Improv(is)ing research: Instructional design for serendipity in archival exploration

Ezell, Jason, and Lucy Rosenbloom. “Improv(is)ing Research: Instructional Design for Serendipity in Archival Exploration.” Journal of Academic Librarianship. (in press). https://doi-org.ezproxy.loyno.edu/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102257

Much academic library instruction focuses on teaching students to search strategically. However, the same approaches may not apply when teaching how to explore a digital archive. In order to develop appropriate instructional design, the authors conducted an exploratory study of their students reflections on initial classroom experiences with a digital archive. This study pilots a novel application of Lennart Björneborn's 2017 framework for serendipity to identify combinations of personal factors which enabled students to improvise affective experiences into follow-up research actions. This article offers both (1) notes for coding applications of Björneborn’s framework and (2) suggestions for instructional design centering serendipity in archival exploration.