Libraries

BML Database Guides: PubMed

This page lists information about using MEDLINE via PubMed for UCSD users. In addition to the tools listed below, we also offer Classes and individual or group Consultations on using PubMed.

Rule # 1: Use the UCSD Link to PubMed!
Always use our link to PubMed rather than the generic pubmed.gov address. Our link does three things for you:

1.

UC E-Links icons: these buttons show in Abstract, AbstractPlus and Citation display formats. UC e-Links lets you link to the full text of the article if it's available, and also features links to our catalog to check for print holdings, a request form you can use if we don't have the item at UCSD, a help form, as well as tools for copying the citation to your computer for use with a word process or citation management tool like RefWorks. More about UC E-Links

2.

PubMed has an ordering function, via the Send To button. Normally, orders are sent to a service called Loansome Doc. When you use the UCSD link to PubMed, those orders are redirected and come to us for processing.

3.

Faculty of 1000 Biology is a current awareness service we subscribe to that identifies important new papers in the literature. When you use our link and encounter an article that has been covered by Faculty of 1000 Biology, this button appears below the abstract.

UCSD Research in PubMed
Try this handy tool written by former UCSD medical student Gautam Bahl to search PubMed for UCSD-authored papers. Useful for finding potential collaborators, mentors, advisors or experts.

User Guides and Tips etc. from the UCSD Libraries

  • PubMed User's Guide (PDF)
    Our own brief User's Guide. Covers basic searching as well as UCSD features.
  • Obtaining Articles from Your PubMed Search (PDF)
    Learn to determine whether UCSD owns particular journals, and how to order articles from journals not owned at UCSD via CDL Request.
  • Quick Tip:
    We have a number of journals online that PubMed and UC E-Links can't link to directly. UC E-Links lets you search Roger to see if we own a journal, but some users find it easier to open a second window with either our local ROGER catalog or our E-Journals page. This makes it easy to flip back and forth to check on all of our holdings. ROGER accepts official MEDLINE abbreviations for journal titles, so you can just copy and paste the journal names from PubMed into the Title search in ROGER. These links will open either our E-Journals pages or a ROGER Journal Title search in a second window:
    - Biomedical E-Journals A-Z
    - Roger - Journal title search screen
  • Search Field Abbreviations (PDF)
    For advanced searchers, this lists the abbreviations and codes for searching by particular fields and for using the MeSH subheadings while searching.
  • EndNote and PubMed (PDF)
    Describes how to save items from PubMed for use with the popular EndNote program, used for managing large bibliographies and assisting with manuscript writing. More information about using EndNote with library databases can be found here: here.

MyNCBI: Current Awareness and Personalization
Through PubMed's MyNCBI service, you can now set up automatic e-mail alerts on Pubmed searches. Things to note:

  • The default number of new items to mail in MyNCBI is very low: 5. You may wish to change this.
  • If you select HTML delivery AND if you also started your search using the UC link to PubMed, you will get UC E-Links buttons embedded in your e-mail - this can be very handy for linking to the full text.
  • If you intend to import these items into EndNote or other bibliographic management program, select the MEDLINE display format when you are setting up your alert.
  • You cannot EDIT saved searches, but you can re-run a saved search, change it, and re-save it, and then delete the original one.
  • If you already use RSS reader to keep up with news sites, you can save a PubMed search as an RSS feed without signing up for MyNCBI.
  • PubCrawler is a free "third-party" service that lets you store a PubMed search and get e-mail updates of new items.
  • Tip: the most recent citations in PubMed have not been analyzed for subject, age group, etc., so for the VERY most recent articles, base your current awareness search on title/text words, authors, and/or journal name only, and avoid limits like age group, human/animal, language, or publication type.

PubMed for Techies and PDA users

  • PubMed Handheld
    Use this if you have a live wireless connection and a Web browser. Non-graphical interface for PubMed designed for handhelds. Now includes a PICO-based search.
  • PubMed Text Search
    This is just a plain text version of PubMed. It may work in most PDA Web browsers, but isn't specially formatted for PDA.
  • PubMed On Tap
    This is a separate application for searching PubMed, with versions for PalmOS and PocketPC. You can use it with live wireless Internet connection or offline to store a query and then run it when you sync. Good for older Palms without a Web browser.
  • HubMed
    This is an alternative interface to PubMed that lets you save searches as RSS alerts, offers a Firefox search plugin for PubMed, and other nifty things. Unfortunately, there is no way to configure it to include our UC E-Links buttons to get to UCSD's e-journals or article ordering directly.

Materials from the National Library of Medicine

  • PubMed Tutorial
    Tutorial provided by the National Library of Medicine, creators of PubMed. Useful for search tips, but does not cover getting to full text or other UC e-Links features.
  • PubMed Manuals from NLM
    This page has the full manuals and workbooks used by National Library of Medicine staff in their full-day PubMed classes. They are very long and detailed, available in Word and PDF formats.