Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
HeinOnline Specialist
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Main Search Bar
The main search bar is stationary throughout HeinOnline. After entering the Gun Regulation and Legislation in America database, the search bar will search within this database only. Click Search Help for a quick reference guide to commonly used search syntax, including wildcard (*) searches for variations of a word, such as "school" and/or "schools".
For example: Enter “mass shooting*” AND school* and select Just search for.
Results can be refined using the facets on the left side of the page. Available facets include date, document type, section type, subjects, and title. Terms matching the search query will appear in bold text within the matching text page snippets. Sort search results by relevance, volume date (oldest first or newest first), or title. Find cited-by information and tools, such as an instant PDF download, on the right side of each search result. Use the icons next to the Sort-by bar to modify your current search, to search within results, to toggle all matching text pages, or to turn OFF infinite scroll.
Advanced Search
Click the Advanced Search link located beneath the main search bar to perform a more specific search. Users can search various metadata fields such as text, title, creator/author, and description. For example, let's say a user wanted to search for a CRS Report written by Congressional Research Service member William J. Krouse pertaining to firearms. In the Author/Creator field, enter William J. Krouse. In the Title field, enter Firearms. Select CRS Reports from the Document Type box.
This search yields 24 results containing CRS reports written by William J. Krouse that include the word firearms in the title.
Using the Venn Diagram
Located within the Advanced Search tool is the Venn Diagram Search feature. Use the tool to visualize the results yield of various keywords and better refine a search. After selecting the tool, users will be redirected to a page with a search bar, instructions for its use, and a few example searches. With the Venn Diagram feature, users can simply search for multiple terms separated with the Boolean operator "AND."
Users will be redirected to a page with a search bar, instructions for its use, and a few example searches. For example, let's search using the terms: firearm* AND school* AND shooting*. Results display a Venn Diagram illustrating the various combinations of the search terms and their respective results yielded throughout all subscribed databases. The original search combining all three terms will appear by default, visually represented by the red intersection of all three circles in the diagram.
Select the Clear button above the diagram to be able to hover over the various options. Users will then see all possible search term combinations and their results as the cursor hovers over them. Click one of these highlighted circles or intersections to explore the results.
