PubMed (English): Introduction

The Medical Library offers several e‑learning modules on PubMed.

• Are you new to PubMed or do you need to brush up your PubMed skills?
  Take the module PubMed Basics
• Would you like to practice with advanced PubMed options such as Major Topic, subheadings and [tiab]?
  Take the module PubMed Advanced

This LibGuide provides an overview of search options in PubMed for users who are familiar with the basics.

PubMed is a freely searchable database with citations for biomedical literature, comprising:

• > 37 million citations dating back to ca. 1946
• > 5600 biomedical journals

The content is managed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in the US.

What is the difference between PubMed and MEDLINE?
Nowadays, the content of PubMed and MEDLINE are nearly identical. MEDLINE has a small delay (of a few days) in entering new articles, but offers more advanced search options.

The easiest way to access PubMed is via the PubMed URL of the University Library. Each reference then contains the link, which provides access to full text articles from the collection of the University Library.

This link also enables staff members and students of the Radboud University and Radboudumc to access the full text articles at home. Users can log in with their S-, Z- or U-number.

1. Simple subject search
You can easily search by subject by typing the search term or terms in the search box. The automatic term mapping function includes the most suitable MeSH terms (See tab: MeSH) in the search.

Follow these tutorials for a short demo:
PubMed Subject Search (1 min)
PubMed Subject Search: How it works (4 min)

For example, what goes wrong when you search for 'labor' (as in: giving birth)?

2. Searching with MeSH and tiab
For a complete search, always combine MeSH terms (See tab: MeSH) with search terms in the title and/or abstract [tiab] (See tab: Search by Word).

3. History & Advanced Search Builder
To view the search history, click Advanced right below the search box. This opens the Advanced Search Builder (See tab: Combine Search Terms) where you can build your search in a structured, step-by-step way.

4. Limiting results with filters & Clinical Queries
Once you have combined the different components of your query into a final search strategy, you can limit your results with filters and/or Clinical Queries (See tab: Filters & Clinical Queries).