Seeking Serendipity: the Art of Finding the Unsought in Professional Music

• Iwan Wopereis ^[1] ; Michiel Braam ^[2]
  1. [1] Open University in the Netherlands

     Open University in the Netherlands

     Países Bajos

     
  2. [2] ArtEZ University of the Arts (Arnhem, The Netherlands)
• Localización: Information Literacy in the Workplace / Serap Kurbanoğlu (ed. lit.), Joumana Boustany (ed. lit.), Sonja Špiranec (ed. lit.), Esther S. Grassian (ed. lit.), Diane Mizrachi (ed. lit.), Loriene Roy (ed. lit.), 2018, ISBN 978-3-319-74333-2, págs. 503-512
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • Serendipity is a valuable constituent of professional work. In order to ‘control’ the phenomenon it is important to gain insight in its processes and influencing factors. This study examined two cases of serendipitous information behavior in professional improvised music, a domain often associated with unpredictability. The aim of the study was to validate McCay-Peet and Toms’ latest model on work-related serendipitous experiences. The study followed a semi-structured interview procedure that consisted of three one-hour interview sessions to select cases and collect data. Results show that our data fit the model. Process elements like ‘trigger’, ‘connection’, ‘valuable outcome’, ‘unexpected thread’, and ‘perception of serendipity’ were identified, as well as factors such as ‘trigger-rich’, ‘openness’, and ‘prepared mind’. We also identified other factors (i.e., ‘curiosity’, ‘interest’, and ‘initiative’) that might influence serendipitious discovery. Additional (multi) case studies are necessary to generalize findings.