Proximity operators now available in PubMed

Proximity operators now available in PubMed

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In PubMed you can now use proximity operators to search. In databases, proximity operators are important for a free text search. They allow a very specific search and reduce the number of hits while increasing their relevance.


In the PubMed database, it is now possible to search the [Title] or [Title/Abstract] fields using proximity operators. This allows users to search for multiple terms that occur in any order at a certain distance from each other in the [Title] or [Title/Abstract] fields.


Example 1

A search with the terms “costs” and “healthcare” appearing within 3 words – in any order – in the [Title] field:

“costs healthcare”[Title:~3]

With this search, the following combinations will be found:

Healthcare costs, costs of healthcare, costs in healthcare, healthcare resource utilization and costs, costs of single-payer healthcare, Healthcare resource use and costs, etc.


Example 2

The search using proximity operators can also be combined with Boolean operators. A search in with the terms “costs” and “healthcare” appearing within 3 words – in any order – in the [Title/Abstract] field and the term “cancer” occuring anywhere in the data set:

“costs healthcare”[Title/Abstract:~3] AND cancer

Please check also the help section in PubMed as well as this video tutorial.


Limitations

  • truncation is not supported
  • ATM (Automatic Term Mapping) will be switched off
  • nested nearches with proximity operators are not supported, e.g. one of the terms “cost”, “costs” or “budget” occurs within 3 words of “healtcare”.
    “(cost OR costs OR budget) healthcare”[Title:~3] is not supported!

Please check also the PubMed Proximity FAQs


Systematic Searching

Due to these limitations, we still recommend systematic searching the Medline database via other providers. We also enable access to Medline via OVID.

Please also consult our tutorial for systematic literature search


Jacqueline Huber, Liaison Librarian Medicine