title: Demystifying the Search Button: A Comprehensive PubMed Search Strategy for Performing an Exhaustive Literature Review.
abstract: A thorough review of the literature is the basis of all research and evidence-based practice. A gold-standard efficient and exhaustive search strategy is needed to ensure all relevant citations have been captured and that the search performed is reproducible. The PubMed database comprises both the MEDLINE and non-MEDLINE databases. MEDLINE-based search strategies are robust but capture only 89% of the total available citations in PubMed. The remaining 11% include the most recent and possibly relevant citations but are only searchable through less efficient techniques. An effective search strategy must employ both the MEDLINE and the non-MEDLINE portion of PubMed to ensure all studies have been identified. The robust MEDLINE search strategies are used for the MEDLINE portion of the search. Usage of the less robust strategies is then efficiently confined to search only the remaining 11% of PubMed citations that have not been indexed for MEDLINE. The current article offers step-by-step instructions for building such a search exploring methods for the discovery of medical subject heading (MeSH) terms to search MEDLINE, text-based methods for exploring the non-MEDLINE database, information on the limitations of convenience algorithms such as the "related citations feature," the strengths and pitfalls associated with commonly used filters, the proper usage of Boolean operators to organize a master search strategy, and instructions for automating that search through "MyNCBI" to receive search query updates by email as new citations become available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McKeever
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Van
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Department of Clinical Nutrition, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gomez-Perez
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois braunsch@uic.edu.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Braunschweig
mesh_terms: D016239:MEDLINE; D046650:Medical Subject Headings; D012107:Research Design; D057386:Search Engine
keywords: enteral nutrition; nutrition; nutrition support practice; outcomes research/quality; parenteral nutrition; research and diseases