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Information Encountering: It's More Than Just Bumping into Information
Abstract
There is, however, emerging interest among LIS researchers in information encountering. Williamson, Reneker and Zhang discuss accidental discovery of information in the context of a broader study of users' information behavior. Erdelez and Williamson focus specifically on information encountering and incidental information acquisition. (See Further Reading.) It is also important to note that accidental discovery of information has received more research in some other fields, such as "incidental learning" in education, serendipity of scientific discoveries in history of science and accidental discovery of managerial information in the management literature, than it has in LIS. Studying information encountering poses some interesting methodological problems for researchers. First, because information encountering is unexpected, it may be difficult to study it under time and space constraints of an experimental environment. The most practical solution may be to ask users to recall their information encountering experiences. But to what extent do users recognize information encountering as a unique phenomenon? Can they discuss it with a researcher? My research proves that these concerns are unfounded. A majority of participants in my information encountering study, when asked about their past experiences of "bumping into information," were familiar with the notion of accidental discovery of information and could recall these experiences clearly.
... A palavra serendipity se popularizou na década de 1880, após a publicação das cartas de Walpole. Mas foi Cannon (1945) que forneceu um tratamento mais formal ao termo serendipity, e, devido a essa publicação, o termo passou a ser associado à descobertas científicas (Carr, 2015;Erdelez;Makri, 2020;Foster;Ellis, 2014; Serendipidade na Ciência da Informação: principais autorias e eixos temáticos ...
... Destaca-se que na CI, sobretudo no contexto internacional, não há consenso sobre o termo adequado para se referir à descoberta de informação e diferentes termos são utilizados como sinônimo de serendipidade, a saber, information encountering, accidental discovery of information, incidental information acquisition, oportunistic discovery of information 2 (Erdelez, 2005b;Sun;Sharples;Makri, 2011;Foster;Ellis, 2014). ...
... Information encountering compreende uma experiência de descoberta inesperada de informações úteis ou interessantes quando a pessoa está procurando ativamente informações sobre um assunto, mas encontra informações relacionadas a outro, ou quando esbarra em informações durante uma atividade rotineira (Erdelez, 2005a(Erdelez, , 2015b. Ressalta-se que Sanda Erdelez conduziu, em 1995, a primeira pesquisa sobre serendipidade no contexto da aquisição de informações, e nela o termo information encountering foi utilizado pela primeira vez (Erdelez;Makri, 2020 (Silva, 2014, p. 29). "[...] conjunto de pessoas [...] conectadas por relacionamentos sociais, motivados pela amizade e por relações de trabalho ou compartilhamento de informações" (Tomaél;Marteleto, 2006, p. 75). ...
Resumo Objetiva identificar os principais autores e eixos temáticos associados aos estudos de serendipidade na Ciência da Informação. Para atingir o objetivo, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica na Web of Science e na Base de Dados em Ciência da Informação, 53 documentos foram recuperados e analisados, o software VOSviewer foi utilizado para gerar a rede de coautoria e a rede de co-ocorrência de palavras-chave, ambas as redes foram analisadas por meio de Análise de Redes Sociais. Os resultados mostram que na Ciência da Informação a serendipidade tem sido abordada no contexto de comportamento informacional, busca de informação, aquisição de informação e frequentemente associada à descoberta de informação, mas há estudos que abordam esse fenômeno em outros contextos. Nas considerações finais, sugere-se que, na literatura nacional em Ciência da Informação, quando o conceito serendipidade for abordado como uma experiência de descoberta de informação, estes termos sejam utilizados: infoserendipidade ou serendipidade informacional.
... These factors, often called stimuli, are critical in guiding individuals toward information they may encounter. Therefore, early efforts to understand the nature of information-encountering experiences, such as Erdelez (1999), identified four key factors that affect information encountering: user characteristics, the environment in which the information is encountered, the nature of the encountered information, and the alignment of the information with an individual's specific information needs. ...
... This study adopts an exploratory approach to understand people's behaviours after encountering health information on social media platforms and the factors influencing them. Information encountering experiences can occur in different environments such as TV, hospitals, paper and digital environments (Erdelez, 1999). In social media platforms, encountering health information usually depends on how individuals use such platforms. ...
... This study adopts an exploratory approach to understand people's behaviours after encountering health information on social media platforms and the factors influencing them. Information encountering experiences can occur in different environments, including TV, hospitals, paper and digital environments (Erdelez, 1999). However, on social media platforms, encountering health information depends on how individuals use such platforms. ...
Introduction. While much research has been done into how people encounter information, little has investigated post-encountering behaviours and their motivating factors. This exploratory study aims to study people’s behaviours after encountering health information on social media platforms. Method. Participants were recruited through the X platform (previously Twitter) by posting an invitation about the study. 39 participants from the UK took part in the diary study conducted from 3 June 2023 to 1 July 2023. Using their personal social media platforms, they submitted 71 diary entries of encountered health information through an online form. Analysis. Inductive content analysis (open coding) was used for the analysis. Results. The findings show that participants’ post-encountering behaviours consist of saving, sharing, directly using, discussing, exploring, ignoring, returning to browsing, and making mental notes of encountered health information. Our results indicate that participants are likely to experience emotional changes due to the influence of the health information they encounter. Findings also show that the influencing factors can be grouped into personal, informational, and health-related factors. Conclusions. This study provides insights into the nature of health information post-encountering behaviours on an everyday basis and their motivating factors. It also highlights the need for more in-depth investigations into the potential factors that moderate their relationships.
... It is important to note some differences in this literature. Some researchers prefer the term "information encountering," which is seen as a broader concept for non-intentional information acquisition that may not always be positive, unlike serendipity [14,15,23] This concept focuses on specific information behaviors: noticing, examining, capturing, and sharing interesting information [15,23]. Other researchers stick to the term "serendipity, ". ...
... Makri and Blandford [37] distinguish 3 dimensions of serendipity that determine how serendipitous an experience is namely: unexpectedness, insight, and value. Lastly, Erdelez [14] distinguishes between serendipitous discoveries that are problem-related or rather interest-related (i.e., there is no direct problem to apply it to). ...
... It encompasses all details related to products or services on platforms, including their prices, brands, attributes, uses, after-sales service, payment, shipping, and more. Typically, this information is not limited to static modes like text and images; it may also involve various interactive forms, such as dynamic images, short videos, and other multimedia content, to guide and facilitate customer decisionmaking [9,27]. Similar to encountering information in general, encountering product information also possesses unexpectedness, value, and insight. ...
Serendipity-oriented recommendation systems have been widely applied in major e-commerce and social platforms. Platform managers aim to enhance user satisfaction and increase platform sales by creating serendipitous encounters with information. Previous research has shown that the unexpectedness of encountering product information in serendipity-oriented recommendation systems can effectively stimulate positive emotions in customers, resulting in unplanned purchases, such as impulse buying. However, little research has focused on another critical aspect of encountering product information: perceived value. Our study suggests that encountering product information can positively affect the intention to purchase planned products (focal products) based on their perceived value. To explore this, we conducted three experiments and found that: (1) encountering product information positively influences planned product purchase intention (e.g., reduced decision-making time, improved focal product purchase intention), compared to the absence of encountering product information (precision-oriented recommendation systems); (2) this effect is mediated by customer inspiration; and (3) the characteristics of recommendation system strategies can moderate this effect. Specifically, when the strategy features exhibit a low level of explainability, the impact of encountering product information on customer inspiration and purchase intention is more significant than when a high level of explainability is presented.
Purpose
This study aims to gain a better understanding of artificial serendipity – pre-planned surprises intentionally crafted through deliberate designs – in online marketplaces. By exploring the key features of artificial serendipity, this study investigates whether serendipity can be intentionally designed, particularly with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The findings from this research broaden the scope of serendipity studies, making them more relevant and applicable in the context of the AI era.
Design/methodology/approach
A narrative study was conducted, gathering insights from 32 Chinese online consumers through diaries and interviews. The data were analysed in close collaboration with participants, ensuring an authentic reflection of their perceptions regarding the features of artificial serendipity in online marketplaces.
Findings
Findings reveal that artificial serendipity, particularly when designed by AI, is still regarded by online consumers as genuine serendipity. It provides a sense of real surprise and encourages deeper reflection on personal knowledge, affording the two central qualities of genuine serendipity: unexpectedness and valuableness. However, since artificial serendipity is pre-planned through intentional design, consumers cannot have entire control over it. Therefore, compared to natural serendipity – fortune surprises arising from accidental correspondence between individuals and contexts – artificial serendipity tends to be more surprising yet less valuable.
Research limitations/implications
For research, it highlights the potential of intelligent technologies to facilitate genuine serendipity, updating our understanding of serendipity.
Practical implications
Also, the study provides practical insights into designing serendipity, especially in online markets. These contributions enrich both the theoretical framework and practical strategies surrounding serendipity in the era of AI.
Originality/value
This study stands out as one of the few to provide a nuanced understanding of artificial serendipity, offering valuable insights for both research and practice. For research, it highlights the potential of intelligent technologies to facilitate genuine serendipity, updating our understanding of serendipity. Also, the study provides practical insights into designing serendipity, especially in online markets. These contributions enrich both the theoretical framework and practical strategies surrounding serendipity in the era of AI.
Many theories of human information behavior (HIB) assume that information objects are in text document format. This paper argues four important HIB theories are insufficient for describing users' search strategies for data because of assumptions about the attributes of objects that users seek. We first review and compare four HIB theories: Bates' berrypicking , Marchionni's electronic information search , Dervin's sense‐making , and Meho and Tibbo's social scientist information‐seeking . All four theories assume that information‐seekers search for text documents. Next, we compare these theories to search behavior by analyzing Google Analytics data from the Inter‐university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). Users took direct, scenic, and orienting paths when searching for data. We also interviewed ICPSR users ( n = 20), and they said they needed dataset documentation and contextual information to find data. However, Dervin's sense‐making alone cannot explain the information‐seeking behaviors that we observed. Instead, what mattered most were object attributes determined by the type of information that users sought (i.e., data, not documents). We conclude by suggesting an alternative frame for building user‐centered data discovery tools.
The informational needs of certain identifiable groups of people (office workers, union officials, farmers, medical practitioners, nurses, and patients etc.) are popular research topics within information science (IS) literature and specifically in human information behavior (HIB) research literature. Researchers explore what kinds of resources these groups of people are more likely to access when they experience an 'information need'. Spoiler alert-"Repeatedly, researchers have found that people use information sources that are the easiest to use and the most accessible [...]" (Chaplan and Hertenstein 2002, p62). An old adage, often attributed to French writer Anaïs Nin, suggests we don't see things as they are we see things as we are. Using deceptively simple words, the saying suggests that seeing is not just a process where wavelengths are converted to electric impulses that are then processed by the brain in mysterious ways to create what we then believe to see but rather that seeing, to some significant extent, is also a socially shaped and conditioned process, which is why it is relevant to information behavior research. Gorichanaz (2018) explored this dimension of seeing when clarifying the differences between point of view and perspective and illustrating how being mindful of the differences can benefit the field of information behavior Sohjoo (2024) on the other hand studied multispecies families (a term used to indicate families that care for and live with a variety of pets) and explored often non-verbal interactions within these multispecies families from an 'information' point of view. Lueg (2024) emphasizes that across the animal kingdom, human animals perceive their world in a very specific way which is also the only way of seeing that humans are familiar with. However, this human way of seeing constitutes just one particular way of seeing the world. The research goes on to explore what this means for information science as a discipline because it is traditionally human centered and now could face complex multi species ecosystem challenges. How people encounter and experience information heavily depends on how they absorb information with their senses that include, but are not limited to: sight, hearing, and touch. Research on information encountering found that people often bump into information while searching for something else; in a way, falling down the rabbit hole. "Information encountering occurs when one is looking for information relating to one topic and finds information relating to another one. However, it also occurs upon bumping into information while carrying on a routine activity" (Erdelez 1999, p25). Recognizing information as being available in the world (Bergman and Beehner 2023) isn't as straightforward an activity since the perceptual capabilities of the human body enable but also constrain what one perceives (Lueg 2014). The contraints include physical aspects as they relate to the human body such as shortsightedness, body orientation, or blocked view, but also cognitive phenomena including change blindness and inattentional blindness. The latter phenomenon helps explain why people may be looking right at the information 1 Draft accepted for publication in Information Matters. Published as Lueg, C., & Zhang, Y. Educated perception: How what we see is shaped by what we know (and what we can do about it). (2024, July 25). Information Matters, Vol. 4, Issue 7. https://informationmatters.org/2024/07/educated-perception-how-what-we-see-is-shaped-by-what-we-know-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) predisposes individuals to benign and malignant tumours. Young women with NF1 (<50 years) have an up to five-fold increased risk of breast cancer. The UK adopts moderate cancer risk guidelines of NICE, advising women with NF1 to attend breast screening from 40 years. Previous results from a systematic review and meta-analysis found that breast cancer in this cohort predominantly occurs from 34 to 44 years. Without earlier screening, breast awareness is fundamental. Reflexive thematic analysis and semi-structured interview questions based on the health belief model explored whether a tailor-made breast cancer awareness intervention would be beneficial by examining beliefs, screening attitudes and breast cancer awareness of young women with NF1. Findings suggest the establishment of accessible and accurate NF1 and breast awareness information, development and implementation of a breast awareness intervention for young women with NF1, and healthcare professionals.
Purpose
Websites, search engines, recommender systems, artificial intelligence and digital libraries have the potential to support serendipity for unexpected interaction with information and ideas which would lead to favored information discoveries. This paper aims to explore the current state of research into serendipity particularly related to information encountering.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides bibliometric review of 166 studies on serendipity extracted from the Web of Science. Two bibliometric analysis tools HisCite and RStudio (Biblioshiny) are used on 30 years of data. Citation counts and bibliographic records of the papers are assessed using HisCite. Moreover, visualization of prominent sources, countries, keywords and the collaborative networks of authors and institutions are assessed using RStudio (Biblioshiny) software. A total of 166 papers on serendipity were found from the period 1989 to 2022, and the most influential authors, articles, journals, institutions and countries among these were determined.
Findings
The highest number of 11 papers were published in the year 2019. Makri and Erdelez are the most influential authors for contributing studies on serendipity. “Journal of Documentation” is the top-ranking journal. University College London is the prominent affiliation contributing highest number of studies on serendipity. The UK and the USA are the prominent nations contributing highest number of research. Authorship pattern for research on serendipity reveals involvement of single author in majority of the studies. OA Green model is the most preferred model for archiving of research articles by the authors who worked on serendipity. In addition, majority of the research outputs have received a citation ranging from 0 to 50.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper may be the first bibliometric analysis on serendipity research using bibliometric tools in library and information science studies. The paper would definitely open new avenues for other serendipity researchers.
The role of information which is incidentally or accidentally acquired has been neglected in the study of information-seeking behavior. The study reported in this article focused on “incidental information acquisition” as a key concept and investigated the information-seeking behavior of 202 older adults, aged 60 and over, from both metropolitan Melbourne and rural areas in the Australian state of Victoria. The approach to the study was ecological in the sense that a picture was built up of information seeking in the context of the lives of the people in the sample, both individually and collectively. A particular and unusual focus of the study was the role of telecommunications, especially the telephone, in information seeking. The implications for society's systems of information provision are discussed, together with ramifications of the finding that older people will be slower than other groups to accept computer-based sources of information for everyday life.Everyone has some set of habits or routines for keeping his internal model of the world up to date…. We have friends, relatives, work associates, and acquaintances to whom we talk regularly and with whom we exchange news and views. We have habits of reading and watching and listening to public vehicles of communication—newspapers, television, radio, magazines and books. These are not random, but patterned activities…. [I]nformation is in part acquired because it is deliberately sought…. It is also found where it is not specifically sought, as an accidental concomitant of routine activities with other purposes or as pure accident.… [I]t is clear that we could describe individual patterns of information-gathering activity, both where the search for information was the primary motive and where it was incidental….(Wilson, 1977, pp. 36–37).
This study was conducted to provide an initial understanding of information encountering, a form of information behavior that involves accidental acquisition of information. The study addressed the two broad research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of information encountering? and 2) How does information encountering relate to users' information behavior?The study used exploratory research design and qualitative data collection and analysis methods. An open-ended survey was used to collect information encountering experiences from 132 respondents in an academic environment. The survey was followed by in-depth interviews with 12 respondents. Inductive data analysis involved the content analysis and faceted classification of study data to identify the characteristics of four dimensions of information encountering: user, environment, information, and problem.The study found that respondents encountered information while performing both information and non-information related activities. There was a change in the types of feelings and thoughts experienced by respondents before and after information encountering. The respondents most often encountered information when in environments that specifically provide information services, but also in environments where information service was not the primary function. Information encountered by respondents included both interest and problem types of information, including present, past, and future problems, and also both active and passive problems. It was also identified that respondents encountered information across various functional problem areas and personal roles.Regarding the relationship among information encountering and information behavior, the study suggested that information encountering was an integral element of browsing and information seeking activities performed by study respondents. Information encountering reinforced browsing by bringing satisfaction to respondents' browsing activities. In the context of information seeking, information encountering shifted respondents across time, parallel problems, and different subject areas.
Cover title. Thesis (Doctor of Library Science)--Columbia University, 1992. Includes bibliographical references (p. 216-224).
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 1996. Includes bibliographical references.
Information seeking in context. Proceedings of an international conference on research in information needs, seeking, and use in different contexts, Tampere, Finland 1996
- S Erdelez
Older adults: Information, communication and telecommunications. Unpublished doctoral dissertation
- K Williamson
Information-seeking patterns and behavior of selected undergraduate students in a Chinese university
- X Zhang
Information encountering: A conceptual framework for accidental information discovery In Information seeking in context. Proceedings of an international conference on research in information needs, seeking, and use in different contexts
- S Erdelez
- P Savolainen
- R Dervin
Information seeking among members of an academic community. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Columbia University
- M Reneker
Unpublished doctoral dissertation Columbia University New York
- M Reneker