Mapping review networks: Exploring research community roles and contributions

In this paper we investigate the position of a review network within a research specialty; the network of scholars who write reviews of their colleagues’ work. This is one of the voluntary activities that researchers perform as a prerequisite for the functioning of the invisible college. We compare this network to other networks within the specialty, and this allows us to distinguish various roles: stars, influentials, members, reviewers and juniors. As scholars are characterized by different role-configurations, the invisible college becomes stratified. We discuss the implications for the development of a referee factor and review factor, norms for refereeing and reviewing, and the development of systems-based research evaluations.