CSU Libraries > How Do I > Galileo > Using EBSCO MEDLINE with MESH Headings

Using EBSCO MEDLINE with MESH Headings

EBSCO MEDLINE is GALILEO's medicine index and is a good choice for most basic biology topics outside of ecology and industrial microbiology. While it is possible to search MEDLINE for full text articles as you would EBSCO Academic Search Premiere (by keyword), using MeSH headings produces far superior results. Searching with MeSH headings feels and is cumbersome and complicated. Ask for as much help as you need. The power and accuracy of this search method is well worth the extra work.

1. Remember that with MEDLINE the best searches are tightly focused and usually involve two concepts. For example: HIV virus AND T-Cells for "how HIV attacks T-cells."
2. To find MEDLINE, choose the amber Medicine and Health tab from the top of GALILEO and select Medicine from the pull down menu. Then click on MEDLINE which is right on top.
3. Begin your search by clicking on the little green MeSH tab near the top of the page.
4. In the text box in the pale yellow square, type in your first concept. Click the browse button.
5. MEDLINE presents you with a list of subject headings that roughly match your concept.
6. Sometimes MEDLINE tells you to use a different term. If that is the case, click on MEDLINE's suggestion. For HIV virus, MEDLINE offers HIV infections.
7. Because MEDLINE is a VERY LARGE index, you probably want to clarify your choice by selecting it as a major heading (a check box on the right lets you do this), exploding it (this is another check box and it takes in a variety of related subtopics) or qualifying it.
8. To qualify a MeSH heading, simply click on the heading itself. The screen shows you over a dozen subheadings in two columns on the right. Check off as many of these as seem appropriate. For basic biology topics, good choices are metabolism, physiopathology, enzymology, and/or etiology. When you have qualified your subject heading, click the blue back to the list link.
9. DO NOT ADD YOUR TERM YET! This creates a search statement that has extra ((parentheses)) in it that also yields no results. Instead, repeat these steps 5-9 for your second concept.
10. When you have subject headings for both your concepts, switch the scroll box next to the add button to and. Then click add.
11. Click search to launch your search.
12. You receive a list of references in groups of ten. Click on the blue refine search tab and select full text. Click search again. The library does not support all of MEDLINE's extensive nonfulltext holdings, so full text only searches are a good idea.
13. To view linked full text articles, click on the linked full text link. Nearly all linked full text articles in PDF format, that requires Adobe Acrobat.
14. To print full text articles, click on the little printer icon in the top bar of Adobe Acrobat's own frame. Use the result list link or the browser's back button to return to the list of results.
15. For viewing additional articles, an arrow pointing right sends you to the next group. An arrow pointing left sends you to the previous group. Articles come in batches of ten.
16. To start another search click on MeSH. It is better simply to start over than to try to add to an existing search due to the problem with ((multiple parentheses.))

EHK -- April 2005