Google Scholar

Library Databases (UNI-Search!) compared to Google Scholar

UNI-Search! and Google Scholar are both search engines that let you quickly search across a massive index of scholarly information.

UNI-Search! and Google Scholar search different bodies of scholarly content and perform relevance ranking in very different ways. You will find some content overlap, but there is content in UNI-Search! that you will not find in Google Scholar and vice-versa.  

Features unique to the UNI-Search!

• Results are reflective of Quimby Library's collection — as a Unity Environmental University student or staff member, you have access to everything you can find using the search box.
• Find print/physical material in the Library collection — UNI-Search! contains our Library Catalog (Minerva) records and can be used for finding books and movies in the library.
• Link out to the other Minerva and MaineCat libraries to find and borrow materials from many other libraries within the state.
• Useful search limiters:
  • “Unity has it!”
  • “Peer Reviewed” - limits results to materials that are peer reviewed
  • “Full text" - limits the results to materials available with full text
• Saved Items — email, print, cite, export

Features unique to Google Scholar

• “Cited by” information — e.g. “Cited by 402 publications"
• Google Books content - Note: May not have full-text online. If not owned by Quimby Library, these books can be borrowed.

For more details about the differences about databases and the internet, view our Databases vs. Internet page on The Research Process guide.