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PubMed Update: Single Citation Matcher and Batch Citation Matcher

Chan J. PubMed Update: Single Citation Matcher and Batch Citation Matcher. NLM Tech Bull. 2021 Mar-Apr;(439):e1.

April 19, 2021 [posted]

The Single Citation Matcher and Batch Citation Matcher have been updated to the new PubMed cloud environment. 

Single Citation Matcher

The Single Citation Matcher uses a fill-in-the-blank form to search for a specific citation when you have some bibliographic information, such as journal name, volume, or page number (see Figure 1).


Screenshot of Single Citation Matcher in PubMed.
Figure 1: Use the Single Citation Matcher to find individual citations in PubMed.

Batch Citation Matcher

The Batch Citation Matcher retrieves PubMed IDs (PMIDs) for multiple citations at a time. Bibliographic information (journal, volume, page, etc.) must be entered in a specific format with fields separated by a vertical bar with a final bar at the end of the string:

journal_title|year|volume|first_page|author_name|your_key|

The Batch Citation Matcher is completely rebuilt on the new PubMed platform, providing results that are in sync with the web interface. This tool no longer includes an option to retrieve PubMed Central IDs (PMCIDs) due to the separate technology platforms (see Figure 2).


Screenshot of Batch Citation Matcher in PubMed.
Figure 2: Use the Batch Citation Matcher to retrieve multiple PMIDs.

Please see the PubMed User Guide for more information about using these citation matching tools: 

By Jessica Chan
National Center for Biotechnology Information