When searching in PubMed, you may find yourself looking for a phrase that can occur in multiple variants, with words in-between your key terms. Until now, you needed to anticipate and enter all of the options separately to get a comprehensive search. However, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) recently announced that proximity search capabilities have been added to PubMed. This will allow users to look for multiple terms appearing in the [Title] or [Title/Abstract] fields in any order within a specified distance of one another.
To create a proximity search in PubMed, enter terms using the following format:
“search terms”[field:~N]

Search terms = Two or more words enclosed in double quotes.

Field = The search field tag for the [Title] or [Title/Abstract] fields.

N = The maximum number of words that may appear between your search terms.

For example, to search PubMed for citations where the terms “hip” and “pain” appear with no more than two words between them in the Title/Abstract search field, try the search: “hip pain”[Title/Abstract:~2]

You can learn more about this feature in the NLM Technical Bulletin or by watching a brief video tutorial on how to apply proximity searching. The Einstein librarians are also available to help you with all your searching questions via email, phone, text, or chat. Or set up a Zoom appointment with us by clicking the “Request a consultation” button on the right side of the library home page.

When a publication is retracted, it doesn’t disappear from the face of the earth. In fact, many retracted publications continue to be cited for many years after their retraction date causing the spread of a phenomenon sometimes called “zombie literature.” In many cases, researchers are unaware that an article they are citing has been retracted because they downloaded it or imported it into their citation manager prior to the retraction date. Retraction Alerts is a new feature in EndNote which attempts to address this problem by leveraging the Retraction Watch Database.

To see Retraction Alerts, you must be using EndNote 20.2 (or higher) and be signed in to your EndNote account via EndNote’s Sync feature. Once you’ve done that, EndNote will check whether the references in your library have been listed in the Retraction Watch Database and will add them to a “Retractions” group in your library. The retracted reference’s Summary display will indicate the reasons for retraction. Click on “Read more” to see more information on the journal’s website.

EndNote will check for retractions when a library is opened and when a reference is added or updated. Retractions are identified by DOI or PMID. The Retraction Watch Database includes over 39,000 retractions and is updated on a regular basis, but it is not comprehensive. So, authors still must be vigilant.

Additional information is available from:

EndNote 20: Retraction Alerts knowledge base article

Retraction Watch Database User Guide

SciWheel, a citation management tool provided by the Library, now has an easier way to get full text. Einstein’s SciWheel users will see the little orange LibKey logo next to citations in their libraries that that don’t already have PDFs attached. Clicking the LibKey logo will retrieve the PDF. When LibKey can’t find a PDF, it will offer other access options, including interlibrary loan.

Find out more information on SciWheel and how to create an account here.
For additional information on LibKey see our guide.

We look forward to seeing you at Orientation. Did you know the Library has a page just for you?
The most frequently used Library resources for students of the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology can be found in one spot: Resources for Psychology Students. This page includes links to our guides on Ferkauf resources, Printing, Scanning and Photocopying, and mobile resources, as well as a link to group study room reservations.

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