Serendipity in the Research Literature: A Phenomenology of Serendipity Reporting

Abstract

The role of information sciences is to connect people with the information they need to accomplish the tasks that contribute to the greater societal good. While evidence of the wonderful contributions arising from serendipitous events abound, the framework describing the information behaviors exhibited during a serendipitous experience is just emerging and additional detail regarding the factors influencing those behaviors is needed in order to support these experiences effectively. Furthermore, it is important to understand the whole process of serendipity to fully appreciate the impact of research policies, disciplinary traditions and academic reporting practices on this unique type of information behavior. This study addresses those need by examining the phenomenon of serendipity as it is reported by biomedical and radiography researchers. A mixed method content analysis of existing research reports will be incorporated with semi-structured interviews of serendipity reporters to gain a robust understanding of the phenomenon of serendipity, and provide detail that may inform the design of information environments.