Pharmacy

Note : Open a free account with the platform of the ebooks to have access to the option of save and bookmarks. 

There are many different types of resources you can use in your research. They all have different pros and cons. The evidence pyramid is one way to represent the general quality of information and risk of bias. Take a look and click on the red icons to see where you can find different examples of each type of research. 

Note that this figure was adapted from OpenMD.

We can also organize our information sources by the type of information we need. For example, we typically look for databases to find scientific articles, but we consult point-of-care tools for drug monographs. Below you will find examples of different types of information and where you can find them. Click on the red icons to get more information and a link to the platform. 

Adapted from PHM 2514- Unité 6: Guide étudiants pour recherches d'information by MCD

Let's look at a more specific example about metformin. There are many sources we can consult. But it will depend on the type of information we need. The image below shows different resources available to you depending on your need. Click on the red icon to know more and get a link to the platform. 

Adapted from PHM 2514- Unité 6: Guide étudiants pour recherches d'information by MCD

This page does not cover constructing research questions for databases. To know more about this subject, consult the following pages:

• Formulate your research question 
• Consider Precision and Sensitivity of your Search
• Gather synonyms for your search concepts
• Combine your search terms logically using AND/OR (Boolean Operators)

For more information on searching MEDLINE, check out this page.(You don't need to search with MeSH)

Here is an example of searching in MEDLINE. A screenshot is found below, along with an explanation of each step in the following table. 

Note that the results of your search appear below the search history. It can sometimes take a few seconds (you may have to scroll down)

This search was completed 12 novembre 2025.

Note : MEDLINE has the following filters :

• for "pregnancy" (focused and general)
• for human-only studies 
• For "EBM Evidence-Based Medicine”
• For "Pharmacologic actions"

Autre option : quand les ensembles sont très grands, tester la sélection par langue (french, spanish).
 

For more information on searching PubMed, check out this page. 

With PubMed, you have 2 options for running your search. You can do a basic search or an advanced search. Below you will find an example of each option.

To do a basic search, you can type "metformin AND (breastfeed* or breast feed* or lactation or pregnancy or pregnant)" in the search bar on the home page of PubMed. There were 1943 results on November 12th.

The buttons "Access Options" and "Download PDF" are not part of PubMed, they come from the browser extension LibKey. You can learn more here.

To do an advanced search, click "Advanced" under the search box. It should bring you to this page. 

You can then put something like this in the search box. 

metformin[Title/Abstract]) AND ((breastfeed*[Title/Abstract] OR breast feed*[Title/Abstract] OR lactation[Title/Abstract] OR pregnancy[Title/Abstract] OR pregnant[Title/Abstract])

Or use the search builder to construct your own. 

Thanks to the advanced search mode,  you can refine your search to be  "Title/Abstract" (equivalent to .ti,ab. in MEDLINE) 

For more information on searching Embase, check out this page.

Here is an example of a search in Embase. A screenshot can be found below, along with a table explaining each step. 

Note that the results of your search will be found below the search history. It sometimes takes a few seconds and you may need to scroll down. 

Note this search was done the 12 novembre 2025.

Note : Embase has the following filters :

• for "pregnancy" (focused and general)
• for human-only studies 
• For "EBM Evidence-Based Medicine”
• For "Pharmacologic actions"

Autre option : quand les ensembles sont très grands, tester la sélection par langue (french, spanish).

Below you will find three examples of different searches in books and manuals.

• After clicking on the link, use the tab "Search Within" to look for "metformine" 

• After clicking the link, click the magnifying glass and then search "metformin"

• After clicking on the link type "metformin and pregnancy" in the keyword search box. 

For an example of how to search CPS, check out the above document.

For an example of how to search RXVigilance, see the above document.