The elusive search engine: How search engine use is reflected in survey reports

Author:

Andersson Cecilia1ORCID,Sundin Olof1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences Lund University Lund Sweden

Abstract

AbstractThe overall aim of this article is to contribute to a research‐based understanding of the increasing invisibility of web search engines in society and to discussions about the potential impact of this invisibility. It examines how search engine use and online search activities are represented in national and regional reports on internet habits and experience published by public foundations and policy institutes. The elusiveness of search engines is understood through a theoretical perspective from infrastructure theory. National survey reports on internet habits and experience from the United States, UK, and Sweden from 2015 to 2021 are analyzed. The article shows how difficult it is to gain insights into how people search online and the role search engines play in everyday life. The nature of the survey report, which is often used to inform national policy, risks exacerbating the invisibility of search engines: what cannot be measured cannot be discussed at the policy level. This invisibility can lead to insufficient attention being paid to search engines, including their uses and effects, in legislation, in school education, and in the general formation of public knowledge about search engines in society.

Publisher

Wiley

Subject

Library and Information Sciences,Information Systems and Management,Computer Networks and Communications,Information Systems

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. JASISTSpecial Issue Editorial: Re‐orienting search engine research in information science;Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology;2023-10-27

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3