Show example of a well-formed input▸
We want to evaluate whether early initiation of a structured, supervised aerobic exercise program improves depressive symptoms and functional outcomes in adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder. The population of interest includes adults aged 18–71 with a primary diagnosis of moderate major depressive disorder confirmed by DSM-5 criteria, currently experiencing an acute depressive episode, and receiving stable first-line SSRI treatment for at least four weeks. Patients with bipolar disorder, psychotic features, active substance use disorders, or unstable medical conditions should be excluded. The intervention consists of a clinician-approved, supervised aerobic exercise program performed three times per week for twelve weeks, with each session lasting approximately 40 minutes at moderate intensity (for example, treadmill walking, cycling, or equivalent activities targeting 60–75% of maximal heart rate). The comparison group should include similar patients receiving treatment as usual, defined as ongoing pharmacotherapy and routine psychiatric follow-up, but without any structured exercise intervention. Primary outcomes include change in depressive symptom severity measured by validated scales such as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) or PHQ-9. Secondary outcomes include changes in anxiety symptoms, quality of life, cognitive functioning, and occupational or social functioning. Relevant follow-up duration is twelve weeks from intervention initiation.
Generated PubMed query
Your generated PubMed query will appear here.

Article count: —

PubMed Query Builder

Describe your research question in plain language. Get a Boolean PubMed query you can copy, edit, and run anywhere.

If you have worked with PubMed directly, you know how fragile Boolean queries can be. Even experienced researchers find that small changes in term grouping or field tags produce unexpectedly different results — and relevant articles get silently excluded.

Why PubMed queries are hard to get right▸

PubMed Boolean queries are structurally fragile. Minor variations in operator placement, term grouping, or field tag usage can produce materially different retrieval sets. The researcher sees the results that came back — not the articles that were missed.

This creates three concrete risks: missed studies from suboptimal Boolean logic, irreproducible searches from manual edits across sessions, and opaque failure modes where errors in query syntax are difficult to detect and harder to debug.

What this tool does for you

1

Automatic PubMed query generation

Describe your research question in plain language. The system extracts the underlying concepts and generates a PubMed Boolean query you can review, edit, or copy as-is.

How query generation works▸

The system extracts four keyword groups from your description — population, intervention, comparator, and outcome — and the final Boolean query is assembled deterministically by the backend, not by the AI. Same inputs always produce the same query. No stochastic rewriting. No hidden transformations.

The generated query text is fully editable. You stay in full control of what your final query says.

2

Adjustable query scope

Too many articles? Too few? Drag a slider to make the query stronger or weaker. The PubMed article count updates in real time so you can find the right balance before you take the query elsewhere.

How the breadth slider works▸

Each keyword in the query has a proximity score reflecting how closely it relates to your research question. Moving the slider left removes lower-scoring terms first, tightening the query. Moving it right adds more terms, broadening it.

The article count updates instantly as you drag — no AI tokens are used for adjustments. The query text regenerates when you release the slider.

Who is this tool for?

  • Researchers building literature search strategies of any kind
  • Clinicians searching the evidence base for a specific question
  • Students learning how PubMed Boolean queries are constructed
  • Anyone who needs a reproducible, auditable PubMed query for any purpose

Generated queries are standard PubMed Boolean syntax. PubMedMadeEasier does not maintain a proprietary literature database and does not alter PubMed records. The system constructs the query. PubMed answers it.

More about the PubMed relationship▸
  • You can take any generated query and use it directly on the PubMed website — or in any other tool that accepts standard PubMed Boolean syntax.
  • The system queries PubMed only for the live article count, so you can see how broad your query is as you adjust it.
How query generation works▸
  1. You enter your research question in plain language.
  2. The system extracts structured keyword groups from your text (population, intervention, comparator, outcome).
  3. A deterministic PubMed Boolean query is assembled from those keyword groups. You can edit any part of the query directly, or use the slider to broaden or tighten it.
  4. The query is yours to copy and use — on PubMed's website or in any tool that accepts standard PubMed Boolean syntax.

Identical inputs always produce identical queries. The Boolean assembly is performed by the backend, not by the AI.