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PubMed

PubMed Results Page

After entering your search terms, you will be taken to a page where you can begin to review and evaluate the results.

There are several features that you can use on the Results Page:

Screenshot from PubMed highlighting the three sets of tools on the results page: Filters, Sharing Tools, Display Options

 

  1. Filters: On the left-hand side of the screen, there are a variety of filter options.  See the box below for more information about some of most commonly used filters available.
  2. Save, Email, Send To: These buttons along the top of the results page can help you save or share items you have found.
    • Save: The Save button will create a file for you to download and save to your computer.
    • Email: The Email button will create a quick email with links back to the selected items.  You can email yourself or a colleague.
    • Send To: This allows you to either send items to a Collection (see MyNCBI Account - Collections for more details), or to a Reference Manager, such as RefWorks, EndNote, or Zotero.
  3. Display Options: You can also choose how you want your results to display
    • Best Match vs Most Recent: The default is to have your results sorted using a Best Match algorithm, which means the database will try to float the articles it thinks are the most relevant to the top.  You can change this to Most Recent or Publication Date, if you prefer a chronological sorting.
    • Summary vs Abstract: The default it also to display a Summary format list, which includes just the basic reference information (such as title, authors, journal), plus 3 lines from the abstract.  You can switch this to an Abstract view if you prefer, which will show the complete reference information, the full abstract, and the MeSH terms all within the results page.
    • Per Page: You can also select how many items you want displayed in your results per page.  The default is 10, but you can increase that up 200 if you prefer.

Filters

On the left-hand side of the screen, there are a variety of filter options.

A few things to understand about how database filters work:

  • Filter are usually dependent on how the item was described by the indexer.  For example, applying the filter of Randomized Controlled Trial limits to only the articles that have been tagged by an indexer as an RCT.
  • However, if the indexer did not apply a given tag to describe an article, it will not be retrieved if you use that filter.  For example, an indexer may forget to apply the Humans tag, even if it is in fact about human subjects, and then that item will not be retrieved by the Humans filter.
  • Within PubMed, many filters will also automatically exclude items that have not been fully indexed, such as In-Process or PMC citations, as they have never received the necessary tags.  As a result, valuable information can potentially be missed when using filters, and you will want to use caution.

Tip: Using database filters is not recommended if you are performing a comprehensive search, such as for a systematic review, as they are not entirely reliable. However, they can be helpful to hone in quickly on relevant results in a quick and focused search.

Below is a description of some of the frequently used options.

Filter Name Filter Description
Results By Year
  • This filter allows you to limit the time frame of your results. 
  • This can include all dates associated with a particular item, such as both print and electronic publishing dates, and so is not a reliable way to limit by date for more comprehensive or controlled searches. 
  • Since some items may be published electronically one year, but in print the next, some articles may then have two years associated with them, which can cause some discrepancies and/or overlap.
Text Availability
  • Limits your results to those with either a link for Full Text, Free Full Text, or an Abstract available.
  • It is not recommended to use this filter when searching at OSU.
  • This filter does not connect to the full access provided by OSU Libraries, and so by using it you may miss valuable articles that we could retrieve in other ways.
  • Use the Find It @OSU link within individual records to access full text instead.  If you are not connected directly to the article, you will be taken to a screen where you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
Article Type
  • Limits the results to specific article types, such as Systematic Reviews, Meta-Anlyses, and Randomized Controlled Trials. 
  • If you do not see the Article Type that you want, you can make more options visible by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on Additional Filters. 
  • This filter is based on tags that get associated with articles during the indexing process.  As such, when you click on Systematic Reviews you are limiting to all articles that have been tagged as systematic reviews, rather than all articles that actually are systematic reviews.
Language
  • Limits your results to only those in a particular language, such as English.
  • Additional languages are available under the Additional Filters button.
  • If you are performing a comprehensive search, it is better to screen for language, as it is possible some articles may not be tagged correctly.
Species
  • Limits your results to either those involving Humans or Animals.
  • It is possible that a study could involve both Humans and Animals, in which case it would have both tags applied
  • If you are performing a comprehensive search, it is better to either screen for species, or to use a tested/validated search hedge instead.
Age
  • Limits your results to specific age ranges.
  • These options are based on the MeSH definitions of different Age Populations
  • If you are performing a comprehensive search, it is not recommended to use an Age Filter, but to instead screen for the desired population.