What is PubMed?
PubMed is a database of mainly journal citations and abstracts collected from the life sciences literature. Over 4,800 journals are indexed from clinical medicine, biomedicine, and health care. Includes references to articles dating from 1947 to the present.
PubMed is a free database from the National Library of Medicine but use the URL given here to include the KU specific linking feature to content.
Get at KU
Get at KU is a bridge between a database like PubMed and full text content. If the library subscribes to the journal(s), links to the article or journal appear. You may also click on a link to do a search in the KU catalog to determine if KU has the print. And if it is not available at KU, use the link to order it through Interlibrary Loan.
Subject search in PubMed
PubMed applies an unusual mapping mechanism that matches your term(s) to their Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or (MH). This can be a useful tool and at times a frustrating tool. To understand what PubMed is doing, click on the DETAILS link and you can adjust the search in that box.
Suggestions:
- Think of your major key concepts
- If your concept is a phrase, try searching without the quotes at first
- If the number of results is not huge (< 100), review the citations. Look for additional keywords if needed.
- If the number is large and/or the results don't look relevant, look at SEARCH DETAILS on the right.
- If your term(s) is represented as a subject heading(MeSH), delete the keyword search in ALL FIELDS. Remove extraneous parentheses.
- Possibly restrict to a title field search [ti]
- Look at the filters on the left to limit your search (publication dates, languages, ages)
PubMed database guide
Example searches
- What is the evidence in support of using primary reinforcers (food) to teach language to children with autism?
- Does teaching hearing children to sign improve their language learning?
- What is the relationship between literacy and fluency disorders, or between literacy and articulation disorders in children?