Visit us on Facebook Visit us on Twitter View our RSS Feed 
Oct
03
Posted by Erica Lake on October 3rd, 2024
Posted in: Blog
Updates to the PubMed filters interface on the search results page will be released later this month. The updates to the filters interface are based on user feedback, web analytics, video interviews, and hands-on usability testing with PubMed users from different backgrounds, such as medical librarians, clinicians, and scientists among others. While the available filters and their underlying search strategies will not change, the updates should provide a more intuitive and streamlined experience addressing the most common frustrations shared with us by PubMed searchers.
The most significant changes to the filters interface are summarized below and in the 2024 Sep-Oct issue of the NLM Technical Bulletin.
Figure 1: Screenshot of the filter sidebar highlighting the updated “My Custom Filters” label and location of Publication Date filters.
My Custom Filters: The “My NCBI Filters” category label has been renamed to My Custom Filters (Figure 1A).
Publication date filters: Publication date filters have been moved to the top of the filters list under the results by year timeline, making these frequently used filters more accessible and grouping all date filters together (Figure 1B). Additionally, the validation rules for the custom date range filter have been improved; for example, you can now enter the same start and end year with no month/day required to search for a one-year period.
Figure 2: Screenshot of the filter sidebar highlighting the new “See all filters” link, “Additional filters” accordion, and “Reset filters menu” button.
Default filters: The most frequently used filters continue to display on the sidebar by default. A new “See all filters” link (Figure 2A) now appears for filter categories that include additional filters beyond those displayed as default. Clicking “See all filters” opens a popup showing all filters for that category. Choosing filters from this popup adds them to the sidebar and applies them to your current search in a single step.
Customizing the filters sidebar: Applying filters from a “See all filters” popup will apply them to your current search and display those filters on the sidebar. Filters added to the sidebar are stored in your browser cookies and will continue to display on the sidebar until your browser cookies are cleared or you click on the “Reset filters menu” button (Figure 2C) at the bottom of the filter sidebar.
Additional filters: The Article language, Species, Sex, Age, and Other filter categories are now displayed under an Additional Filters accordion that can be expanded or minimized (Figure 2B). This change is designed to make it more apparent that additional filter categories are available, while keeping the interface streamlined for searchers who do not commonly use these types of filters.
Figure 3: Screenshot of the filter sidebar highlighting new info icon links.
Links to the User Guide: Info icons now appear next to some filter categories linking to the relevant section of the PubMed User Guide where searchers can learn about how these filters affect their search results (Figure 3).
For more information on using filters, please see the PubMed User Guide: Filters and PubMed User Guide: Filter Search Strategies. Please reach out to us via the NLM Help Desk with your questions or feedback about this update. We are committed to the continuous improvement of PubMed and look forward to hearing from you.
ABOUT Erica Lake