MASTERING PUBMED: BASICS

"Know Your Source”

Learn what PubMed exactly is - and importantly what it is not. Understand how computers and humans "think" differently when searching. And that there are different "tags" in databases. Both these facts are very important for doing a good search.

“Create your personalized NCBI Account”

Learn to create an "NCBI" account for yourself, in PubMed. With this, you create "your personal space" in PubMed, to save your search efforts. You can also customize your search efforts, by some features like highlighting your search terms in results.

“4 Principles of Online Searching”

There are four principles of searching that are applicable to searching PubMed and many other databases. For some resources only three or less of these principles may be applicable. The first principle is based on the fact that computers and humans "think" differently. The second and third principle are based on tagging search terms, and how tagging helps do a better search. The fourth principle is about correctly combining two or more search terms.

“Get Accurate results using MESH tag”

Having learned the four principles - you now learn to apply them while searching... from simple searches to slightly complex searches. Learn how to apply tags and operators correctly and about the importance of the correct order of search terms and tags.

“Know more about MESH”

Learn how to use the MeSH database correctly, in order to use descriptive tags while searching PubMed. You will learn all the elements of MeSH Terms, and how to run a search from the MeSH database itself. MeSH being the most important element in PubMed - one that helps us reduce trash in our search results, this lesson is the longest, and most important to learn.

“Online Demo Searching of Mesh”

An online demo of searching simple to slightly complex topics, specially to explain how all features in the MeSH database have to be used in varied contexts.

“Display Formats of PubMed”

PubMed has three different sets of display formats for search results - i) Number of results, ii) Order of display of results and iii) Different formats of displaying results. Each format has a specific use. Different permutations and combinations from the three sets are possible, based on your need. Experiment with some, and be ready to use the best when your individual need arises.

“Use Appropriate filters while publication research”

Filters are options to narrow down your search results in a number of ways. Filters are like the options you have in online shopping - brand / price etc. In this lesson, you learn about all filter options available in PubMed and more importantly how they work, and how you can combine filters in several ways.

“Save Strategies and Results”

The steps that you take to do a search - may be simply typing in the search box, or going to the MeSH database and adding terms and searching. You may apply one or more filters. Searching may be one or several steps. You don't want to repeat the entire operation if you wish to search on the topic again. If you have created your My NCBI account and are logged, you can easily save the strategy and re-run it any time. Then when you wish to save all or selected result items, there are several ways in which you can do this too. Some require you to login, some can be done without being logged in. Some methods help you save results offline and some, online. Learn about all these methods and use the best ones in your own context.

“Find the Correct Reference”

Have you noted down a reference at a conference / CME or just when your friend told you about it? And wanted to read the whole paper, but realized that you did not have all details needed to find the article? Introducing the "Single Citation Matcher"- a feature in PubMed by which you can locate any item in PubMed in just around 15 seconds!

Once you complete the enrolment process, you will be provided with a unique enrolment number and login details to Mediknit.org. If in case, you haven’t received the same within 3 working days from enrolment, please feel free to call us on +91 78929 39817 or write to us on info@mediknit.org

Our team is always ready to assist or queries, feel free to call us on +91 78929 39817 (Mon-Fri, 9AM – 5PM), email us on info@mediknit.org. We promise to resolve the query at the earliest.

All assessments are online and MCQ based. Successful completion of which will make you eligible for certification.

The final online test will be unlocked as soon as you complete all the lectures. It will only be available for total of 12 weeks from your date of joining the course.

Three attempts, third attempt will be released on email request only.

If you are not able to clear the test in the provided number of attempts, You may have to pay re-exam fee, for details contact +9 7892939817 or write to us at info@mediknit.org

If you feel that something is wrong with respect to the content or assessment, you can write at info@mediknit.org, directing it to the course coordinator, Dr Bhaskar Rajakumar.

Once you successfully pass your exam, you can download the E-certificate from Mediknit.org. If you need assistance, please feel free to call on +91 78929 39817

Yes. The course and the content is relevant across the globe. International students before enrolling can contact the learner management team by writing to info@mediknit.org or call +91 78929 39817.

Yes, you may ask questions on the platform, which will be answered by the faculty asap. However, if you have specific queries you wish to get it clarified from the mentor personally or need support on your research, feel free to visit https://www.qmed.ngo/friends/.

No, workshops are not part of this course. However, QMed Knowledge Foundation conducts multiple hands-on workshops all through the year, you may visit qmed.ngo and register as convenient.