Dont be evil: Uncovering the implications of Google search

Authors

  • Stephanie Winston Dalhousie University Masters of Library and Information Studies student.

Keywords:

Google Search, Internet, Search Engine, Information Retrieval, Information in Society

Abstract

Google has taken the world by storm, and, with its fast and seemingly accurate search results, internet users are increasingly using this search engine to obtain the majority of their information. This paper studies the implications of internet users‘ increasing reliance on Google for retrieving information. It specifically examines Google search because it is the world‘s most prominent search engine, and studies the potential flaws in its algorithm, such as search engine bias and the rich-gets-richer phenomenon, as well as issues in the overall website retrieval process. It concludes that due to the sheer number of users relying on the first page of Google results for information, the seemingly indiscernible flaws in the system have a significant effect on the formation of knowledge.


Author Biography

Stephanie Winston, Dalhousie University Masters of Library and Information Studies student.

Stephanie Winston is currently working towards a Masters of Library and Information Studies degree from Dalhousie University and can honestly say that she loves every minute of it. She is a recent graduate of Queen‘s University where she obtained a Masters of Arts in English Literature, and hold an honours Bachelor degree in English and history from Carlton University. Originally from Toronto, Stephanie currently lives in Halifax with her fiancé Michael and their cat Maximilian. This paper was originally written for an Information in Society MLIS course.

References

Cowan, T. (2010, November 16). Infographic: Human knowledge, by the numbers. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 1 2010, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/internet/human-knowledge-by-the-numbers/article1801253/page6/<br /> <br /> Marxism. (2008). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columency/marxism<br /> <br /> Diaz, A. (2008). Through Google goggles: Sociopolitical bias in search engine design. Information Science and Knowledge Management, 14(2), 11-34. <br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75829-7_2" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75829-7_2</a><br /> <br /> Evans, M.P. (2007). Analysing Google rankings through search engine optimization data. Internet research, 17(1), 21-37. <br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10662240710730470" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10662240710730470</a><br /> <br /> Fallows, D. (2005). Search engine users: Internet searchers are confident, satisfied and trusting&mdash;but they are also unaware and na&iuml;ve. Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Searchengine_users.pdf.pdf<br /> <br /> Fallows, D. (2008, Aug). Data memorandum: Search engine use. Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Search_Aug08.pdf.pdf<br /> <br /> Fortunato, S. Flammini, A., Menczer, F., &amp; Vespignani, A. (2006, May). The egalitarian effect of search engines. Proceedings from WWW2006 Conference, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Retrieved from http://arxiv.org/pdf/cs.CY/0511005<br /> <br /> Goldman, E. (2008). Search engine bias and the demise of search engine utopianism. Information Science and Knowledge Management, 14(3), 121-133. <br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75829-7_8" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75829-7_8</a><br /> <br /> Google. (2009). Our philosophy: Ten things we know to be true. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html<br /> <br /> Google Blog. (2010, September 8). Search: Now faster than the speed of type. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/search-now-faster-than-speed-of-type.html<br /> <br /> Google Sites. (2010). FAQ: Crawling, indexing, &amp; ranking. Retrieved from http://sites.google.com/site/webmasterhelpforum/en/faq--crawling--indexing---ranking#pagerank<br /> <br /> Hinman, L.M. (2008). Searching ethics: The role of search engines in the construction and distribution of knowledge. In A. Spink &amp; M. Zimmer (Eds.), Web Search: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (67-76). Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.<br /> <br /> Lutze, H. (2009). The findability formula: The easy, non-technical approach to search engine marketing. New Jersey: John Wiley &amp; Sons, Inc.<br /> <br /> Mowshowitz, A., &amp; Kawaguchi, A. (2005). Measuring search engine bias. Information Processing and Management, 41, 1193-1205. <br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2004.05.005" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2004.05.005</a><br /> <br /> Spink, A., &amp; Zimmer, M., (Eds.). (2008). Web search: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Berlin: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.<br /> <br /> Zimmer, M. (2006). The value implications of the practice of paid search. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 32(2), 23-25. <br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bult.1720320211" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bult.1720320211</a>

Downloads

Published

2011-04-01

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2011)

Section

Articles

License

Papers published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management must be the original, unpublished work of the author. Contributors are responsible for obtaining any copyright clearances required in relation to their work.

Authors submitting a paper to the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management automatically agree to grant a limited license to DJIM if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license gives permission for DJIM to publish the paper in a given issue and to maintain the work in the electronic journal archive. DJIM also submits issues to institutional repositories and Open Access repositories.

Contributors agree to each reader accessing, downloading, or printing one copy of their article for their own personal use or research. All other copyrights remain with the author, subject to the requirements that any republication of the work be accompanied by an acknowledgement that the work was first published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management and that the DJIM Editorial Chair must be notified of any republication of a work first published in DJIM.

Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management
c/o School of Information Management
Faculty of Management
Dalhousie University
Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5
Canada

Email: djim@dal.ca

Authors should recognize that, because of the nature of the Internet, the publisher has no control over unauthorized copying or editing of protected works.