Advanced MeSH Searching
Leaving no stone unturned.
Advanced MeSH Searching
Watch the Video :
Branching Out: the MeSH Vocabulary
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/vid
eo/
Advanced MeSH Searching
The MeSH Tree Structure
MeSH vocabulary is organized by 16 main branches:
Anatomy
Organisms
Diseases
Chemical and Drugs
Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment
Psychiatry and Psychology
Biological Sciences
Natural Sciences
Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena
Technology, Industry, Agriculture
Humanities
Information Science
Named Groups
Health Care
Publication Characteristics
Geographic Locations
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The MeSH Subheadings / Qualifiers
MeSH vocabulary has 83 topical qualifiers :
List and explanation here :
Subheadings: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/topsubscope.html
When selecting qualifiers the Mesh Heading will only show those
qualifiers that apply.
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Notable differences in Views
Pre-Coordinated vs. Post-Coordinated
Age Groups
Ethnic Groups
Geographic Groups
Publication Types vs. Publication Type as Topic
Field of study Specialty vs. practice of study
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Notable differences in Views
Pre-Coordinated vs. Post-Coordinated
See examples by searching :
childhood
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Notable differences in Views
Age Groups (in Chronological Order)
Infant, Newborn < 1 month
Infant, Premature before 37 weeks of gestation
Infant, Postmature after 42 weeks of gestation
Infant, Low Birth Weight {descriptive not chronological}
Infant, Small for Gestational Age {descriptive}
Infant, Very Low Birth Weight {descriptive}
Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight
Infant 1 – 23 months
Child, Preschool 2 – 5 yrs
Child 6 – 12 yrs
Adolescent 13 – 18 yrs
Adult 19 – 44 yrs
Young Adult 19 – 24 yrs
Middle Aged 45 – 64 yrs
Aged 65 -79 yrs
Aged, 80 and over > 80 yrs
Frail Elderly {descriptive}
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Notable differences in Views
Ethnic Groups
A group of people with a common cultural heritage that
sets them apart from others in a variety of social
relationships.
African Americans
Amish
Arabs
Asian Americans
Gypsies
Hispanic Americans
Mexican Americans
Inuits
Jews
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Continental Population Groups
African Continental Ancestry Group
African Americans
American Native Continental Ancestry Group
Indians, Central American
Indians, North American
Indians, South American
Inuits
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Asian Americans
European Continental Ancestry Group
Oceanic Ancestry Group
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Notable differences in Views
Publication Types vs. Publication Type as Topic
Search : “publication type”
Search : “as topic”
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Notable differences in Views
Field of study Specialty vs. practice of study
Cardiology vs. Cardiovascular Diseases
Pediatrics vs. <disease> in Childhood OR
<disease> CHILD
Nurses vs. Nursing
Advanced MeSH Searching
Leaving no stone unturned.
Advanced MeSH Searching
Examine the Search Details Box
Leverage the Automapping to cover your bases
Try a simple word such as :
swim
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Build the search on step at a time using Advanced Search
stroke
swim
swimmer OR swimmers
Clear out false hits with NOT
Use Old terms and near terms to leverage automapping
and test yourself
Cerbrovascular accident
Clear out previous hits with NOT
Test your assumptions !
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More alternate names – use the NCI Metatheasaurus
NCI Metathesaurus Browser
http://ncimeta.nci.nih.gov/ncimbrowser
Phototherapy
Monster
Mermaid syndrome
PCOS
Stroke
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Leaving no stone unturned.