Expert Research Tip: Using MeSH in PubMed

I've mentioned MeSH several times on this blog, and I frequently recommend using MeSH when I'm talking to a class or meeting with someone one-on-one.  But really, what is it?  How does it work?  And what are the benefits of using it?  My research advice for today?

Use Medical Subject Headings in PubMed to help you find more terms and more items that are relevant to your research topic.

First of all, MeSH just stands for Medical Subject  Headings.  The National Library of Medicine assigns numerous Medical Subject Headings to each article that appears in the MEDLINE (PubMed) database.  You can read a quick MeSH Fact Sheet right here.  Currently, there are 26,142 descriptors in 2011 MeSH, along with 177,000 entry terms (not MeSH, but the "lay people language" that will point you to the correct MeSH term(s)).  

PubMed offers three different online tutorials that teach you how to best use Medical Subject Headings:

• Searching with the MeSH Database
• Combining MeSH terms using the MeSH Database
• Applying Subheadings and Other Features of the MeSH Database

When you start using MeSH, you'll quickly realize that it's a great way to immediately locate completely relevant information AND gain an understanding of what language (vocabulary) the profession may be using to describe the particular terms or topics that you're looking for.  For example, although you may want to look for information on "heart attacks" in PubMed, if you search the MeSH database for this term, you'll immediately find out that medical literature uses the term "myocardial infarction" to describe your topic.  

Try it out, and as always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns!