Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms
Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms
Investigation of information encountering in the controlled research environment
Information Processing and Management: an International Journal
Exploratory search: from finding to understanding
Communications of the ACM - Supporting exploratory search
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
From x-rays to silly putty via Uranus: serendipity and its role in web search
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Discovery is never by chance: designing for (un)serendipity
Proceedings of the seventh ACM conference on Creativity and cognition
wikiSearch: from access to use
ECDL'09 Proceedings of the 13th European conference on Research and advanced technology for digital libraries
Chance encounters in the digital library
ECDL'09 Proceedings of the 13th European conference on Research and advanced technology for digital libraries
Exploring serendipity's precipitating conditions
INTERACT'11 Proceedings of the 13th IFIP TC 13 international conference on Human-computer interaction - Volume Part IV
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While serendipity is generally considered a spark for innovation and new knowledge, the triggers for serendipity appear infinite and consequently information systems' support for serendipity has been difficult to realize. Research to date has tended to focus only on supplying users with unexpected triggers for serendipity (e.g., embedded links in results). We adapt a model of the serendipitous process that examines serendipity more holistically. Using previously collected data, we focus on understanding the precipitating conditions that must be present to facilitate serendipity. Results suggest that serendipity occurs during social networking and active learning, and more specifically in the act of exploratory search. Results also suggest that serendipity is not always instant -- the usefulness of triggers may not be immediately apparent and a period of incubation is sometimes necessary before recognition of the serendipitous nature of a latent trigger is attained. Implications for the design of information systems are explored and support for the incubation period is discussed.