1. Internet Tool in life Sciences
Research
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2. Lessons
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1- Essentials
2- Searching
3- Using MeSH
4- Working with Results
5- Jeopardy game

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2- Searching

4. A Google phrase search for: recent harvard faculty
publications , click HERE
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Searching PubMed is it Similar to
Searching the Internet? Example:
Click HERE to see the same search pasted into PubMed
Click HERE to see a well designed PubMed search
on the same topic

5. Yes - Google and Google Scholar both
search some of the contents of
PubMed, so we will find PubMed
citations in our Google results
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Does Google Search PubMed?

6. BE aware that Google Scholar is up
to several months behind PubMed
and does not search PubMed in its
entirety
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Do you want to see what is the difference ?
A Google Scholar Search
limited to PubMed citations from 2008
Retrieves only about
119,000 results
A PubMed Search for 2008 articles
Retrieves over 800,000
results

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Bottom Line
Google and Google Scholar can be a quick
and easy way to get started on a search.
However, they do not comprehensively
search the peer-reviewed biomedical
literature. PubMed does

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How a Keyword Search Works in PubMed ?
When you enter a keyword into the query box,
PubMed will search for that word and its synonyms,
in all the fields (author, journal title, title word,
MeSH heading, abstract, publication date etc.) used
to describe an article.
PubMed does NOT search the full text of the article

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Try a Keyword Search in PubMed:
Click in the query box. Type oral cancer and click
Enter or Go.
The first 20 references matching your search will
appear. Near the top look for
"Items 1 to 20 of X." X indicates the total number of
search results

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To view automatic term mapping in action
Click on the Details button. You will see how
PubMed has automatically translated your search to
include the synonym for oral cancer. And, it is
automatically searching the term as a MeSH term
(To include all variations of the word. Ex: mouth , neoplasms, etc.). It
makes your job easier! http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=oral%20
cancer

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Combining Search Terms
Quotes “ “ are rarely necessary in PubMed: Click Clear to
remove the previous search. Then type “oral cancer" in the
search box, this time surrounded by quotation marks. Click Go
and then click Details to see what happens. Using quotes turns
off the automatic term mapping. You are now only searching
for the phrase oral cancer, and not the MeSH term mouth
neoplasm or synonyms.
In PubMed, use quotes only if you are having
trouble finding an exact phrase
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22oral
%20cancer%22

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To add terms to your search you can
use AND, OR or NOT, which should
be capitalized to ensure best results

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Examples
Oral AND cancer Using AND will retrieve fewer results because
both terms must be present in the reference
Oral OR cancer Using OR will retrieve more results because either
term can be present in the reference.
Oral not cancer Use NOT to exclude a search term from your
search. Use NOT with caution because it may
eliminate relevant results.

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Note

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Use Parentheses ( ) For Longer Searches
PubMed processes ANDs, ORs
& NOTs in a left-to-right
sequence

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Use Parentheses ( ) For Longer Searches
 Click Clear to clear the query box.
 You want to research treatment of oral cancer .
 Type in: oral cancer AND chemotherapy OR radiotherapy .
 Click GO
These results are NOT on-target because PubMed retrieved all
occurrences of “radiotherapy" in the database. The hits
containing radiotherapy will not necessarily contain oral
cancer.

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Using parentheses
would change the
order in which
PubMed processes
the search statement
Use Parentheses ( ) For Longer Searches
oral cancer AND
(chemotherapy OR
radiotherapy)
Example

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PubMed Advanced Search Builder
Allows you to set parameters for your search,
which may result in a more relevant retrieval
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/a
dvanced

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Filters Narrow Your Search

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Author Search
There are ways to do
this in PubMed

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1.Limit by Author Name: Click the advanced search and then
Search by Author. It will suggest names for you as you type. You can
also click Add Another Author
Author Search
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/a
dvanced

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Author Search
2.Or, Type Directly in the Search Box: Enter the last name, a space,
then first and middle initial (if known), with no punctuation
Example

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Author Search
3.Single citation matcher
Example

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There are several ways to find specific citations or groups
of citations in PubMed:
Citation Search
1. PubMed's Citation Sensor will automatically detect most
citations typed into the search box. Type in part of the citation, or as
much as you know (Example: katayama cell 2006)

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Citation sensor found 1 article

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Citation Search
2. The Single Citation Matcher allows you to search
specific fields (like Author or Title) and returns citations
that match those criteria. Single Citation Matcher is
available from the blue sidebar on the PubMed homepage.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/c
itmatch

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Scenario
Your supervisor asks you to read the articles
written by Dr. Zhuang that were published
in the journal Journal of oral pathology &
medicine
What will you DO

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4

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Citation Search
3. Field Searching allows you to specify exactly what to
search using
A- By Tags
B- Using advanced search

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Citation Search
A- By Tags
Field Name Tag Search Results
Author Name [au] Smith jd[au] Articles authored by jd smith
Example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=smith%20jd%
5bau%5d

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Citation Search
A- By Tags
Field Name Tag Search Results
Institutional
Affiliation
[affl] harvard[affl]
Articles authored by persons
affiliated with Harvard school
Example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=King%20saud%20university%5BAffiliation%
5D

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Citation Search
A- By Tags
Field Name Tag Search Results
Journal Title
[jour] jama[jour] Articles published in JAMA
Example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=jama%5bjour
%5d

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Citation Search
A- By Tags
Field Name Tag Search Results
Title Words [ti] cancer[ti] Articles with cancer in the title
Example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=cancer%5bti%
5d

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Scenario
Again , Your supervisor asks you to read the
articles written by Dr. Blood that were also
published in the journal Blood .
What will you DO
this time ?

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1- Click Clear to clear your previous search and Uncheck
the Limits box to remove any left over Limits
2- In the query box, type blood AND blood, then click GO
Oops ! 3 million search results!

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Type the following in the query box:
blood[au] AND blood[jour]
(AND must be capitalized here)
Enter field tags in square brackets [] immediately following the
terms. Click Go
SO , Force PubMed to search in a specific field
super, only 7 articles

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Citation Search
B- Using advanced search

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2
3
4
The same thing , 7 articles

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Here's a Quick Summary of "Searching"
When you enter a keyword in the query box, PubMed will
search for that word and its synonyms in all the fields
(author, abstract, title etc.) used to describe an article
The Details tab allows you to see if PubMed has mapped
your search correctly
Use AND, OR, NOT and/or parentheses to create longer
search statements
1
2
3

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Here's a Quick Summary of "Searching"
Selecting filters places parameters on your search (date,
journal title, study type etc.).
Search by author using this format: smith bj. Or, select
advanced search, and then Add Author
Type partial citations utilizing citation sensor into the
PubMed search box, or use the Single Citation Matcher
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Search with field tags or advanced search tab to limit
your search to a specific field (author, title, etc)
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Reference
1- Gustave L. and Janet W. Levy Library of Mount Sinai School of Medicine

46. THANK YOU
End of the lesson
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