New Search Options Available in the Journals Database

Starting in July 2008 new search options were introduced in the Entrez Journals Database. These new search options are currently available either from the Preview/Index tab or directly in the query box. Some of these new search options have also been added to the Limits screen. In addition, the Full Display view has changed as well to include new fields.

New Search Options:

Search Field	Description and Full Display Field Name	Search Tag	How to search:
Acid-Free	Description: Journals identified as having some or all of the journal issues printed on acid-free paper and have a notice in the journal to that effect Field Name: Acid-Free		acidfree
Currently Indexed Version	Description: Journals identified as being indexed from either the print or electronic version The search identifies the version of the journal that NLM® currently indexes; for titles no longer indexed the value is the last version used for indexing. Field Name: Version Currently Indexed		For journals indexed from Print version: currentlyindexedprint currentlyindexedprint AND currentlyindexed For journals indexed from Electronic version: currentlyindexedelectronic currentlyindexedelectronic AND currentlyindexed Note: Combine with the search string "currentlyindexed," or select that option from Limits, to restrict to currently indexed journals.
End Year	Description: Last year of publication of a journal Field Name: Publication End Year	[eyr]	2001 [eyr] To search a range of years: 1966:2007 [eyr]
Indexed For Subset	Description: Currently indexed journals with specific journal citation subset(s) assigned. Field Name: Current Subset		jsubset? Where ? represents the Subset value jsubsetaim - retrieves currently indexed list of Core Clinical journals jsubsetd - retrieves currently indexed list of Dental journals jsubsetim - retrieves currently indexed list of Index Medicus® journals jsubsetk - retrieves currently indexed list of Consumer Health journals jsubsetn - retrieves currently indexed list of Nursing journals
Indexing Treatment	Description: Journals currently selectively or fully indexed The selectively indexed search retrieves general science, chemistry, and physics journals whose articles are not all within the life sciences scope for MEDLINE®.		Fully indexed: currentindexingtreatmentfull Selectively indexed: currentindexingtreatmentselective
ISSN Type*	Description: Print or Electronic ISSNs Field Name: ISSN	[is]	print [is] electronic [is]
Language	Description: Language in which the journal articles are published Field Name: Language	[la]	eng [la] english [la]
Place of Publication	Description: Most recent country of publication of the journal Field Name: Place of Publication	[pl]	greece [pl]
PubMed Central® Holdings	Description: Journals currently in PubMed Central (PMC) and forthcoming PMC journals Field Name: PMC Availability		All PMC journals: journalspmc Forthcoming PMC journals: journalspmcforthcoming Note: both searches are available under Limits
Start Year	Description: First year of publication of the journal Field Name: Publication Start Year	[syr]	2007 [syr] To search a range of years: 1966:2007 [syr]

ISSN Type:

*Please be advised that NLM follows the practice of a single bibliographic record when cataloging serials (see Cataloging Changes for Serials Issued Simultaneously in Print and Online). Information about all media versions of a title are in one record, e.g., a serial published both in print and online would have both a print ISSN and an electronic ISSN in one NLM serial record. If the print version subsequently ceases for a journal that was being published both in print and online, then the print ISSN remains in the NLM serial record, and NLM adds a clarifying note to the 911 MARC field that can be viewed in LocatorPlus®. Any searches including either the print [is] or electronic [is] search terms may be affected by this policy. Accurate and current data in the ISSN fields are dependent on the publisher requesting the appropriate ISSN for a title.

Journal List Searching:

Users are now able to generate many of the journal lists previously requested. There are various ways to generate these lists:

1. Choose from the Current Subsets window in the Journals database Limits tab (see Figure 1). Examples include PMC Journals, Currently Indexed in MEDLINE from electronic version, and Nursing journals. Some limits here equate to other searches:
   
   

   Journal List	Enter in Query Box
   Currently Indexed in MEDLINE	currentlyindexed
   PubMed Central Journals	journalspmc
   PubMed Central Forthcoming Journals	journalspmcforthcoming
   Consumer Health Journals Limit	jsubsetk
   Core Clinical Journals (AIM) Limit	jsubsetaim
   Dental Journals	jsubsetd
   Index Medicus Journals (IM)	jsubsetim
   Nursing Journals	jusbsetn

   
   
   
2. Search the Subject Terms from the link on the Journals homepage. Subject Terms are broad MeSH® headings assigned to indexed journals to give an overall indication of the scope of the journal. (See New Search and Display Options Available in the Journals Database.) For example, after clicking on the Subject Terms link, then click on the entry for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. That retrieves all journals assigned that subject term. Set the Currently Indexed for MEDLINE Limit and rerun the search to restrict the resulting list to currently indexed titles.
   
   
3. Search the Journals database using the query box for a specific journal subset.
   
   Search the values below in the Journals Database query box to get a list of currently indexed journals.
   
   

   Search Query	Journal List
   jsubsetaim	Core clinical journals (Abridged Index Medicus)
   jsubset	Dental journals
   jsubsetn	Nursing journals
   jsubsetk	Consumer Health journals
   jsubsetim	Index Medicus journals
   journalspmc	journals in PubMed Central
   journalspmcforthcoming	journals to be added to PubMed Central in the future

   
   
   

Sort Options:

Two new sort options have been added (see Figure 1):

• Title Abbreviation
• Place of Publication
  
  

The default is to display journals retrieved in alphabetical order by serial title, ignoring initial articles (such as a, an, the).

Journal Display:

The Full Display in the Journals database now has additional fields that correspond to many of the search options (see Figure 2). In particular, please note these fields:

• Current Indexing Status - Explains the current status.
  
  When citations were/are chosen by a collaborator to NLM, a statement is displayed to indicate the specific subject area covered by that collaborator.
  
  Note that we have the capability to restrict searches as follows:
  
  

  currentlyindexed	[or choose Currently Indexed in MEDLINE from Limits page]
  notcurrentlyindexed

  
  
  The "notcurrentlyindexed" search includes journals that were never indexed for MEDLINE, such as the titles that are cited only in GenBank.
  
  
• Current Subset - Lists the subsets to which a journal belongs.
  
  
• Version Currently Indexed - Specifies whether NLM processed the journal for indexing from the print or electronic version. This information must be viewed in relation to the Current Indexing Status; if the title is no longer indexed, then the Version Currently Indexed indicates the version used when the title was last being indexed.
  
  
• PMC Availability - States the coverage of the title in PubMed Central and any embargo details, or indicates that the title is forthcoming in PubMed Central.
  
  
• Acid-Free - Contains a standard phrase to inform when the title has some or all issues printed on acid-free paper and there is a notice published in the journal to that effect.
  
  
  
  Figure 2: Journals Database full record display.

Send Journal List to PubMed®:

There are two ways to create a journal list in the Journals database and then automatically search for the journal citations from those journals in PubMed:

1. Build a PubMed search for selected, multiple journals:
   
   a. Run a search in the Journals database and on the results page(s) click the check boxes to select the journals.
   
   b. Select Search box with OR from the Send to menu.
   
   c. To add additional journals continue searching the Journals database and adding the journals to the Search Box using the Send to Search Box with OR feature.
   
   d. When your list of journals is complete, click the Search PubMed button. The Details of the PubMed search will show all journal titles you selected while in the Journals database.
   
   
2. Send the entire results of a Journals database search against PubMed (without using the check boxes):
   
   a. Run a search in the Journals database. For example, choose Education as a Subject term (using the Subject terms link from the information bullets on the Journals Database homepage). This will run a search in the Journals Database; when your results are returned, click on the Limits tab and set the limit for Currently Indexed in MEDLINE. Then run the search again. About thirty-six journals should be retrieved. The actual titles are displayed here in the Journals database.
   
   b. Choose PubMed Links from the Display pull-down menu (see Figure 3). This launches the 36 journal titles against PubMed and immediately shows the retrieval which you can then further manipulate. The PubMed Details and History will show this message:
   
   PubMed Links for Journals (Search Education[st] Limits: Currently indexed in MEDLINE)
   
   

Limits Screen:

The Limits page (see Figure 4) has been enhanced to provide options to limit your journals search by Language of the journal and by journal subsets (Nursing Journals, Consumer Health Journals, Dental Journals, etc.).

[link removed] Journals Database Help has been updated to provide information about these new search options. Help also includes instructions on how to build a list of journals using the Send to Search Box feature.

By Sara Tybaert
MEDLARS Management Section

Tybaert S. New Search Options Available in the Journals Database. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Sep-Oct; (364):e1.