Search PubMed
On this page, you'll find resources to help you learn how to search PubMed efficiently and effectively. Using a link to PubMed from any of the Library's web pages or subject guides will ask you to sign in with your Northeastern credentials to connect you with full text access based on our journal subscriptions.
- PubMed Essentials: Getting StartedA guided walk through of PubMed covering creating effective searches using filters, natural language terms, and MeSH terms.
- How to use MeSH terms in your PubMed search (opens in a new tab)A guide to using PubMed's MeSH Database and searching with MeSH terms
- How to build a MeSH search (opens in a new tab)A handout sharing the steps to identifying and adding MeSH terms to your PubMed search
- Keeping up with the conversation: Setting up alerts for new research publications (opens in a new tab)Step by step instructions for setting up search alerts and publication alerts in PubMed as well as setting up publication alerts in BrowZine, JournalToCs, and Web of Science
What's the Difference Between PubMed, PMC and Medline?
- PubMed vs. PubMed Central (PMC) vs. MEDLINELearn more about the differences between PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), and MEDLINE to know when to use each.
PubMed Clinical Queries
Looking for clinical studies? Try PubMed's Clinical Queries search option to locate evidence-based practice citations. Clinical Queries is divided into 3 sections:
1. Clinical Studies searches use-preset filters which allow you to quickly locate articles on etiology, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of diseases.
Clinical Studies offers five clinical study categories to choose from:
- Therapy: The therapy filter will retrieve clinical studies that discuss the treatment of diseases. You will notice that therapy is the search default.
- Diagnosis: Click on diagnosis to find clinical studies addressing disease diagnosis.
- Etiology: Click on etiology to find clinical studies addressing causation/harm in disease and diagnostics.
- Prognosis: Click on prognosis to find clinical studies addressing disease prognosis.
- Clinical Prediction Guides: Click on clinical prediction guides to find clinical studies which discuss methods for predicting the likelihood of disease presence or absence.
2. Systematic Reviews cover a broad set of articles that build consensus on biomedical topics. Locate reviews on clinical trials, guidelines, meta-
analyses, consensus development conferences.
3. Medical Genetics searches find citations and abstracts related to various topics in medical genetics.
PubMed Quick Tours
PubMed comprises more than 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life sciences journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from NU Libraries holdings, PubMed Central and publisher websites. For additional help, visit the online training page here: PubMed: Online training
Check out these FAQs from the National Library of Medicine on searching PubMed!
Search PubMed for research by a specific author
Interactive video tutorial available
Search PubMed for research from a specific journal
Interactive video tutorial available
Finding a single citation with limited information (Using the Single Citation Matcher)
Find articles about treatment for a disease or disorder using Clinical Queries (interactive video tutorial)
My NCBI Tutorial
- My NCBI OverviewThis is an updated introduction to your free My NCBI account. Learn how to navigate and change settings for your saved PubMed searches, Collections, My Bibliography, BLAST searches, and more.