\section{Method\label{sec:metho}} \subsection{Research design\label{sec:metho:research_design}} % Stikkord: % observational study % browser-based network measurements % same searches across search engines % comparison between search engines, browsers, and network modes \subsection{Test environment\label{sec:metho:test_environment}} % Stikkord: % operating system / controlled environment % Playwright % Chromium and Firefox % normal network and Tor proxy % clean browser context % cookies allowed % same wait condition and timeout \subsection{Search engines and search queries\label{sec:metho:search_engines}} % Stikkord: % Google % Bing % DuckDuckGo % Brave Search % list of search queries % same query used across all engines \subsection{Variables and measurements\label{sec:metho:Variables_measurements}} % Stikkord: % requests_total % unique_domains % third_party_requests % request_cookies_total % response_cookies_total % query_params_total % post_requests_total % tracking_hint_requests % transferred_kb_approx % page_load_ms % HTTP status groups \subsection{Data collection\label{sec:metho:data_collection}} % Stikkord: % HAR files % one HAR file per search engine/query/browser/network mode % capture_search_har script % headed browser % wait-until load % timeout 60000 ms % Tor via SOCKS proxy where applicable \subsection{Data processing\label{sec:metho:data_processing}} % Stikkord: % HAR files converted to CSV % har_entries.csv: one row per HAR entry/request % har_summary.csv: one row per HAR file % Power Query used to combine summary files % folder names used to identify browser/network mode \subsection{Limitations of the method\label{sec:metho:limitations}} % Stikkord: % HAR shows observable browser-side traffic only % cannot prove server-side storage % Playwright may differ from manual browsing % Tor may change website behaviour % cookie consent state affects results % tracking_hint is keyword-based, not proof of tracking