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Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (ACIMED)

2020, Number 4

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Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (ACIMED) 2020; 31 (4)

Methodological concerns in Google Trends studies

Aragón-Ayala CJ, Quispe-Juli CU

Language: English
References: 10
Page: 1-4
PDF size: 296.33 Kb.


Text Extraction

Dear editor:

We have read with interest one of the latest published article in your journal. We agree that Google Trends is a useful tool for health research, but some methodological concerns may bias the results of this type of studies. We found in this article serious issues that affect the results and its understandings. We would seek certain clarifications from the authors.
Firstly, the article did not provide the reasoning behind the choice of search input. The selection of search terms should represent what the target population would use for a given concept. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a pre-validation and careful selection of the search terms, either through surveys, searching web pages or iteratively testing in Google Trends with the “top related queries”. In addition, it is important to show the authors' rationale for search strategy, and especially if it is carried out in several countries.


REFERENCES

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