Searching the Biomedical Literature
http://libguides.ucmercedlibrary.info/biomedical_research
Parts I and II:
o To become familiar with key databases and search strategies for Biomedical research
through experimentation and demonstration.
o To prepare for finding articles for a thorough literature review
Part III:
o To become familiar with a citation management tool and its functionality which support
citing while writing and creating a bibliography
Various Databases:
1. Search the italicized keyword phrase in each of the databases listed below. Record
the number of hits you get for each database.
aldosterone hypertension
Database
Number of Hits
Google
___________
Google Scholar
___________
PubMed
___________
Web of Science
___________
Biosis Previews
____________
PsycInfo
____________
Which database retrieved the greatest number of hits? ___________________
Briefly speculate on why this is so and what implications this may have for a scientific
researcher.
PubMed
2. Search both of the following keyword phrases shown below in the PubMed database
and indicate how many hits you retrieved with each phrase.
Keyword Phrase
Number of Hits
aldosterone hypertension
__________
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aldosterone high blood pressure
__________
Briefly speculate on why the number of hits retrieved differs.
3. Watch each of the PubMed how-to videos linked to below (there are four) and
answer the questions that follow:
A. PubMed Simple Subject Search (1 min.)
What is the MeSH term for “causes”? __________
B. Searching with the MeSH Database (3 min.)
In PubMed, search high blood pressure while limiting the search to the MeSH
database.
How many MeSH headings did you retrieve? ______________
Hint: Click the word Links next to the MeSH heading hypertension to answer the
following questions:
How many items in PubMed have hypertension as a MeSH heading?
_____________
How many items in PubMed have hypertension as a Major Topic? __________
C. Combining MeSH Terms Using the MeSH Database (4 min.)
In PubMed, do a combined MeSH search for articles on aldosterone and
hypertension.
How many hits did you retrieve? _________
In PubMed, do a combined MeSH search for articles on animal models for
aldosterone and hypertension.
How many hits did you retrieve? _________
D. Applying Subheadings and Other Features of the MeSH Database (5 min.)
In PubMed, search the MeSH database for the term hypertension. Click on the
MeSH heading for hypertension to view the subcategories and MeSH tree
structure. (You will need to scroll down the page to see everything.)
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What is the MeSH category immediately above hypertension?
__________________________________________________________________
Limiting to Major Topic, send hypertension to the PubMed search box with AND.
Next, search the MeSH database for the term aldosterone. Click on the MeSH
heading for aldosterone to view the subcategories and MeSH tree structure. (You
will need to scroll down the page to see everything.)
Choose the subheading adverse effects and send it to the PubMed search box
with AND.
With both terms displayed in the search box, click PubMed Search.
How many hits did you retrieve? ________________
Looking at your search results, click on the title of the article by R.M. Wilson and
others to see an abstract of the article. Next, click on the gold box that reads UCeLinks. Were you able to see the full text of the article? ___Yes ___No
4. Finding Systematic Reviews
A systematic review employs an organized method for locating, assembling, and
evaluating the literature on a focused research topic. A systematic review typically
includes a description of the findings of the research studies it evaluates and may also
include a quantitative evaluation (meta analysis) of the collective data reported by the
research studies.
The PubMed Clinical Queries Page has a search box specifically designed to help researchers
find systematic reviews. Use the Find Systematic Reviews search box to look for systematic
reviews on aldosterone and hypertension. How many systematic reviews did your search
retrieve? ______________
Why Literature Searches Matter
Ellen Roche, a 24 year old technician with the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center,
volunteered to take part in a study designed to provoke a mild asthma attack in order to
help doctors discover the reflex that protects the lungs of healthy people against
asthma attacks. After inhaling hexamethonium, a medication used for treating high
blood pressure in the 1950s and 1960s, Ms Roche became ill. She developed a cough
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and her condition worsened over the next week until she was put on a ventilator. With
her lung tissue breaking down, blood pressure falling, and her kidneys beginning to fail,
nothing could be done to save her. She died on June 2, 2001, about a month after
entering the study.
If the researchers at Johns Hopkins had done a thorough literature review, they would
have found several articles that might have tipped them off to the dangers of inhaling
hexamethonium, including the following articles indexed in PubMed:
Canadian Medical Association Journal. 1955 Mar 15;72(6):448-51. Pulmonary
complications during treatment with hexamethonium. Robillard R, Riopelle Jl,
Adamkiewicz L, Tremblay G, Genest J. Full text available at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1825466/?tool=pubmed.
British Heart Journal. 1954 Jan;16(1):101-8. Lung changes during hexamethonium
therapy for hypertension. Doniach I, Morrison B, Steiner Re. Full text at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC503873/?tool=pubmed.
Besides the obvious tragedy of Ms Roche's death, this incident resulted in the
suspension of all federal grants for medical research at Johns Hopkins.
5. Exercise:
Find the very first medical articles about AIDS published in PubMed? Give the name of
the journal and the year of publication.
Journal: ______________________
Year of Publication: ____________
Web of Science
6. Use the Web of Science database to answer the following questions:
A. RM Ortiz published an article on the topic of aldosterone receptor antagonism
that was published in July 2007. Answer the following questions about this
article:
Title of the article:
__________________________________________________________________
Journal in which it was published:
__________________________________________________________________
Volume number: ______________
Issue number: __________________
Page numbers: ___________________
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Last name of one of Oritz’s co-authors: ________________________________
B. How many articles have cited Ortiz's July 2007 article since it was published?
____________________
C. What is the title of the most recent article to have cited Ortiz's July 2007
article? (first five words)
__________________________________________________________________
D. How many articles did Ortiz and his co-authors cite in the bibliography of
their article? ____________
7. One of the articles Ortiz and his co-authors cited is:
Zou LX, Imig JD, VonThun AM, Hymel A, Ono H, Navar LG. “Receptormediated intrarenal angiotensin II augmentation in angiotensin II-infused
rats.” Hypertension. 28: 4 (669-677 ), October 1996.
How may times has the above article been cited since its publication in October
1996? _____________________
8. How many articles are indexed in Web of Science from the Nobel Prize winner of
1933 in Physiology or Medicine?
# of articles ____________________________
9. What is Albert Einstein’s most cited work in Web of Science and when was that article
most recently cited?
Title: __________________________________ (if long, include only first five
words)
# of Citations: __________________________________
Full date of most recent citation: ___________________
PsycInfo:
10. Use PsycInfo to answer the following questions.
A. When does schizophrenia first seemed to be referred to in the literature? By
what term(s) is it identified?
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Date: __________________________
Term(s): _______________________
B. If you search for schizophrenia and treatment and risk* and limit to meta
analyses and systematic reviews, how many results do you retrieve?
# of results: _______________
C. You found the article “Schizophrenia and Deliberate Self-Harm: A Systematic
Review of Risk Factors” and this is one of its references. (See below.) Does UC
Merced have this article? How can you tell?
Article:
Altamura, A. C., Bassetti, R., Bignotti, S., Pioli, R. & Mundo, E. (2001). Clinical
variables related to suicide attempts in schizophrenic patients: A retrospective
study. Schizophrenia Research, 52, 29-36 10.1016/S0920-9964 (00)00187-0.
Yes or No ________
Explanation: __________________________________________________
BIOSIS
11. Use Biosis to answer the following questions.
A. Look up “infant glaucoma” in Topic.
Briefly review the abstract (if available) for each citation retrieved. Determine if
there are other terms that should/could be part of your search on this topic.
Additional Terms:
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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