Algorithmic indexing in MEDLINE frequently overlooks important concepts and may compromise literature search results

• Published in: Journal of the Medical Library Association Vol. 113; no. 1; pp. 39 - 48
• Main Authors: Amar-Zifkin, Alexandre, Ekmekjian, Taline, Paquet, Virginie, Landry, Tara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Medical Library Association 01.01.2025; University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
• Subjects: abstracting and indexing; Abstracting and Indexing - methods; Abstracting and Indexing - standards; Algorithms; Analysis; Automation; Blindness; Diabetes; Documents; Evaluation; Humans; Indexing; Information professionals; Information storage; Information Storage and Retrieval - methods; Medical literature; Medical personnel; Medical Subject Headings; Medical Subject Headings-MeSH; MEDLINE; Methods; Online databases; Original Investigation; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacy; PubMed; Search Strategies; Subject heading schemes; Visual impairment; Vocabularies & taxonomies; United States; MEDLINE; Retrieval; Search Strategies; Information Storage; Algorithms; Abstracting and Indexing; MeSH; Database Searches; Medical Subject Headings; PubMed

Objective: To evaluate the appropriateness of indexing of algorithmically-indexed MEDLINE records. Methods: We assessed the conceptual appropriateness of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used to index a sample of MEDLINE records from February and March 2023. Indexing was performed by the Medical Text...