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Old 01-22-2010, 08:33 AM
bassman bassman is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Milwaukee Wis
Posts: 276
15 yr Member
bassman bassman is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Milwaukee Wis
Posts: 276
15 yr Member
Default Search Criteria

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrsD View Post
If you search any medications, use the generic name for them.

Good choice of keywords gives the best hits. You might have to put "human"in some because many animal/food processing papers exist on there. So if a term does not bring up much, try an alternate way of searching it. Authors can be searched Last name first then initials no punctuation.

Many PubMed papers do pop up on Google now, too.

Some abbreviations like RSD don't bring all papers you are searching for. And some abbreviations can stand for more than one thing. Example GLA, or ALA, can bring up confusing results.
SAMe doesn't get what one needs either. Must use s-adenosylmethionine for that search.

I lately also do Wiki searches. Sometimes there are clues there that you can then further explore on PubMed. Wiki has become better and more reliable lately IMO. I never used to use it as much as I do now.
You bring up some good points. Thank you. While not medical-related, I do some research , query writing and data analysis as part of my job. Never be satisfied with the first search you do.

Say you looking for song titles by the Beatles. Because of typos and other errors, you may also want to look at beatles (lower case “b”) or BEETLES, or Beetles, or beetles, or betles, and so on. Some search engines are powerful enough to include all of those different spelling possibilities, but you may catch some additional data on your own if you use your imagination and really look around.

The main database I work with has rules that say a name is supposed to be entered: Truman Harry S – last name first, with no comma and no period for the middle initial. But I may never find it if that is all I look for and someone mistakenly put it in as Harry S. Truman or even Truman, Harry S.

Good luck with your research.

Mike
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Jomar (01-22-2010), Kakimbo (01-23-2010)