Search Concentration, Bias, and Parochialism: A Comparative Study of Google, Baidu and Jike's Search Results from China
Jiang, M. (2014). Search concentration, bias, and parochialism: A comparative study of Baidu, Jike, and Google’s search results from China. Journal of Communication, 64(6), 1088-1110. DOI: 10.1111/jcom.12126
23 Pages Posted: 24 Sep 2013 Last revised: 13 Dec 2014
Date Written: September 20, 2013
Abstract
Do search engines tend to drive Web traffic to well-established sites leading to a high degree of search results concentration? Do search engines favor their own content while demoting others? How parochial or cosmopolitan are search engines in directing traffic to sites beyond a user’s national borders? This study explores these issues by empirically comparing search results of Baidu, Google and Jike from mainland China obtained in August 2011 and August 2012. It finds that search engines in China, particularly Baidu, tend to drive traffic to well-established sites. Baidu’s results also raise serious doubts over its impartiality. Rather than making users’ search experiences more cosmopolitan, tuned to the larger world around them, search engines rarely direct Chinese users to content beyond national borders.
Keywords: Search engine, Baidu, Google, Jike, China, concentration, bias, parochialism
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