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Structured Abstracts in MEDLINE: Newly Identified and Mapped Labels Available

Ripple AM, Knecht LS, Truong F. Structured Abstracts in MEDLINE: Newly Identified and Mapped Labels Available. NLM Tech Bull. 2015 Nov-Dec;(407):e1.

November 03, 2015 [posted]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has updated its list of structured abstract labels. This updated list, along with the NLM-assigned broader category mappings, can be downloaded for free from the Structured Abstracts resource page which also provides NLM guidelines and other background information to assist licensees or researchers.

The Updated Label List and NLM Category Mappings file contains 3,032 labels: 2,799 labels (from the 2014 Label List) and 233 new labels. Each label has a map to one of five corresponding broader NLM Categories (i.e., BACKGROUND, OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS, or CONCLUSIONS) and an indication of whether the label is classed as an "Ending Label" concept. The 233 new label entries have a timestamp of "|20151026". This file does not contain labels that map to UNASSIGNED as an NLM Category (see explanation).

A grand total of 4,702 citations (whether in process, MEDLINE, or PubMed-not-MEDLINE status) were revised so that the new labels include the NLM Category mapping in the XML data, effective on or about October 26, 2015. Of interest, a new label 'TWEETABLE ABSTRACT' (mapped to the NLM Category 'CONCLUSIONS') illustrates the impact of social media.

Read more about Structured Abstracts in MEDLINE/PubMed.