About OneSearch
What is OneSearch?
OneSearch is a simple and fast search engine that allows you to search simultaneously for books, articles, and more. OneSearch brings together the article-level content of a large selection of our subscribed e-journals and databases, our library catalog, OSCAR, and our digital library collections in a single search interface.
Why should I use OneSearch?
OneSearch can:
- save you time
- be a good starting point for interdisciplinary research
- help you to discover which specialized databases to use for further research
- display most relevant results first, whether they are books, scholarly articles, media, or digital content
- help you to discover content that you won’t find if you only search OSCAR or if you only search a single database like Academic Search Complete
How do I use OneSearch?
Enter keywords in the single search box just as you would in an internet search engine. It's not unusual for searches to return thousands of results, but you can refine your search using the options on the left side of your results screen, such as content type, subject or date. For a more specific search, use the advanced search option.
What can I find with OneSearch?
OneSearch includes over 1 million items, including books, journal articles, conference proceedings, audio/visual media, dissertations, reports, and other research resources in subscription journals and databases. OneSearch provides direct links to full-text items where available. You will also find:
- OSCAR records for books, journals, government documents, maps, scores, and media in all formats
- Articles from scholarly and peer-reviewed journals
- Newspaper and Magazine articles
- SCU Digital Library materials
What is the difference between OneSearch and OSCAR Simple Search?
OneSearch has both more content and better functionality than OSCAR Simple Search. Like Simple Search, OneSearch orders results by relavance, but with the added benefit of including content like articles, digitized content, and other resources that until now, had to be searched separately through separate databases.
I’m a faculty member. Why should I tell my students to use OneSearch?
Students often ask us questions like this: "My professor told me to read a speech Barack Obama gave in 2004 called, "Reclaiming the Promise to the People." I typed the title into OSCAR (or in Google) and I couldn't find the full-text of the speech." This is a common challenge for a student - or for anyone: If you don't start your research with the right resource, it’s easy to get frustrated and give up. With OneSearch, a student doesn't need to know which library database to go to first. A search in OneSearch for the title of the speech will take you to the link to the full-text of the speech, to which Santa Clara's University Library provides access through its paid subscriptions to the EBSCO database Business Source Complete.
Does it include everything that the library owns?
At this point, OneSearch does not search all databases to which SCU subscribes. For example, it does not include non web-based databases, ones that are available on CD-ROM, or those that require access from dedicated workstations. In addition, some SCU databases are not included in OneSearch at this time due to publisher restrictions, such as WestLaw and HeinOnline. Those databases can be searched as separate resources. More content will be added to OneSearch as it becomes available.
Who can use OneSearch?
Anyone can get a list of results by using OneSearch, but access to full-text content is restricted to SCU faculty, staff, and currently enrolled students. Patrons coming from an off-campus location through a commercial Internet service provider will need to provide their SCU Network login and password.
How and why did OneSearch change on December 14, 2015?
We have heard a lot of feedback about OneSearch and about both its potential and the challenges that it has presented both to students and faculty. This past year, the staff of the two libraries worked together to look at other library catalog options that might better meet the needs of our community and we've selected one that will offer some significant improvements in terms of usability. In addition, this new version will leverage our existing relationship with EBSCO (who provides many of our databases and electronic journals) to ensure that links from OneSearch to articles and databases will be substantially more likely to succeed.
What if I have some ideas on how OneSearch could be better?
We welcome and strongly encourage your comments to help us improve this service.
I have some more questions. Who can I ask?
Ask us! If it's been asked before, you'll get the answer immediately. If it's a new question, you'll receive a reply within 1 business day.