KEY POINTS:
Australian research has found people searching the internet only take in what they want to read, potentially placing their health at risk.
The research, conducted at the University of NSW, found that people are inclined to maintain their beliefs, even if they find contrary information.
"Our research shows that, even if search engines do find the 'right' information, people may still draw the wrong conclusions - in other words, their conclusions are biased," said Professor Enrico Coiera.
The results, which have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, also revealed that where the information appears in search results, and how much time a person spends looking at it, affects how people perceive it.
"The first or the last document the user sees has a much greater impact on their decisions," Professor Coiera said.
The implications are significant, particularly as more people search for answers to their health questions on the internet.
"We know that the web is increasingly being used by people to help them make healthcare decisions," Professor Coiera said.
"There can be negative consequences if people find the wrong information, especially as people in some countries can now self-medicate by ordering drugs online.
"Australians can order complementary medicines online and these can interfere with other medications. This means that providing people with the right information on its own may not be enough."
To help people make sense of what they find, Professor Coiera and Dr Annie Lau have developed a search engine interface they believe breaks down cognitive biases.
"The new search engine interface we have designed could be a part of any search engine and allows people to organise the information they find, and as a result organise their thoughts better," he said. "Often by going through things in a slightly more organised way it becomes pretty obvious what the answer really should be."
While the research was conducted in the area of health, Professor Coiera said the technology could be applied to other fields such as climate change.
- AAP
