Module 2: Refining Your Search - Beyond Automatic Term Mapping
How Can I Use MeSH to Narrow My Search Results?
Publication Type Filters
MeSH is also used to index citations according to Publication Type, which you can apply to a search to narrow your results. These include publication types like Case Reports, Clinical Trial, Systematic Review, and Randomized Controlled Trial. See a complete list of the available Publication Types in the PubMed User Guide.
By default, PubMed displays these Publication Type filters on the results page: Books and Documents, Clinical Trial, Meta-Analysis, Randomized Controlled Trial, Review, and Systematic Review. Other filters are available from the Additional Filters menu.
Follow these steps to apply Publication Type filters to your search results:
- Search PubMed with your terms
- Locate the Article Type filters on the left-hand side of the results page
- Click the box beside a filter to apply it
To view other available filters and apply them to your search, follow these steps:
- Click the Additional Filters button
- Select your filters
- Click the Show button
- Go back to the list of Article Type filters and click the box beside the filter you just added to apply it
