Effects of Confirmation Bias on Web Search Engine Results and a differentiation between Non assumptive versus Assumptive Search Queries

Abstract

This study examines how confirmation bias influences the search results of large scale web search engines for software engineers. We show how the correctness of results can change depending on the formulation of search strings that the user inputs in the search box. The study is conducted as an experiment where some of the most popular software engineering topics are formulated as non-assumptive or assumptive queries and their web search results are then compared.