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NUR 630: Epidemiology and Biostatistics

What is PubMed?

PubMed is a freely available database developed and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine. It contains over 24 million citations for biomedical literature indexed in MedLine, life sciences journals, and electronic books. Entries from MedLine journals, which are chosen by a committee of experts, are abstracted and indexed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 

PubMed and its search features are free for anyone to use. Swisher Library also provides access to MedLine through Ovid, a subscription database.

What is PubMed Central?

PubMed Central is a free full-text archive within PubMed. It contains publications that have been submitted in compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy and the requirements of other funding agencies. PMC manuscripts are free for anyone to download.

Note that the version of a manuscript deposited in PMC may not be the same as the publisher's final edited version, or the Version of Record. In many cases, the PMC version is the author's manuscript, or the "post print" version. 

PubMed Clinical Queries

PubMed Clinical Queries are pre-set comprehensive search filters developed by R.B. Haynes and others at McMaster University in order to provide practitioners quick access to reliable studies. There are three sections: 

  • Clinical Studies
  • Systematic Reviews
  • Medical Genetics