Tips for Using:
BUSM Portal
What's the difference between MEDLINEPlus/OVID and PubMed?
- The MEDLINE dataset is the largest component of PubMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's (NLM) database of biomedical citations and abstracts.
- The BUMC MEDLINE Plus/OVID system is OVID's (a library database vendor) representation of the MEDLINE dataset, which it leases from the NLM.
- While at BUMC we encourage you to learn both BUMC MEDLINEPlus/OVID and PubMed and to become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses. Below please see a side by side comparison of both search systems.
| BUMC MEDLINE Plus/OVID | |
| No login name/password required | Login name/password required |
| Most up to date MEDLINE system available | Averages 1 week less current than PubMed |
| Updated daily | Updated daily |
| Provides access to approximately 60% of the Library's electronic journals | Provides access to approximately 80% of the Library's electronic journals |
| Keyword searching | Set searching |
| Defaults to keyword searching; Medical Subject Heading(MeSH) searching available via MeSH Database on a secondary page | Defaults to MeSH searching; keyword searching available via the main menu |
| MeSH headings are automatically exploded | Users control exploding MeSH terms |
| Subheadings available through the MeSH Database | Subheadings are automatically presented |
| All limits available on a single secondary page | Popular limits available on main search page; Additional limits available on a secondary page |
| Once activated limits remain in effect for subsequent searches | Limits apply only to current or selected searches |
| Access to search history on secondary page | Access to search history on main search page |
| Option to find "related articles" | Option to "find similar articles" |
| Automatically searches all PubMed citations, including non-biomedical citations, in process citations (no MeSH attached yet), and citations prior to 1966 | Users choose which PubMed citations to search with the ability to select by time frame and dataset |
| Specific author and journal title searches available from limits page | Specific author and journal title search available from main search page |
| Single citation matcher and batch citation matcher available on secondary pages | A citation search feature is available on the main search page |
| 500 citations may be saved, displayed, printed, or downloaded at a time | 200 citations may be saved, displayed, printed, or downloaded at a time |
| Provides access to genomic databases and Clinical Queries, an Evidence-Based medicine resource | Provides access to CINAHL and Evidence-Based Medicine resources, including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |