Novelty, and its Assessment: A Multidisciplinary and Complex Systems Approach

Most scholarly discussions of novelty offer only partial or specified views of what it is or how it can be assessed particular to a discipline or are limited to individual studies. This article investigates novelty with the goal of offering a multi-systemic and generalizable definition and assessment process to be applicable across multiple disciplines. Novelty is proposed as a quality and state, which includes both a qualitative view that integrates subjective experience and a quantitative view that addresses nonlinear dynamical systems. It is also described as a comparative relatedness of space, time, and context. An 'outlier profile' is defined to search for features of the system that are original or unusual, and a 'low-recurrence profile' for features of the system that are unexpected or a surprise. A detailed research strategy is offered for novelty assessment with an example, and is usable across multiple disciplinary contexts in the sciences and humanities for studies of academic and practical use.