PubMed

General Information
 * PubMed (click here for Fact Sheet) is a freely accessible online database of biomedical journal citations created by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. MEDLINE (featuring MeSH headings) is the largest component of PubMed.
 * Entrez is the database and retrieval system developed and used by NCBI to access numerous databases, including PubMed. There are also many alternate interfaces for the PubMed database.
 * Sign up for My NCBI to save searches and results, create special search filters, and more.

**PubMed Searching - step by step** 1. Search using keywords and MeSH terms
 * When you enter keywords into the initial search box, PubMed will search for them in citation titles and abstracts. **PubMed will also map your terms to appropriate MeSH headings**. Scroll down the result list page to view your search //**Details**// in the sidebar on the right.
 * Click **//See More...//** for easier editing of your search (pay attention to parentheses!).




 * If you use quotation marks to bind your search terms (e.g., //"breast cancer"//), or truncate your term (e.g., //neuro*// to include //neurology//, //neurological//, //neurophysiology//, etc.), you will "turn off" the automatic term mapping feature in PubMed, and your terms will be searched only as text words.




 * Under **PubMed Tools** in the center of the search screen, click **Clinical Queries** to target your search for articles that report applied clinical research (evidence-based medicine).


 * The **MeSH** Database is one option in the pull-down menu immediately above the search box. Select this database to focus your search terms. PubMed will match your keywords to specific subject headings, allowing you to choose one or more to use in your search.

**Tips for searching with MeSH terms:**


 * When searching multiple concepts, it may be easier to search each term separately, then combine your search results using the numbered searches listed in your **//Search History//**. You can see your Search History in the //**Advanced Search**// view.
 * Select MeSH terms using the checkbox to the left of the term, then "send" the term to your search box using the drop down menu at the top of your screen (see below).
 * To narrow your search using specific subheadings of a topic, and/or to view the MeSH tree (terms surrounding your term in the MeSH hierarchy), click on the hyperlinked term (highlighted words to the right of the checkboxes).
 * When you are searching the MeSH database, you are searching for terms - you will not retrieve any article citations until you **send the term to the search box** and **search PubMed**.

2. Limiting your search results
 * There are numerous options for limiting your search results (by date, type of article, language, journal subset, etc.) in PubMed - click //**Limits**// to select options.
 * Be sure to **limit by date** or **sort** your result list by //Pub Date//; the default display lists articles most recently added to the PubMed database, which are not always recently published.

3. Result lists and locating articles
 * Remember that PubMed results are listed last in, first out - so you will need to **sort** your results by Pub Date if you are looking for the most recent research.
 * PubMed links you to free full text for some articles. Many others are available through our OhioLINK resources - click "Find It" to connect directly to text available through other databases.

=Additional tutorials are available through PubMed Help (Quick Tours).=

Happy searching!