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PubMed 2.0

This Guide is designed to assist users in navigating and searching PubMed since its update in 2020.

Search Process

Searching PubMed

PubMed uses a mapping process to match search terms to subject headings, drug names (brand & generic), journal names (full & abbreviated), author names, investigators, and more. It also provides an auto-complete feature that displays suggestions as you type search terms, a spell checking feature, a citation sensor, and it sorts search results in order of relevance. 

Find Articles & Authors

Find Citations on a Topic

Search for citations on a topic using keywords. Keywords describe the most important concepts of a topic. Scientific names are not required; do not use articles, punctuations, or a question format.

How-to

Click on a step to view a screenshot.

  1. Identify keywords
  2. Enter keywords in the search box; place a space between keywords
  3. Press Enter key or click Search button 

Search Filters

Refine search results by applying filters. Default filters, located on the Search Results page, include Publication Year, Text Availability, Article Attribution, Article Type, and Publication Date. Tick the box next to a filter to apply it to search results. Additional filters can be viewed and applied by clicking the Additional filters button.  

Points & Help
  • Unless the user includes Boolean operators, PubMed connects keywords with the operator AND. AND tells the database to retrieve results where ALL keywords are present. 

Find Citations by an Author

Find citations by an author by searching for the author's last name and initials. Best results are retrieved when the author's first and middle initial are known.

How-to

Click on a step to view a screenshot.

  1. Enter the author's last name and initials without punctuation in the search box
  2. Press Enter key or click Search button
  3. Select a citation to view its Abstract page
  4. Click on the numeral next to an author's name to view their affiliation
  5. If you can confirm that the author of the citation is the author in question, click the author's name to generate a list of all PubMed citations attributed to the author 
Points & Help
  • Place any suffixes at the end of the search 
    • Example: Duke, JH Jr
  • A comma should be used with last names that can be confused for first names
    • Example: James Henry = search for Henry, James
  • If only the last name is known, use the author search field tag [au]
    • Example: Fauci[au]

Find a Specific Citation (Search)

Find a specific article by searching by article title, or use citation details such as the author, journal name and the year the article was published. The PubMed citation sensor will analyze your search for citation information to return the correct citation. 

You can also search by DOI or PMID. This search method will route the searcher directly to the article's Abstract page, if the article is indexed in PubMed. 

How-to

Click on a step to view a screenshot.

  1. Enter the article's title or partial title in the search box
  2. Press Enter key or click Search button
  3. A complete, accurate title will route directly to the article's Abstract page; A partial title will yield a list of possible matches
  4. Click a citation's title to view its Abstract page and learn about full-text availability from MD Anderson or other sources

Single Citation Matcher (Tool)

You can find a specific article by using PubMed's Single Citation Manager. This tool lets searchers fill-in a short form for searching for an article when some bibliographic information is known. 

How-to

Click on a step to view a screenshot.

  1. Click the Single Citation Matcher link on PubMed's homepage 
  2. Complete the form (any field can be omitted)
  3. Press Enter key or click Search button
Points & Help
  • Most scientific/academic journal articles include a DOI. It is part of the article's citation and it is usually listed on the first page of the article. Searching for an article by DOI is the most direct method.