Informal connections outweigh coauthorship ties in academic impact

The term “invisible college” refers to communication networks that help scientists exchange information and advance knowledge. These networks create social capital, granting access to resources like new ideas and support. Measuring those intangible exchanges is an empirical challenge. Here we approximate these ties through the analysis of the “thank you” notes appended to journal articles. Our findings show that scholars disconnected from this layer of academic social capital have lower publication impact. We also show that informal ties provide support not captured by coauthorship ties, which reflect a more rigid form of collaboration. Documenting how informal structures of support operate can help leverage collective resources in the pursuit of shared intellectual goals.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2511050123