Ask a Librarian

Hi!

Here's some tips for getting started w/ your research.

To access the library website from off-campus, first log in to MyCCP.  Then: 1) choose "Student Services" and 2) choose "Library" and then the "Library" link. Now you should be logged in correctly.

From here I would recommend searching with Summon (*).  Look for "Summon Search" under the "Books, Articles and More" tab.  Look below the "Search" button, and you'll see "Advanced Search", and choose this.  You'll see several search lines instead of just one.

Think about the key terms that represent your topic.  Often there is a location, a person or population, and a topic.  In this case, I would try searching: "Philadelphia" + "gun violence".  Put each term on it's own line.  Scroll down and check the "Full Text Online" box (under "Refine your search").  Now choose the Search button and look at your results.  Sometimes you can find good articles within the first 10-20, since they are listed by relevance.

...BUT, if you find that your results are not relevant to your topic, you can modify your search either by adding another term (such as "teenager") or by adding some filters.  I added filters to "Philadelphia" and "gun violence", and it made the results look pretty good.  I filtered the terms by ABSTRACT.  Doing this makes Summon look for your terms only in the ABSTRACT, or the summary, of each article, and this tends to make your results more relevant.  You can also try filtering your terms by TITLE, which gives less results but can produce an even better result.

I hope this is helpful.  Come visit us in the LLC if you'd like help from a librarian, or use Ask a Librarian again.

Best,

-Chris Wieman  (he/him)

Systems Librarian / Assistant Professor

Need Help? Ask a Librarian / Schedule an Appointment with Me

cwieman@ccp.edu | 215-751-8402

(*) - (If you'd like to see a short demo of Summon, this video will help you get started using Summon: https://bit.ly/2E7bj7f)