NARRATOR: PubMed has additional features that help you construct and focus searches. Instead of simply scrolling through thousands of search results, it's much better to add filters to focus your search by language, range of publication date, patient age, or other options.
Filters can be found on the left side of the search results page. The Article types filters let you limit your search to specific kinds of research, such as clinical trials, practice guidelines, and reviews. Click more to see the complete list. While you're at Michigan, ignore the Text availability filter. It covers only articles that are free to everyone, and won't include results from the library's journal subscriptions. Use the Publication dates filter to apply a 3-year date range to your search results. Click the Custom Range link, enter 2009 in the first year box, enter 2013 in the second year box, and click Apply. Note that when you add a filter, a clear link appears next to the name of the filter type, so that you can easily delete that filter. Under Species, I'll click the Humans link, to limit the results to research on humans. To find other filters, such as Languages, Sex, or Ages, click the Show Additional Filters link. Click in the box to the left of your selections, and they will appear in the filter list. To limit my search to English, under Languages, I'll click English. If you're fluent in & want to read the biomedical literature in another language, click More to open a new window with other language options. Your search results are now much more focused. Note that the filters that you've applied are at the top of your search results. These filters will stay active on all your searches, until you remove or change them.
PubMed's Advanced link at the top of the home and search results pages takes you to the Advanced Search Builder page, where you can construct your search one concept at a time, or connect individual searches into a more complex search. To create a search, simply enter your search terms in each box, using the correct boolean operator from the drop-down menu. Click the Search button below, to see your search results, or the Add to history link to build a search first. To add to a search or to put multiple searches together, use the History section, which is a record of all the searches that you've done in a particular session. You can add concepts to your search. For example, if I wanted to add the term "cognition" to the cognitive disorders OR cognitive impairment search, I would click ADD for search #3, then choose OR from the drop-down menu and type my new search term, cognition in the search box, and click Search or Add to history. You can also combine simpler searches into a more complex search, using the same process, by clicking the ADD link for each search that you wish to combine, and choosing the appropriate Boolean operator. If you have any questions, please contact the Taubman Health Sciences Library.