.e. the origins of texts and references are located in very specific areas on the map, i.e. in spite of the possibilities of cyberspace and global mobility. Another conclusion is the unilateral relation between an Anglo-American centre and a periphery in the distribution systems of texts. Adult education is faced with a contradictory situation between culturing invisible colleges in adult education and getting resources in the emerging economy of publications and citations through membership in other invisible colleges.http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela0010Bibliometricspublicationsadult educationinvisible collegeacademic journals
spellingShingle Staffan Larsson
Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults
Bibliometrics
publications
adult education
invisible college
academic journals
title Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
title_full Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
title_fullStr Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
title_full_unstemmed Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
title_short Invisible colleges in the adult education research world
title_sort invisible colleges in the adult education research world
topic Bibliometrics
publications
adult education
invisible college
academic journals
url http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/rela.2000-7426.rela0010
work_keys_str_mv AT staffanlarsson invisiblecollegesintheadulteducationresearchworld