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In this article, I assess the viability of a new data source\u2014Google web search data\u2014for use in social science research. Such data, when collected and applied appropriately, offer a unique lens through which information on patterns of information seeking can be drawn. I examine data on the final phase of the 2012 US presidential election and present findings along two lines. First, sensitivity tests demonstrate that web search information can proxy for public opinion. Second, testing of hypotheses finds that candidate presence on the campaign trail, although generally correlated with increased interest in political issue, is subject to media- and event-specific modifying effects. These findings underline this article\u2019s principal contention that web search data are a viable resource for scholars of political communication.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1461444814567985","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,21]],"date-time":"2015-01-21T22:04:08Z","timestamp":1421877848000},"page":"1680-1697","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Thinking inside the (black) box: Agenda setting, information seeking, and the marketplace of ideas in the 2012 presidential election"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Christopher E","family":"Whyte","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"George Mason University, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,1,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1461444814567985","volume-title":"Information and Elections","author":"Alvarez RM","year":"2001"},{"issue":"4","key":"bibr2-1461444814567985","first-page":"901","volume":"93","author":"Atkin C","year":"1976","journal-title":"Public Opinion Quarterly"},{"key":"bibr3-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2111700"},{"key":"bibr4-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-5907.2008.00348.x"},{"key":"bibr5-1461444814567985","volume-title":"Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America","author":"Berinsky AJ","year":"2004"},{"key":"bibr6-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.urology.2011.01.010"},{"key":"bibr7-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2111699"},{"key":"bibr8-1461444814567985","volume-title":"The American Campaign: U.S. Presidential Campaigns and the National Vote","author":"Campbell JE","year":"2000"},{"key":"bibr9-1461444814567985","volume-title":"Democracy and Its Critics","author":"Dahl RA","year":"1989"},{"key":"bibr10-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/257897"},{"key":"bibr11-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1015006907312"},{"key":"bibr12-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781139175005"},{"key":"bibr13-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2132225"},{"key":"bibr14-1461444814567985","volume-title":"The voice of the people: Public opinion and democracy","author":"Fishkin J","year":"1995"},{"key":"bibr15-1461444814567985","volume-title":"Social Cognition","author":"Fiske S","year":"1991"},{"key":"bibr16-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1540-5907.00018"},{"key":"bibr17-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.0092-5853.2004.00098.x"},{"key":"bibr18-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0007123400006682"},{"key":"bibr19-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature07634"},{"key":"bibr20-1461444814567985","volume-title":"Political Advertising in 2000","author":"Goldstein K","year":"2002"},{"key":"bibr21-1461444814567985","first-page":"1","volume":"16","author":"Goldthorpe J","year":"1997","journal-title":"Comparative Social Research"},{"key":"bibr22-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1540-5907.00041"},{"key":"bibr23-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-5907.2005.00149.x"},{"key":"bibr24-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-5907.2007.00291.x"},{"key":"bibr25-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511756207"},{"key":"bibr26-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/0162288041762940"},{"key":"bibr27-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02614.x"},{"key":"bibr28-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-5907.2011.00522.x"},{"key":"bibr29-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2952076"},{"key":"bibr30-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511791048"},{"key":"bibr31-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9221.2005.00410.x"},{"key":"bibr32-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1532673X03260581"},{"key":"bibr33-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14616700500250438"},{"key":"bibr34-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/j.1538-165X.2008.tb00622.x"},{"key":"bibr35-1461444814567985","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/17457289.2013.846346"},{"key":"bibr36-1461444814567985","unstructured":"Mohebbi M, Vanderkam D, Kodysh J, (2011) Google Correlate Whitepaper. 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