Overview of different ways of searching the PubMed database: cross-searched with Entrez, basic search, author search, journal search, searching for special topics, single citation matching, and advanced search.

1. PubMed: Searching and Search Features Kay Cunningham Library Director Christian Brothers University August 2010

2. http://pubmed.gov PubMed is available free online from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It is one of a number NCBI resources, including: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, full text books, genetics databases, chemical information databases, and more. These can all be searched together with the Entrez cross-database searcher, also free, and available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Entrez/ However, advanced and specialized search features within PubMed give you more control over your search results. What you are looking for will determine the best tools for you to use.

3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery

4. Cross-Searching Results and Differences A problem with cross-searching is that different databases work in different ways so your results may not be the same if you used each database’s native interface. TIP: Using quotation marks forces most databases to search for a phrase. Notice the difference in the number of results.

6. With Basic Search , just start keying terms into the search box. In PubMed, there’s no need for you to use quotes, ANDs, ORs, or any special formatting. In Basic Search, PubMed helps you choose search terms. When you enter a word, an automatic list will be generated listing possibilities. Just select the one that you want.

7. Author Searching No special commands are needed to search for articles by an author, just input the person’s name this way (punctuation unnecessary): lastname initials PubMed recognizes that as the author format and auto-matically searches the author field. Note: PubMed finds an author, regardless of where he falls in the author list—first, middle, last.

8. Combining Multiple Concepts Simply string together any terms related to your search. Do not use ANDs or ORs, as that interferes with how PubMed translates a search. Order does not matter. If you want to see exactly what PubMed looked for, check out the Search Details for a translation.

9. Translation PubMed automatically and properly ANDs your search terms, and ORs any synonyms. Notice the original search at the bottom of the Details .

12. Journals Database Access the Journals Database from More Resources on PubMed’s Main Page ( http://pubmed.gov ) Additional URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/journals

13. Transfer the search to PubMed Once you’ve indentified the journal you want, click Links , then PubMed to activate a search.

14. Special Topics Some of these special topic links go deeper into PubMed; others go to external sites.

15. Clinical Queries Clinical Queries automatically retrieves and sorts results into categories.

16. Single-Citation Matcher If you have an incorrect or partial citation to an article, use the Single-Citation Matcher to search using citation elements. Mix and match as much as you need.

19. Other handouts PubMed: Basic Search, Limiting, and Scientific Journal Articles PubMed: Working with Results Lists My NCBI