Freely available on the Internet, PubMed is a database developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine. Higly regarded by scientists, PubMed is the most comprehensive biomedical research database available.
PubMed provides access to more than 15 million citations and abstracts from nearly 5,000 biomedical and life science journals published in the U.S. and 70 foreign countries. PubMed also includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources; coverage extends from the 1950s to the present.

For more information or assistance on using PubMed, please see the PubMed HELP file or tutorials.

Each citation appear as a record containing searchable fields, including:

• author
• title source (journal)
• indexing terms known as Medical Subject Headings, or MeSHEach

Basic Search Techniques (Back to Top)

PubMed searching is relatively easy, just enter search terms in the query box, and press Enter or click Go. The Features bar is located directly beneath the query box provides access to additional search options. A very useful tutorial of the PubMed homepage is available at this web address: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m2002.html  The PubMed query box and Features bar are available from every screen, so you don't need to return to the homepage to enter a new search. Field Tags:
Use PubMed's search field tags to refine your search strategy. Enter the specific term qualified with the appropriate search field tag. Below is a list of some of the more frequently used PubMed search field tags with examples of how to use them. A complete list of search field tags is available in the Additional Search Commands Section, Search Field Descriptions and Tags in PubMed's Online Help. Common Field Tags:

Author Searching:
Enter the author's name in the format of last name first followed by initials (e.g., koshland me). Initials are optional. However, to search for an author in the author field when only the last name is available it's best to qualify the author name with the author search field tag [au].

Keyword Searching:
Enter one or more subject terms (e.g., molecular motors) in the query box and click Go. PubMed will search terms as phrases under the following circumstances:

Journal Searching:
To retrieve articles in a specific journal, enter the full journal title (e.g. Current Biology) or use the MEDLINE title abbreviation (e.g. curr biol) in the query box. Qualify single word journal titles using the Journal Title [ta] search field tag. (e.g. Cell [ta]). Truncation:
Use an asterisk (*) at the end of a search term to find multiple endings of a term. For example, bacter* retrieves bacteria, bacterium, bacteriophage, etc. Truncation turns off automatic term mapping and the automatic explosion of a MeSH term. Limits:
Click on 'Limits' on the Features bar to go to the Limits page. Using pull-down lists you can restrict the search to frequently used publication types such as review, or Entrez date, the date when a citation was added to the PubMed system. Use fill-in boxes if you want to restrict by publication date. Limits remain in effect until you remove the check to the left of 'Limits' on the Features bar. Limits other than language or date will exclude "records in process". A very useful tutorial explaining Limits is available at this address: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m4002.html  Boolean operators:
Use to combine terms or phrases. AND, OR, and NOT must be entered in UPPERCASE. PubMed processes all Boolean connectors in a left-to-right sequence. To change the order in which search statements are processed, enclose a concept in parentheses, e.g. "common cold" AND ("vitamin c" OR zinc). Terms inside a set of parentheses are processed as a unit and then incorporated into the overall strategy.

History:
Found on the Features bar, History holds all your search strategies and results. Combine searches or add additional terms to an existing search by using the pound sign (#) before the search number, e.g., #2 AND (#6 OR #3) AND microarray. A very useful tutorial explaining the History is available at this address: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m4006.html  Related Articles:
Clicking on the "related articles" link next to a citation will retrieve closely related citations. The original citation is always displayed first in the new list.

Clipboard:
The Clipboard is a place to collect selected citations from one search or several searches. Citations are added to the clipboard by selecting Clipboard from the "Send to" pulldown list. (see below). Once you have added items to the Clipboard, you can click on Clipboard from the Features bar to view your selections. Within the Clipboard you can Sort results by author, journal title, or publication date using a pulldown list. A very useful tutorial explaining the Clipboard is available at this address: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m4014.html 

Advanced Search Techniques (Back to Top)

MeSH [mh] or [majr]: MeSH is the acronym for "Medical Subject Headings." MeSH is the authority list of the vocabulary terms used for subject analysis of biomedical literature at the National Library of Medicine. The MeSH controlled vocabulary is a distinctive feature of MEDLINE, which imposes uniformity and consistency to the indexing of biomedical literature. The [majr] tag retrieves all MeSH terms that are marked as being of major importance in an article. Use either search field tag to search. For more information on MeSH, please see the Medical Subject Headings page at the National Library of Medicine.

• Example: asthma [majr] AND child [mh] AND english [la]

MeSH Database: Another approach to advanced searching is using the MeSH database. This is good for looking up official MeSH subject headings, and viewing relationships to other subject headings and subheadings.

Example 1: Looking up MeSH subject headings in PubMed
Example 2: Database finds the official MeSH subject heading: "Technology, Medical" 
and offers Suggestions and Subheadings
Example 3: Using the MeSH subject headings to find subheadings about specific-related topics.

Note: Searching with only MeSH terms will exclude  "MEDLINE record in process" citations as they have not yet been indexed with MeSH.

Explode feature: MeSH terms are automatically exploded by PubMed; that is, all terms which are logical subsets of the term entered are also included. For instance, vision disorders includes blindness. MeSH terms found using the "All Fields" search, however, are NOT exploded. If you want to turn off the automatic explosion enter the MeSH and qualify it with [mh:noexp].

Reading and Understanding PubMed Records (Back to Top)

PubMed abbreviates the journal titles of all articles that are indexed indexed in the database. To determine what the journal abbreviation stands for, you will need to search the Journals Database, which is located on the left of the screen PubMed Services. Simply type the abbreviation of the journal in the query box, and the database will translate it into the full name of the journal. For help understanding a PubMed citation, please see the sample record at the following address. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m3003.html  

Does Randall Library Own The Article Cited? (Back to Top)

The PubMed database is a stand alone database. This means that if you enter a search, PubMed will only tell you what has been published on the term(s) that you entered. You will then need to search the library's catalog to see if the library subscribes to the journal referencing your article. By searching the library's catalog, you will be able to determine if the library has print and/or electronic access to the journal referencing your article.

Example:

If Randall Library subscribes to that journal, you will then need to see if the library has the particular volume and issue of that journal in which your article appeared. If the library has the issue, you can then go retrieve it from the stacks or download it to your computer.

What if the Library doesn't own the journal in which your article was published? (Back to Top)

Use Randall Library's Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery service, and the library will order articles you need from another library. This is a FREE service for students, faculty, and staff at UNCW. You do not need to know which library owns the journal that you need. Simply login into your ILLiad account and provide us with the citation, and we'll obtain the article for you. It generally takes 3-4 days for the library to process your request and obtain the article, so don't wait until the last minute for materials that you need!

To access this service, please see Randall Library's homepage (http://library.uncwil.edu) and under the Library Services section click on the following: Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery

Last Update: December 12, 2005