OneSearch (which can searched below) is a search tool created by ECU Libraries designed to search all of the resources offered through ECU. It is a viable alternative to Google Scholar in that it limits to resources available through ECU Libraries and addresses many of the weaknesses present in Google Scholar.
Search/Sorting Functionality
While Google Scholar is easy to use; it does not allow the user to have a great deal of control or functionality in regard to his/her searches. OneSearch not only identifies popular, scholarly and peer-reviewed sources, but also allows users to limit their results by resource type (Newspapers, Journal Articles, Books, E-Books) and subject terms, thus allowing for more precise searching capability.
Access Recognition
Google Scholar holds a vast amount of materials including those held and not held through ECU Libraries. While Google Scholar can be set up to search ECU Library resources, it will still display results and citations that are not held through ECU Libraries, but that can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. OneSearch takes into account the journal subscriptions to which ECU Libraries subscribes and therefore searching OneSearch should generally result in content we provide access to either online or in print.
Coverage
Google Scholar posseses materials from many different publishers, but does not always clearly list the names of the publishers. Likewise, while the information found Google Scholar is very broad in terms of breadth and scope, Google Scholar does not reveal how often new materials are indexed nor how much of the materials come from respective publishers. Contrarily, OneSearch lists the names of publishers and databases and details the date ranges of the materials found therein. It also regularly provides notifications of changes and updates.