What Internet Use Does and Does Not Change in Scientific Communities

This article examines the supposedly new social phenomena produced by internet
use in the scientific community that has been discussed in the literature and tackles
the question of which social structures and practices are actually changing. This serves
as a background against which to assess new phenomena. Since the internet’s main
impact obviously concerns the transmission of data and information, a theoretical
perspective on the way scientific communities produce knowledge and on the role
of communication in that process is developed. It can be demonstrated that the
internet leaves the social order of scientific communities unchanged but affects the
mode of production of some scientific communities by providing opportunities for
a communalization of raw data analysis, data production, and external contributions.

Keywords: scientific communities, e-science, electronic publishing