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 PubMed Central and publisher websites.
Selecting a topic is one of the most important steps of your research. You should select a topic that is of interest to you and is make sure that the focus is not too broad or too narrow. Next, develop a research question describing what you want to find and identify key terms that you will use in your searches.
Research question: Genetic testing can identify hereditary risks for cancer.
Keywords: "genetic testing" and hereditary and cancer.
Access PubMed with the links in this guide or from the Library's home page under Database List A-Z. If you are accessing the database remotely, you need to enter your MU ID and password.
1) Enter your keywords (e.g. "genetic testing" AND hereditary AND cancer)
Use "quotation marks" around search phrases (e.g. "genetic testing")
PubMed automatically adds AND between terms or phrases to search articles containing both terms.
2) Search results. Narrow the search for more focused results by adding a term. For broader results use fewer search terms.
3) Refine search results by publication date. Use slider to limit results to recent years.
4) Refine by type of article.
5) Click on a document title to view the article information page:
On the article information page you will find:
6) Authors, journal title, volume, issue, page numbers, publication date, and DOI number.
7) Abstract - a summary of the article's content. Read this to determine whether it answers your research question before reading the entire article.
8) Cite - click to get citation formatting. Check for accuracy in the APA Citation Guide 7th.
9) Full-Text Links
10) HTML version of article.
11) Download PDF version of article for easier printing.
12) Similar articles in PubMed
13) Cited by other articles
14) If an article is not available Full text @ MU Library, click "Request this item" to get the article through InterLibrary Loan (ILL). If it is the first time you are requesting an ILL, you will need to fill out the form. Once you submit the form a copy of the article will be sent to your email in a few days. The next time you request an ILL the form will be filled in automatically with article information.