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Research Guides

Drew it Better: PubMed, Medline and more: PubMed

A guide with details about these resources and how they are used and can be useful to researchers

About PubMed

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It's simple! To search PubMed, simply enter your search topics - one or more terms - without punctuation -- and click Search. 

>  PubMed's Automatic Term Mapping (ATM) takes your keyword(s) and links them to related subject headings to help retrieve relevant articles. Punctuation (like quotations marks around a phrase) will disable ATM, so leave it out unless you want a specific search.
> Want to see what exactly was searched? Use the Best Match Search Information box to learn what term(s) were added to your search by PubMed.  

Other Helpful tips:

PubMed can

1) be searched using MeSH terms, author names, title words, text words or phrases, journal names, or any combination of these.

​​2) can detect if you typed in an author's name or a journal title, executing the correct type of search.

3) the search box offers an autocomplete function and the spell checker suggests variant spellings with your results.

The Advanced link provides two options to refine a search:

1. Use the PubMed Advanced Search Builder to create a search using AND, OR, or NOT. Apply a specific field to your term using the drop down menu. The Show Index List displays the search field index and the number of citations for each term. 

2. History tracks and numbers each of your previous search strategies. Click on “Add to Builder” to add previous searches to your Advanced Search Builder. 

Video tutorials - PubMed

The short video below begins where information is shared about new features in PubMed. Questions? Contact the Library at reference@drew.edu. 
More effective ways to search PubMed are explored in the short video below. Take a look! Questions? Contact the Library at reference@drew.edu. 
Proximity searching can be an effective way to sort through the literature. View the short video below (4:02) to learn how to do that effectively in PubMed. Questions? Contact the Library at reference@drew.edu.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) are a powerful tool when searching PubMed--but there are tricks to it. View short video below for helpful tips. NOTE: the PubMed interface has been updated since this video was made. Things may look a little different in places. You may access the MeSH database through the NCBI mainpage HERE. Select "MeSH" from the dropdown menu of "All databases." Questions? Contact the Library at reference@drew.edu.

PubMed tips

Search Details

UPDATED INFO TO REFLECT NEW PUBMED INTERFACE COMING SOON.  Best match search information can be found on the right side of the screen.  Click "see more" to see how PubMed ran the search.

PubMed looks first for the entire word or phrase as: 1. Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) term 2. Journal Titles 3. Author(s) PubMed finally will search All Fields for the word(s).

Update a search by making changes directly in the  box and click Search to run the new search strategy.

Adv Search

UPDATED INFO TO REFLECT NEW PUBMED INTERFACE COMING SOON. Use the PubMed Advanced Search Builder to:

>use the Show Index List for displaying the search field index and the number of citations for each term. 

>create a search using AND, OR, or NOT and to apply a specific field to your term using the drop down menu. 

Questions? Need Help? Email reference@drew.edu

Drew University Library, https://drew.edu/academic/student-resources/library/