Can search engines be used as tools for web-link analysis? A critical view

The paper investigates the problems of using commercial search engines for web-link research and attempts to clarify the nature of the problems involv ed in the use of these engines. The research finds that search engines are highly variable in the results they produce, are limited in the search func tions they offer, have poorly and/or incorrectly documented functions, use search logics that are opaque, and change the search functions they offer o ver time. The limitations which are inherent in commercial search engines s hould cause researchers to have reservations about any conclusions that rel y on these tools as primary data-gathering instruments. The shortcomings ar e market-driven rather than inherent properties of the web or of web-search ing technologies. Improved functionalities are within the technical capabil ities of search engine programmers and could be made available to the resea rch community. The findings also offer mild support for the validity of the connection between web links and citations as analogues of intellectual li nkage.