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

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary studies
• Research methodology
• Innovation science

Background:

• Existing definitions of novelty are often discipline-specific or limited in scope.
• A universal framework for assessing novelty is lacking.
• Understanding novelty is crucial for scientific and academic advancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a generalizable, multi-systemic definition of novelty.
• To establish a comprehensive assessment process for novelty applicable across disciplines.
• To provide a research strategy for identifying and evaluating novelty.

Main Methods:

• Defining novelty as a quality and state integrating qualitative and quantitative views.
• Introducing 'outlier profile' and 'low-recurrence profile' for feature identification.
• Developing a comparative relatedness model based on space, time, and context.

Main Results:

• A novel, multi-faceted definition of novelty is proposed.
• An 'outlier profile' and 'low-recurrence profile' are defined for novelty detection.
• A detailed research strategy for novelty assessment is presented.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework offers a generalizable approach to novelty assessment.
• This method is applicable across various scientific and humanities disciplines.
• The strategy facilitates the identification of original and unexpected research features.