- Title
- Understanding serendipity in science : a survey
- Creator
- Yu, Shuo; Bedru, Hayat; Xinbei, Chu; Yuyuan, Yuan; Xia, Feng
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/185252
- Identifier
- vital:15050
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.11925/infotech.2096-3467.2020.1088
- Identifier
- ISBN:2096-3467 (ISSN)
- Abstract
- [Objective] This paper summarizes the components and definitions of serendipity, reviews representative supporting technologies and applications of serendipity in science, and discusses challenges and future directions in this field. [Coverage] We searched relevant keywords such as“serendipity”,“novelty”and “diversity”in research repositories such as Microsoft Academic and Google Scholar. A total of 102 well-selected references are finally cited. [Methods] We reviewed serendipitous discoveries in various scenarios, and discussed the concept of serendipity in the context of science. Relevant tools and applications are categorized. [Results] The tools that support serendipity are conducive to scientific research. However, there is no uniform definition of serendipity, thus making it difficult to measure serendipity in science. [Limitations] The factors affecting serendipity in science are complex, and yet to be explored. [Conclusions] Serendipity is one of the indispensable factors for scientific advances. However, many challenges are facing the exploration of serendipity in science, such as lack of metrics and difficulty to control. © 2021, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
- Publisher
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Relation
- Data Analysis and Knowledge Discovery Vol. 5, no. 1 (2021), p. 16-35
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- Copyright ©National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Subject
- Interdisciplinarity; Recommender system; Serendipity in science; Unexpectedness
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