MeSH Changes and PubMed Searching: Previously Indexed Literature

Open MeSH Database

in another browser window to work through this tutorial side by side.

You want to search PubMed as comprehensively as possible for a concept for a range of years. 

Let's say you want to search, back to 2010, for MEDLINE-indexed literature related to vaccine hesitancy. How would you approach this?

IMPORTANT NOTE: The purpose of this exercise is to show you how to retrieve MEDLINE-indexed records using MeSH terms. This would be only a component of a comprehensive search of PubMed. A search of non-MEDLINE records ("keyword" searching) is also necessary for comprehensive searching. If you are not a librarian or other expert searcher, please consult with one for more guidance.

Let's walk through this, together.

Step 1: Find the Current MeSH Preferred Term for Your Concept

We'll start in the MeSH Database to find the appropriate Medical Subject Headings to find literature related to our concept.

Search MeSH for: vaccine hesitancy

Click here for answer

Step 2: Determine the time frame of the records you can search with this term.

1 of 2

You've found the record for the preferred term, Vaccination Hesitancy, in MeSH.

Looking at the full record, when was this term introduced?

On the right side of the screen, click Add to search builder, to add the term Vaccination Hesitancy to the PubMed Search Builder.

Then click Search PubMed.

Step 2: Determine the time frame of the records you can search with this term.

2 of 2

You should now be looking at your PubMed results for "Vaccination Hesitancy"[Mesh].

What's the difference between [mh], [Mesh], [MeSH Terms]?

Check the number of results and the Results by Year graph in the left column.

Will a search of Vaccination Hesitancy in PubMed produce useful results for records indexed prior to 2022?

Click your browser’s Back button to return to the MeSH record for Vaccination Hesitancy.

Step 3: Determine How Your Concept was Indexed Previously

1 of 3

There are two places in the MeSH Database record to look to explore how a concept was indexed prior to the year a new term is introduced: Previous Indexing, and the next broader term(s) in the hierarchy.

Previous Indexing, when it is available, is located under the Entry Terms.

Does the Vaccination Hesitancy record in MeSH suggest any Previous Indexing terms?

Step 3: Determine How Your Concept was Indexed Previously

2 of 3

When Previous Indexing guidance is not available, indexing generally used the next broader term(s) in the MeSH hierarchy. This is direct from MEDLINE indexing policy: When a specific term is not available, the closest, more general term is applied.

Scroll down to the MeSH hierarchy at the bottom of the record to determine the broader term(s).

What is the next broader term for Vaccination Hesitancy in the MeSH hierarchy?

Click on the next broader term to view its full record in MeSH.

Step 3: Determine How Your Concept was Indexed Previously

3 of 3

You should now be looking at the Vaccination Refusal record in the MeSH Database.

How far back can you search with Vaccination Refusal?

To search for literature about vaccine hesitancy that was indexed between 2017 and 2021, you’ll want to search using the broader MeSH term Vaccination Refusal.

Step 5: Create a Search Strategy Based on Indexing Dates

1 of 4

To limit your search by dates indexed, you can use the PubMed search tag, [mhda]. MHDA stands for MeSH Date.

Click here for suggested answer

Try this search in PubMed.

Step 5: Create a Search Strategy Based on Indexing Dates

2 of 4

Will all PubMed results from this search of Vaccination Refusal be relevant to your search for literature on vaccine hesitancy?

Let’s pretend you’ve selected what you want from this set of PubMed results and go back to find records indexed between 2010 and 2016.

Return to the MeSH record for Vaccination Refusal.

Step 5: Create a Search Strategy Based on Indexing Dates

3 of 4

You should now be looking at the MeSH database record for Vaccination Refusal. Note the Year Introduced.

Where will you look on the MeSH record for Vaccination Refusal to find out how records were previously indexed?

Step 5: Create a Search Strategy Based on Indexing Dates

4 of 4

You should now be looking at the Previous Indexing notes for Vaccination Refusal. Remember that if there were no Previous Indexing notes, you would look to the next broader terms in the MeSH hierarchy at the bottom of the record.

Click here for suggested answer

Try this search in PubMed.

How do your results look? Are they generally relevant?

You will often need to explore combinations of keywords within your previously indexed sets to find relevant records.

Step 6: Put it All Together with the Rest of Your Search

To review, to use MeSH as part of a comprehensive search for vaccine hesitancy for records indexed between 2010 and now, you would include the following searches, and search or browse in the results sets for relevant records:

  • Vaccination hesitancy [mh]
  • Vaccination refusal [mh] AND 2017:2021[mhda]
  • Treatment refusal [mh] AND Vaccination[mh] AND 2010:2016[mhda]

As noted in the beginning of this exercise, This would be only a component of a comprehensive search of PubMed.

Conclusion

This is the end of the exercise on Searching for Previously Indexed Literature.

Return to the course: Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) Changes and PubMed Searching

Powered by Guide on the Side from the University of Arizona Libraries
Developed resources reported in this site are supported by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH) under cooperative agreement number UG4LM012344 with the University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIH..