9 million records dating from 1966 to present, updated weekly. Homepage Show the URL and explain that this is the homepage that PubMed will always open to. It is also the basic search mode screen. Explain that all the features of PubMed can be located in the gray sidebar located on the left side of the screen. This will demonstrate both the phrase index feature as well as the mapping feature.
Trainers often use Vitamin c common cold as terms because they exhibit all the desired features.
Tell them that using MeSH terms will give you a more precise search because you will not retrieve articles that only briefly mention the term as a keyword search would. Therefore if an article is about vitamin c, the indexed term or synonym would be ascorbic acid. End by mentioning that with PubMed, you don't have to know what the indexed words are because it will usually map to the appropriate MeSH term for you. Type your chosen phrase into the text box and click on search. Take your time explaining it because it will save you time in the long run.