Purpose

This tutorial was created to help the student master the steps involved in using medical subject headings (MeSH) to search PubMed.

Objectives

Upon completion of this tutorial you will be able to:

• identify the important concepts in a clinical question
• identify the best MeSH headings and subheadings for each concept
• use tools available in PubMed’s MeSH browser to add the needed headings/subheadings to a PubMed search statement.
• use AND and OR correctly to join search terms
• add appropriate limits/filters to your completed search

Instructions for Using the Tutorial:

Please, use Chrome or Firefox to view this tutorial.  Do not use Internet Explorer.

Please, read all the instructions in the next section before following the directions.  (When you complete the first step in this section, the instructions will be obscured.)

Start by arranging the instruction window next to a new working window as follows:

• • click this link to open the library homepage in a new window or tab.
  • If the page opens in a new tab rather than a new window, pull the new tab away from this window so you have the two windows open on your screen simultaneously.

• • resize the new “working” window and this instruction window so that they can sit side by side on your computer screen.

• • Whenever you open a tab that covers the instruction panel, pull the new tab onto your working window. 

Important information about the tutorial layout:

• Chapter links appear at the bottom of the window (see black arrow to the link in the red footer in screenshot above).
• Complete the steps on one page and then immediately go to the next page, or, if you are at the end of a ‘chapter’, click the link to the next chapter.
• Don’t work ahead of the instructions.  It is easy to get lost or miss important instructions if you work ahead.

• A contents menu is available above the text (See red arrow in screenshot above).  You can use this menu to jump between distant chapters.  The various “Contents” views toggle. Click to open the “Contents” panel or show the chapters in a section, re-click to close the contents panel or hide the individual chapters in a section