In our quest to decipher the differences between the tags "clinical trials"[pt], "clinicaltrial"[Filter], and "Clinical Trials as Topic"[mesh] in a PubMed search, we need to comprehend their individual functionalities. What results the PuMed will bring these three different queries?
- acupuncture AND "clinical trials"[pt]
- acupuncture AND "clinicaltrial"[Filter]
- acupuncture AND "Clinical Trials as Topic"[mesh]
1. Tag "clinical trials"[pt]
The tag [Publication Type], also referred to as [ptyp] or [pt], is a label used to categorize the myriad of articles published in diverse academic journals. It's not unusual for an article to carry more than one Publication Type, even though each article will have at least one. The task of associating an article with the appropriate MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) headings, subheadings, and relevant Publication Type(s) falls on the indexer. The range of these types is broad, encompassing hundreds of distinct publication type tags.
2. Filter "clinicaltrial"[Filter]
When using PubMed, you'll notice check boxes while perusing the Article Type under the Filter menu on the left side of your search results. Primarily, PubMed citations are related to journal articles, but it allows you the flexibility to narrow down your article retrieval based on the type of material it contains. By employing the Filters on the Results page sidebar, you can access the Article Types checklist. This checklist provides a comprehensive list of publication types that are frequently searched. If you want to limit the data with case reports, you need to use the tag [pt], becasue there is no "case report" filter.
Interestingly, the use of a publication type tag and the article type filter generally yield similar results. For instance, searching with the parameters acupuncture "clinical trial"[Publication Type] and acupuncture "clinicaltrial"[Filter] will deliver matching results. The "clinicaltrial"[Filter] is a mapped query by PubMed that can be accessed by checking the filter box for clinical trials. When you use "clinical trial"[Publication Type] tag or clinical trial filter, you can find the same 6,559 results.
3. MeSH "Clinical Trials as Topic"[mesh]
However, if your search intends to restrict the results to clinical trials ranging from phases 1-4, using "Clinical Trials as Topic"[mesh] would prove more effective. This MeSH term is specifically designed to sieve through and provide results pertinent to different phases of clinical trials.
