What Internet Use Does and Does Not Change in Scientific Communities

Abstract

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.