Citation: enter the parts of the citation you have (ie: author, article title, journal name, volume, year, etc.)
Author: enter the author’s last name and initials (e.g., Fagerness, Jj).
Journal Title: use the complete journal title, ISSN, or title abbreviation (e.g., lancet oncol).
The Basic Search box is on the top of the PubMed main page. Type your search term(s) into the search box and click the Search button.
Don't worry about using MeSH terms, unless you already know them. PubMed will attempt to match (or "map") your search word(s) to appropriate MeSH terms.
Identify the key concepts for your search.
Enter the terms (or key concepts) in the search box. Don't...
put quotation marks around each concept
separate the concepts with the Boolean Operator AND
Press the Enter key or click Search.
PubMed uses multiple tools to help you find relevant results, including:
Best Match sort order uses an algorithm to place the most relevant citations at the top of your results.
An autocomplete feature displays suggestions as you type search terms.
A spell-checking feature suggests alternative spellings for search terms that may include misspellings.
A citation sensor displays suggested results that include articles with similar citations.
The Advanced Search Builder allows you to build a more complex search using a combination of searches, MeSH terms, and keywords.
We recommended keeping the field searched as All Fields. If you are doing a thorough literature search, you can select other fields to search, but keep in mind not all articles will have MeSH Terms.
It can be helpful to search for each term individually, then go back and combine each term with boolean operators AND/NOT/OR. This allows you to see results for each term and helps you determine if the term you choose is what you are looking for.
PubMed works "behind the scenes" to match your search terms to the related MeSH term--this is called automatic term mapping. The actual search used is displayed in the Search Details accessible through the Advanced Search.
To see an example of how MeSH works try
searching for the following term: heart attack.
From the PubMed main page, use the Advanced link under the Search Box, then scroll down to the History and Search Details section.
Click on the arrow in the details column to see what PubMed searched.
PubMed is showing you the words heart attack map to the MeSH term myocardial infarction.
Articles are reviewed by indexers at the National Library of Medicine. They assign articles with the most specific MeSH heading/s that describe the concepts discussed in the entry.
You can find MeSH terms through the MeSH database. This database is accessible on the PubMed homepage under the Explore heading.
When you are building a search it can be helpful to search for each term individually; then go back and combine each term with boolean operators AND/NOT/OR. This allows you to see results for each term and helps you determine if the term you choose is what you are looking for.
On the PubMed main page, click the Advanced link under the main search box.
Add each completed concept to your Search History using the Add to History link.
After entering a term click the down arrow under the Search button to select the Add to History link.
Then go to the History and Search Details section to add the completed concepts in the History section.
Click the three dots under the Actions column to Add query
Then select Add with AND (or select Add with OR or Add with NOT as needed).
Once all terms are added, then click the down arrow on the Add to History button to search.
The Search Details section shows how PubMed interpreted your search and applied Automatic Term Mapping. To see how your search was interpreted:
In the History and Search Details section, click on the arrow under the Details column
You should now see the search details.
In the image below, you can see that we entered the term "acid reflux", but PubMed searched for the term "gastroesophageal reflux".
PubMed applied automatic term mapping to expand your search to the correct medical term -- gastroesophageal reflux. Automatic term mapping is helpful when you know the common term, but not the correct medical term. PubMed also searches for the original term, just in case.
Removing irrelevant or too-specific terms
Using alternative terms to describe the concepts
Replacing broad search terms with more specific ones (e.g., low back pain instead of back pain).
Including additional terms
Use filters to restrict results by publication date, full-text availability, article type, and more.
Filters Use filters to narrow your search results by article type, text availability, publication date, article language, sex, and age... However, using filters may exclude some citations that are not indexed in MEDLINE.
By default, the most popular filters are on the sidebar.
Run a search in PubMed.
Click the filter you would like to activate from the sidebar. A check mark will appear next to the activated filter(s).
The filters are sticky and will stay on for later searches. If you don't want to use the filter, you will have to clear the filter or close your browser.
Click the Additional Filter button.
A pop-up menu will appear. Options include article type, species, article language, sex, age, and others.
Choose a category from the list of options on the left side of the menu: Article Type, Species, etc.
Within each category, select the filters you would like to add to the sidebar.
Click Show. This will close the pop-up menu and display your selections on the sidebar with the other filters.
To cancel your selections, click Cancel or click on the X in the upper right corner to close the pop-up and return to your search results.
To apply the filter(s) to your search, click the filter(s) on the sidebar.
You will always see the purple UHSP Library link/button if you use our link. This link will take you to 
either...
PubMed Central: PMC is a free digital archive of literature by NIH. Click on the “PMC Free Full text” icon to link to the article.
Open Access Publisher: You may see an Open Access or Free Full-Text link from the journal publisher. Click the publisher's free full-text icon to check for access to the article.