This tool helps you build precise, structured queries for literature databases. It uses Boolean logic to combine concepts.
Groups (AND): Each box represents a major concept. Results must include at least one term from every group. Use groups to connect different ideas (e.g., a disease AND a treatment).
Terms (OR): Inside a group, terms are synonyms or related concepts. Results must include at least one of these terms. Use this to broaden your search for a single concept (e.g., 'Cancer' OR 'Malignancy').
Search Fields Explained:
- Title/Abs (tiab): Searches only in the title and abstract. This is the most common way to find relevant articles. For multiple words, the search becomes (word1[tiab] AND word2[tiab]). For an exact phrase, enclose it in double quotes: "exact phrase"[tiab].
- MeSH: Searches for a specific Medical Subject Heading (MeSH term) in PubMed/Cochrane or an equivalent index term in other databases. This is a powerful way to search for concepts using a controlled vocabulary.
- Pub Type (pt): Filters by the type of publication, e.g., "Randomized Controlled Trial" or "Systematic Review".
- All Fields (all): Searches all available fields in the record. This is very broad and may produce many irrelevant results.
Examples:
(Trigeminal Neuralgia [MeSH] OR "facial pain" [tiab])
AND
("Radiosurgery" [MeSH] OR "Gamma Knife" [tiab])
Finds articles about using radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia, using both MeSH terms and text words.
Start Your Literature Search
Use the query builder to construct your search, get AI-powered term suggestions, and aggregate results from major scientific databases.