Maximum generable interest: A universal standard for Google Trends search queries

• Published in: Healthcare analytics (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 3; p. 100158
• Main Authors: Springer, Steffen, Strzelecki, Artur, Zieger, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2023; The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc; Elsevier
• Subjects: Google Trends; Infodemiology; Infoveillance; Maximum generable interest; Search engine data; Universal reference; Google Trends; Universal reference; Search engine data; Maximum generable interest; Infodemiology; Infoveillance
• ISSN: 2772-4425; 2772-4425
• DOI: 10.1016/j.health.2023.100158

The coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic represents a health event with far-reaching global consequences, triggering a strong search interest in related topics on the Internet worldwide. The use of search engine data has become commonplace in research, but a universal standard for comparing different works is desirable to simplify the comparison. The coronavirus pandemic’s enormous impact and media coverage have triggered an exceptionally high search interest. Consequently, the maximum generable interest (MGI) on coronavirus is proposed as a universal reference for objectifying and comparing relative search interest in the future. This search interest can be explored with search engine data such as Google Trends data. Additional standards for medium and low search volumes can also be used to reflect the search interest of topics at different levels. Size standards, such as reference to MGI, may help make research more comparable and better evaluate relative search volumes. This study presents a framework for this purpose using the example of stroke. •Use of search engine data has become commonplace, but a universal standard for comparing research is desirable.•Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a strong search interest in related topics on the Internet.•Maximum generable interest (MGI) is introduced as a universal standard for Google Trends search queries.•Complementary to MGI, graded search interest standards are proposed for Google Trends search comparability.•Size standards may help make research more comparable and better evaluate relative search volumes.