ABSTRACT
A popular image of the scholar is one of blissful isolation in an ivory tower of erudition, absorbed in contemplation. Such an image gives the wrong impression of scholarship. Scholarship is collaborative in nature. A scholar is a student who studies the literature of a discipline, then makes his or her own contribution to that body of knowledge. After examining the literature, a scholar may formulate a theory, test its hypothesis, then submit that theory to his or her peers for replication or commentary. There must be an exchange taking place between the scholar and his or her colleagues. This interchange may assume the form of discourse among colleagues, class dis-
In the mid-fifteenth century, the printing press revolutionized the publication of research and the dissemination of the scholarly record. Current technological changes promise equally revolutionary transformations of the body of scholarship. Electronic communication, such as e-mail, file transfer protocol, the World Wide Web, and other Internet functions, have quickened the pace of scholarly exchange to be nearly instantaneous and have democratized the scholarly community into a global network. As Andrew McMichael points out, the Internet was originated as a way to exchange information in a hypermedia setting.1
