How can i use pubmed

This box will display how each term has been searched, and can be useful for editing your search. Corrections can be made directly within this box, and once corrections have been made, the search button beneath the box will re-run your search. PubMed will default to explode any MeSH you search. Terms are chosen by MeSH indexers to be the primary focus of an individual article. Command to search: [majr] e. Major topic MeSH terms will have an asterisks e.

MeSH can be made more specific by the addition of subheadings such as "therapy" and "prevention and control". When in the MeSH record, add subheadings by clicking on the boxes next to the desired subheadings. Then click "Add to Search Builder. You can also use the two letter abbreviation for subheadings rather than typing out the full phrase, e.

Click here for the abbreviations of other MeSH subheadings. As with MeSH terms, PubMed search results, by default, include the more specific terms arranged beneath broader terms for the MeSH term and also includes the more specific terms arranged beneath broader Subheadings. A comprehensive and systematic search of PubMed includes both controlled vocabulary and keyword terms i. Boolean operators are used to combine search terms.

This is where your search history is located during your search session. OR --use OR between similar keywords, like synonyms, acronyms, and variations in spelling within the same idea or concept. AND —use AND to link ideas and concepts where you want to see both ideas or concepts in your search results.

NOT —used to exclude specific keywords from the search, however, you will want to use NOT with caution because you may end up missing something important. You can use field tags to specify where the database looks for the search term. In PubMed, first type the search term and then the field tag in brackets. Cardiology [TIAB] looks for cardiology in the title and abstract. The PubMed database contains more than 33 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature.

It does not include full text journal articles; however, links to the full text are often present when available from other sources, such as the publisher's website or PubMed Central PMC. Citations in PubMed primarily stem from the biomedicine and health fields, and related disciplines such as life sciences, behavioral sciences, chemical sciences, and bioengineering.

Debby Wegener. Email Me. How to find a known ARTICLE Search by article title - copy the article title into the search box Enter the citation elements you have author, title words, journal, volume, year, etc.

From the Publisher Journal publishers or related organizations may provide access to articles for free, for free after registering as an individual or guest, or for a fee. We are grateful to the National Library of Medicine for allowing us to use and edit their guide.

Report a problem. Tags: Home , Howto. Keywords can be single words or phrases. Use quotes around all phrases to ensure that the phrase is searched together. Also consider using synonyms, acroynyms, initialisms, variations in spelling, and other closely-related terms used interchangeably to describe the topic.

Keyword Generation Keywords can be generated by:. From the Search Manager tab, you can use field tags to specify where the database looks for the search term. In Cochrane, first type the search term and then the field tag preceded by a colon. The Cochrane Library will display your search in tabs by systematic reviews and clinical trials.

You can also click on the filter icon next to your search to limit by year. You can also use a? Use the wildcard character with the NEXT operator to match all variations of a term. Terms with spelling variations that include diphthongs should be searched with a wildcard character to ensure that all forms of a term are matched. Some more common terms with diphthongs such as "haemorrhage" are automatically matched to their variant spellings through stemming.

For all fields except Author, accented characters are not matched by their equivalent unaccented form. If entering an accented term in the search box, also include the unaccented version with an OR operator to match all cases. A question mark can be used to search for a single character.

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Expert Searching. What Should I Document? Why Document the Search?

When to Use PubMed 2. PubMed Cool Tools 3. How to Use Keywords 5. PubMed Pro Tips 6. Combining Search Terms and Concepts 7. Saving Your Searches 8. PDF Printable Handout 9. PubMed Practice When to Use Embase 2. Embase Cool Tools 3. How to Use Emtree Controlled Vocabulary 4. Embase Pro Tips 6. When to Use the Cochrane Library 2.

Cochrane Library Cool Tools 3. Cochrane Library Pro Tips 6. Printable PDF Handout 9. Literature Searching Services. How Can the Library Help? A literature search consultation might include one or more of the following: Refining the research topic to an answerable question Recommending information sources or databases for the search topic Identifying relevant search terms Creating and executing search strategies Suggesting reference management software and strategies An informationist can also provide you with an expert search, which may include: Refinement of the search question Search term identification Identification of sources and databases to be searched Search strategy formulation and documentation Execution of searches Are you interested in performing a systematic review?

Do you want to meet with an informationist? Browse this document to prepare for electronic submission of the literature review request form linked above. Before You Meet With Your Informationist A meeting with an informationist will be most beneficial for you if you first do a little bit of planning and searching on your own.

Prior to meeting with an informationist, we recommend that you: Have a clear and concise understanding of your research question Be prepared to discuss the scope of your project, including limits on the body of literature Brainstorm search terms associated with your topics acronyms, synonyms, and variations on spelling Note any relevant literature you have found so far.

Literature Review Process. The Literature Review Process There are eight distinct steps that will assist you in moving through a literature search. Write down your topic in a way to identify the key concepts and issues that you want to address.

Although it is not necessary to use all elements of the PICO in the search strategy, this will help you frame the topic into a translatable framework. Do some background research to see what's already been written about the topic. You may find it helpful to search books and journals through the library catalog, as well as databases that may be relevant to your topic. Narrow down the topic, if necessary. You may find that the original question is too broad.

After you have done the background research, you will have a better idea of what specifically you are interested in.

Decide on the scope and nature of your review. What types of research are you interested in? Are you prepared to do title and abstract screening? What are you hoping to address with your research? Create and execute your database searches. Searching is an iterative process, so you may need to test and refine before setting on your final search strategy. Your search strategy should use a combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary terms to represent each concept of your research topic.

Examine and evaluate your results to make sure that they could potentially answer your research question. This is the point to make changes before proceeding. Export and screen your results. Using a citation manager will allow you to remove duplicates when you screen. Your informationist can also recommend screening software and strategies. For more information on using a citation manager, see our citation management guide.

Extrapolate the data and evidence to draw conclusions about your research topic. Clinical Search Building Worksheets. This worksheet bundle consists of step-by-step forms you can use to build and document your search using the PICO Research Question Framework. Putting the Search Together For more on combining search terms and concepts, see our page on Combining Search Concepts. Formulating Your Research Question. Work with an informationist to search relevant sources to see what's been written about your topic so far.

Consider your audience. Who might be interested in this issue? Pro Tips Identify a framework that works for your topic and stick with it. Aim for clarity. Start documentation to keep all your ideas in one place. Get input from collaborators, peers, and mentors. Consult with an informationist so that you can complete a thorough search of existing research.

Selected Bibliography Farrugia, P. Practical tips for surgical research: Research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Canadian Journal of Surgery, 53 4 , — Hanson B. Designing, conducting and reporting clinical research. A step by step approach. Injury, 37 7 , — Which Databases to Use. Which Databases to Use? Database vs. Platform Database A database indexes individual records with metadata.

Platform A platform is a search interface. Note Be sure to keep sufficient records of your database searches so that you can appropriately report your search methodology. Subject Databases Different databases cover different content areas. Choosing Search Terms. Controlled Vocabulary Controlled vocabularies are a set of predetermined terms that describe specific concepts. Embase's Emtree: 'chronic kidney failure'. Keywords Keywords are the words used in an article title, abstract, or other text field in a database.

Here are a few reasons: Not every database uses a controlled vocabulary Scopus and Web of Science are two examples Each database has its own controlled vocabulary terms If an article is too new , it may not be indexed with controlled vocabulary yet, and you would only find it with keywords In PubMed, if an article is out of scope of MEDLINE , a component of PubMed, it may not ever be indexed with MeSH PubMed's controlled vocabulary , and you would only find it with keywords If an article lacks an abstract or additional author-supplied keywords , you may only find it with controlled vocabulary If you want to be as comprehensive as possible, search with both controlled vocabulary and keywords.

Alternative Method for Finding Controlled Vocabulary Terms Do a basic keyword search and choose a few citations that are relevant to your research question Make a note of any keywords used in the article title or citation you may wish to add to your current list of keywords Examine the full citation information for each article to find the controlled vocabulary terms assigned and write them down Redo your search using both the controlled vocabulary and keyword terms Avoid Stopwords In bibliographic databases, stop words are words that the database has been programmed to ignore in a search string or query.

Combining Search Terms. Boolean Operators: Combining Your Search Terms Boolean operators form the basis of mathematical sets and database logic. Example: "children" AND "poverty" OR Use OR between similar keywords, like synonyms, acronyms, and variations in spelling within the same idea or concept. The area in blue on the diagram highlights the recall of the search when OR is used to combine words or concepts.

As you can see, OR broadens the search. The area in blue on the diagram shows the search results that you will get when you combine two concepts using NOT. As you can see, NOT is used to make broad exclusions. In our example, any article that discusses both "pediatrics" as well as "adults" will be excluded. Example: "pediatrics" NOT "adults". Proximity and Adjacency Proximity and adjacency operators allow you to search for words next to or near each other.

Finding Spelling Variations. Truncation Truncation allows you to find multiple spelling variations of a keyword in your search. Wildcards Using a wildcard in a search term allows you to substitute a symbol for a letter in a word.

Examples: wom! Search by Parts of a Citation. What are Database Fields? Examples of citation fields:. Searching With Field Tags An alternative way to search for terms in a specific field of a citation is to add a "Field Tag" to your search terms. Limiting a Search with Filters. Limiting a Search with Filters Many databases allow you to apply filters to limit to your search. Below, you will find just a few examples of filters and limits in frequently-used databases.