The New PubMed: Trick or Treat?

The New PubMed: Trick or Treat?

After a long days work, when looking at the screen,

there it was: PubMed’s new interface, so it seemed,

But one blink – and it had gone…

To come back the following dawn.

The change itself was long announced,

we could play with the new “Advanced”.

Still I postponed and procrastinated,

Pointless: the new PubMed couldn’t wait

any longer, but this Redesign isn’t it for me….

Sure, the front page looks web-2-ish, minimalistic & clean,

which is perfect for the Google-Generation,

the hurry-don’t think-just-slash-i-got-one-publication-

PhD’s, for whom all alterations have been made.

Some people think you just have to wait

& see and get used to it.

but I’m already fed up with it.

I know you all think it is just a Librarian-rant.

Librarians they can stick with the new “Advanced”,

“Advanced” however, is just Limits & Index…

But boy did they make this page look complex!

Sure, the basic researchers seem to be quite pleased.

Busy physicians too, they think it is more easy.

They tell me librarian not to wine:

“Go MEDLINE OVID! we stay with this design.”

This is no new idea, didn’t you know:

I long seek refuge in OVID MEDLINE, although

only for exhaustive searches, that much is true.

So why -having this alternative- am I still feeling blue?

Well, I’m not complaining for myself, but for you.

I don’t speak as a searcher, but as a teacher too.

It is so frustrating that I have to explain to you

that each step you take is now multiplied by two.

NLM says all functionalities are still there.

The problem is you have to find where…

I don’t mind the present front page,

but the so called “Advanced” gives no advantage,

at least not for doctors searching evidence.

I teach them “Googling doesn’t make sense“.

Just choose the most important concepts,

work from the History and search words separately.

Begin to find the MesH-terms, and although it is complex

add textwords too, to find papers not yet indexed.

Combine synonyms with “OR” and concepts with “AND”,

Go to the Clinical Queries and use the appropriate command”..

But now it takes so many steps. It is a BIG FAIL

sometimes. You start at the front page, look at the Details,

mapping is wrong, go to Advanced, scroll, scroll, scroll..

to Mesh, “send to Pubmed”, where am I? out of control,

again on the Start page? Go to Advanced again.

Away with Limit and other boxes! – I don’t need them!

The Index yields a MeSH that doesn’t exist?!

Darn, via automatic mapping the multi-term-word is split

in 3 separate words, complete out of context,

as I see In the Details -so I have to re-enter them,

And where have the Clinical Queries gone?

Right, have to scroll the entire “Advanced” page… Yawn…

While it is true that I’m a “bit” exagerating,

my point is that the new PubMed creation

could have been so much better:

not only the functionality, the route also matters.

The redesign is a missed opportunity,

to build an entire new PubMed you see.

The interface is still quite orthodox.

I want clickable and movable boxes

with MESH in clouds thru which you can “walk”

and Clinical Queries that you can drag and drop

with a mapping tool-you can adjust,***

and savings of your settings, that is  a must.

“But the new PubMed”, you ask me

“what is it: a-trick-or-a-treat?”….

“It looks like a nicely wrapped candy,

but tasting a bit bittersweet?!”

Notes

* These links come from Eagle Dawg-blog: Pubmed: All in the attitude

** doesn’t apply to quick and dirty searches on the front page

*** i.e. allow to split or not

Photo Credits:

• Trick or Treat: (Flickr CC) catchesthelight/2989360212/
• Hand & candy: (Flickr CC) ncollett/1810987271/
• Bittersweet: Flickr (CC) deliciousmonster/2946761628/

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