PubMed: Tutorials and Search Tips

PubMed can be searched by keyword, MeSH subject terms, author, title and/or a combination of these means. 

If you want to search like a pro, you have to understand MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Watch the video below to help you get started.

You can use filters to narrow your search results by article type, text availability, publication date, species, language, sex, subject, journal category, and age.

To apply a filter:

1. Run a search in PubMed.
2. Click the filter you would like to activate from the sidebar. A check mark will appear next to the activated filter(s). 
3. Subsequent searches will be filtered until the selected filters are turned off, or until your browser data is cleared.

The most popular filters are included on the sidebar by default. To display additional filters on the sidebar:

1. Click the "Additional filters" button.
2. A pop-up menu will appear showing the available filters for each category: article type, species, language, sex, subject, journal, and age.
3. Choose a category from the list of options on the left side of the menu: Article Type, Species, etc.
4. Within each category, select the filters you would like to add to the sidebar.
5. Click Show. This will close the pop-up menu and display your selections on the sidebar with the other filters.
6. If you would like to cancel your selections, click Cancel or click on the X in the upper right corner to close the pop-up and return to your search results.
7. To apply the filter(s) to your search, click the filter(s) on the sidebar. 

Clinical Queries is a  tool designed to answer clinical questions and is useful for evidence-based medicine queries.  The results are limited to specific clinical research, systematic reviews, and medical genetics.

Select "Clinical Queries" from the Find menu on PubMed's homepage.

Your results will display in two columns showing 5 results in each category.  Click on “See all” at the bottom of each column to see the full results.

Results can be filtered by  

or Clinical studies categories

Not sure if you are correctly typing out an abbreviated journal in PubMed?  Hover your mouse over the name of the journal to view the full title.