期刊名称：International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology
印刷版ISSN：2229-5984
电子版ISSN：2249-5576
出版年度：2014
卷号：4
期号：2
页码：101-105
语种：English
出版社：International Journal of Information Dissemination and Technology
摘要：Purpose: Google is the most widely used search engine for information seeking worldwide. It provides a large number of results (hits) on any area of subject. This paper aims to assess the myth and reality of the Google search results in terms of count estimation. Research design/methodology/approach: The study was started with the selection of search terms. The terms were selected from the prevailing global problems in various fields like terrorism, HIV/AIDS, global warming, economic recession and female foeticide. Each term was submitted to the various types of Google searches (boxes) like web search, book search, news search in turn, using the basic or simple search. The total number of results shown by the search engine was noted. Later on the search results were counted manually while going from one page to another to know the actual number of search results. Findings: The results show that there is a wide difference between the number of results written/shown by the Google and actual number of search results. Research Limitations/implications: The research is conducted on only one search engine, caution should be taken in generalising the findings. However, the other search engines may also be included in future studies that will not only reveal their accuracy but also will allow us to make comparison between and among search engines. The other limitation is that the duplicate results are not identified in the present study that may bring more accuracy in results. Originality/value: The present study is the first attempt to find the accuracy of search results retrieved by Google in terms of count estimation. The paper will serve as a baseline for future research in this regard.
