{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,22]],"date-time":"2026-03-22T02:20:56Z","timestamp":1774146056128,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2003,6,1]],"date-time":"2003-06-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1054425600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,6,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\u201cSerendipity\u201d has both a classical origin in literature and a more modern manifestation where it is found in the descriptions of the problem solving and knowledge acquisition of humanities and science scholars. Studies of information retrieval and information seeking have also discussed the utility of the notion of serendipity. Some have implied that it may be stimulated, or that certain people may \u201cencounter\u201d serendipitous information more than others. All to some extent accept the classical definition of serendipity as a \u201cfortuitous\u201d accident. The analysis presented here is part of a larger study concerning the information\u2010seeking behaviour of interdisciplinary scholars. This paper considers the nature of serendipity in information\u2010seeking contexts, and reinterprets the notion of serendipity as a phenomenon arising from both conditions and strategies \u2013 as both a purposive and a non\u2010purposive component of information seeking and related knowledge acquisition.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1108\/00220410310472518","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2003,8,8]],"date-time":"2003-08-08T06:52:40Z","timestamp":1060325560000},"page":"321-340","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":329,"title":["Serendipity and information seeking: an empirical study"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"59","author":[{"given":"Allen","family":"Foster","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Nigel","family":"Ford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","reference":[{"key":"key2022021820200396500_b1","unstructured":"Apted, S.M. 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