{"id":2788,"date":"2020-07-24T11:02:34","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T09:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/?post_type=team&p=2788"},"modified":"2026-03-19T13:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:39:16","slug":"schultheiss","status":"publish","type":"team","link":"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/de\/team\/schultheiss\/","title":{"rendered":"Sebastian Schulthei\u00df"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Sebastian Schulthei\u00df is a Research Associate at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) within the Search Studies research group. As an information scientist, his research focuses on commercial search engines from a user perspective, specifically examining how search engine marketing, search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a>, and AI-generated content influence user behavior and society. His research has <\/span>been published<\/span> in leading journals such as the <\/span>Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology<\/span><\/em> (JASIST), <\/span>Journal of Documentation<\/span><\/em>, and <\/span>Journal of Information Science<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

His academic work investigates the development and empirical testing of information search behavior <\/span>models<\/span>, with a particular interest in how commercial influences affect user knowledge <\/span>gain<\/span>.<\/span> To conduct this research, he employs a diverse range of social research methods, including eye-tracking, laboratory behavioral studies, interviews, and representative online surveys. He is also a key contributor to the sustainability of the Result Assessment Tool (RAT)<\/a>, a specialized software toolkit <\/span>designed to empower<\/span> search engine data analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sebastian Schulthei\u00df recently completed his doctoral candidacy<\/a> at the Humboldt University of Berlin with the distinction of <\/span>summa cum laude<\/span><\/em>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond his research, he <\/span>is actively involved<\/span> in the academic community as a steering committee member of the Search Engines and Society Network (SEASON)<\/a> and as a frequent peer reviewer<\/a> for major conferences <\/span>including<\/span> CHIIR, ECIR, and the ASIS&T Annual Meeting. <\/span>At HAW Hamburg, he teaches Bachelor\u2019s and <\/span>Master\u2019s level<\/span> courses on topics ranging from the quality of AI-generated information to information search behavior and research data management.<\/span> He is a recipient of the Gerhard Lustig Award for the best Master\u2019s Thesis in Information Science (2017\u20132020).<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sebastian’s curriculum vitae (CV) as of March 2026:<\/p>\n

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Publikationen<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/span><\/i> Artikel in begutachteten Zeitschriften<\/a><\/h3>
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Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2025). Becoming visible with limited resources: Non-profit journalists\u2019 perspectives on search engine optimization.<\/b> PLoS One 20(4): e0322573. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0322573<\/a><\/p>\n

H\u00e4u\u00dfler, H.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2023). Is googling risky? A study on risk perception and experiences of adverse consequences in web search. <\/b> Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 1-14. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/asi.24802<\/a> <\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D.; Mach, S.; Yagci, N. (2023). Query sampler: generating query sets for analyzing search engines using keyword research tools. <\/b> PeerJ Computer Science. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7717\/peerj-cs.1421<\/a> <\/p>\n

Lewandowski, D., & Schulthei\u00df, S. (2022). Public awareness and attitudes towards search engine optimization<\/b>. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1\u201320. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/0144929X.2022.2056507<\/a>; Preprint<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2021). \u2018Outside the industry, nobody knows what we do\u2019: SEO as seen by search engine optimizers and content providers<\/b>. Journal of Documentation 77(2), 542-557. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/JD-07-2020-0127<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2021). How users\u2019 knowledge of advertisements influences their viewing and selection behaviour in search engines<\/b>. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology 72(3), 285-301. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/asi.24410<\/a><\/p>\n

Lewandowski, D.; S\u00fcnkler, S.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; H\u00e4u\u00dfler, H.; Spree, U.; Behnert, C. (2021). The Search Studies Group at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences<\/b>. Datenbank Spektrum. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13222-021-00375-x<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2021). Misplaced trust? The relationship between trust, ability to identify commercially influenced results, and search engine preference<\/b>. Journal of Information Science. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/01655515211014157<\/a> <\/p>\n

Lewandowski, D.; S\u00fcnkler, S.; Schulthei\u00df, S. (2020). Studies on Search: Designing Meaningful IIR Studies on Commercial Search Engines<\/b>. Datenbank Spektrum 20(1), 5-15. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13222-020-00331-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Linhart, A.; Behnert, C.; Rulik, I.; Lewandowski, D. (2020). Known-item searches and search tactics in library search systems: Results from four transaction log analysis studies<\/b>. Journal of Academic Librarianship 46(5), article 102202. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.acalib.2020.102202<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S., S\u00fcnkler, S., & Lewandowski, D. (2018). We still trust in Google, but less than 10 years ago: an eye-tracking study<\/b>. Information Research 23(3). Preprint<\/a><\/p>\n

Kerkmann, F., S\u00fcnkler, S., & Schulthei\u00df, S. (2017). Die Suche nach dem \u201eWie\u2026\u201c \u2013 Tutorials als Gegenstand der Suche<\/b>. Wissenschaft & Praxis 68(1), 58\u201366.<\/p>\n\n <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/i> Artikel in Tagungsb\u00e4nden<\/a><\/h3>
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S\u00fcnkler, S.; Bilir, K.; Kumar, T.; Koop, O.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D.; (2026). Result Assessment Tool (RAT): An Open-Source Toolkit for Conducting Studies based on Search Results.<\/b> In: CHIIR '26: Proceedings of the 2026 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3786304.3787925<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Niemann, K.; Lewandowski, D.; (2026). Bias or Balance? Analyzing Stance in Google and Bing Results for the 2024 EU Parliament Election.<\/b> In: CHIIR '26: Proceedings of the 2026 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3786304.3788849<\/a><\/p>\n

S\u00fcnkler S.; Yagci, N.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; von Mach, S.; Lewandowski, D.; (2024) Result Assessment Tool Software to Support Studies Based on Data from Search Engines<\/b> In: Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-3-031-56069-9_19<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S. (2023). How search engine marketing influences user knowledge gain. Development and empirical testing of an information search behavior model<\/b>. CHIIR '23: ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3576840.3578297<\/a>; Preprint<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; S\u00fcnkler, S.; Yagci, N.; Sygulla, D.; von Mach, S.; Lewandowski, D.; (2023). Simplify your Search Engine Research : wie das Result Assessment Tool (RAT) Studien auf der Basis von Suchergebnissen unterst\u00fctzt.<\/b> In: Proceedings des 17. Internationalen Symposiums f\u00fcr Informationswissenschaft (ISI 2023), 429-437. PDF proceedings<\/a>; PDF article<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; S\u00fcnkler, S.; Yagci, N.; Sygulla, D.; von Mach, S.; Lewandowski, D.; (2023). Result Assessment Tool (RAT): A Software Toolkit for Conducting Studies Based on Search Results.<\/b> In: Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pra2.972<\/a><\/p>\n

S\u00fcnkler, S.; Yagci, N.; Sygulla, D.; von Mach, S.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D.; (2023). Result Assessment Tool (RAT): Software-Toolkit f\u00fcr die Durchf\u00fchrung von Studien auf der Grundlage von Suchergebnissen.<\/b> In: Proceedings des 17. Internationalen Symposiums f\u00fcr Informationswissenschaft (ISI 2023), 438-444. PDF proceedings <\/a>; PDF article<\/a><\/p>\n

H\u00e4u\u00dfler, H.; Schulthei\u00df, S.; S\u00fcnkler, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2022). From knowing to showing : Using marking tasks to demonstrate information literacy in practice<\/b>. 2022 ASIS&T 24-Hour Conference. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.6406802<\/a><\/p>\n

Lewandowski, D., Schulthei\u00df, S., S\u00fcnkler, S. (2022). Ein\ufb02\u00fcsse auf die Ergebnisse kommerzieller Suchmaschinen: Modellbildung und empirische Ergebnisse<\/b>. Informationswissenschaft im Wandel. Wissenschaftliche Tagung 2022 (IWWT22), D\u00fcsseldorf. PDF proceedings<\/a>; PDF article<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; H\u00e4u\u00dfler, H.; Lewandowski, D. (2022). Does Search Engine Optimization come along with high-quality content?: A comparison between optimized and non-optimized health-related web pages<\/b>. CHIIR '22: ACM SIGIR Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval, 123\u2013134. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3498366.3505811<\/a>; Preprint<\/a>; YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

S\u00fcnkler, S., Yagci, N., Sygulla, D., von Mach, S., Schulthei\u00df, S. Lewandowski, D. (2022). Result Assessment Tool: Software zur Durchf\u00fchrung von Studien auf der Basis von Suchergebnissen<\/b>. Informationswissenschaft im Wandel. Wissenschaftliche Tagung 2022 (IWWT22), D\u00fcsseldorf. PDF proceedings<\/a>; PDF article<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S.; Lewandowski, D. (2021). (Un)bekannte Akteure auf der Suchergebnisseite? Ein Vergleich zwischen selbst eingescha\u0308tzter und tatsa\u0308chlich vorhandener Suchmaschinenkompetenz deutscher InternetnutzerInnen<\/b>. In: T. Schmidt, C. Wolff (Hrsg.): Information between Data and Knowledge. Information Science and its Neighbors from Data Science to Digital Humanities. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium of Information Science (ISI 2021), 218-246. https:\/\/www.doi.org\/10.5283\/epub.44946<\/a><\/p>\n

Schulthei\u00df, S. (2021). Der Einfluss des Verst\u00e4ndnisses von Suchmaschinenwerbung auf das Rechercheverhalten am PC und am mobilen Endger\u00e4t: Eine Nutzerstudie [Extended Abstract]<\/b>. In: T. Schmidt, C. Wolff (Hrsg.): Information between Data and Knowledge. Information Science and its Neighbors from Data Science to Digital Humanities. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium of Information Science (ISI 2021), 461-467. https:\/\/www.doi.org\/10.5283\/EPUB.44964<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/i> Magazinbeitr\u00e4ge<\/a><\/h3>
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Schulthei\u00df, S., & Lewandowski, D. (2021). Google search results\u2014They\u2019re all the same, right?<\/b>. Information Matters. Vol.1, Issue 11. https:\/\/informationmatters.org\/2021\/11\/google-search-results-theyre-all-the-same-right\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span><\/i> Open data<\/a><\/h3>
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Schulthei\u00df, S., & Lewandowski, D. (2022). Data set of a representative online survey on search engines with a focus on search engine optimization (SEO): a cross-sectional study<\/b>. F1000Research, 11(376). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.109662.2<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":250,"template":"","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"team_cat":[342,202],"yoast_head":"\nSebastian Schulthei\u00df - Search Studies Research Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sebastian Schulthei\u00df is a research associate and lecturer at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/de\/team\/schultheiss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sebastian Schulthei\u00df - Search Studies Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sebastian Schulthei\u00df is a research associate and lecturer at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/de\/team\/schultheiss\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Search Studies Research Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T12:39:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/conf_talk-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1923\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/team\/schultheiss\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/searchstudies.org\/team\/schultheiss\/\",\"name\":\"Sebastian Schulthei\u00df - 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