How to Use the Cancer Research Citation Search Tool

Overview

The Cancer Research Citation Search tool allows you to search for scientific articles authored or coauthored by researchers in CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) starting in 2000.

The articles themselves are not stored in the search tool. Article titles are linked to the National Institutes of Health's PubMed database or PubMed Central archive, or CDC's journals Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) and Preventing Chronic Disease. If available, a digital object identifier (DOI) link is also provided.

Viewing the list of articles

To show the list of articles larger on the screen, click the square Focus mode icon below the Data Portal button. Then click the Back to report button to see the search fields again.

You can use the Zoom slider below the list to make the text larger or smaller. Click the + button on the right side of the slider to zoom in and make the text larger, or click the - button on the left side of the slider to zoom out and make the text smaller.

Sorting the article list

When the tool is first opened, the entire list of articles is shown in ascending alphabetical order (A to Z, 1 to 9) by article title. You can sort the articles in different ways by clicking on the column titles. To sort the column in descending order (Z to A, 9 to 1), click the column title twice.

Please note that if you sort the list by the Author(s) column, the list is sorted alphabetically by the first author.

Selecting the search criteria

You can filter the list to show only the articles you are looking for by using the fields described below. To show the entire list again, click the Reset all filters button in the top right section of the screen.

Keywords

To show only articles with a specific word in the title, type the word in the Title Keyword field. Then either press Enter or click on the right arrow in the field to filter the list.

Author last name

Use the Author Last Name field to show only articles by a particular author. Note that since many articles are collaborations between researchers from DCPC and other institutions, the author may not be a DCPC researcher.

DCPC first authors

Check the DCPC first authors checkbox to show only articles that were first-authored by a DCPC researcher.

Journal name

To show only articles that were published in a particular journal, type its name in the Journal Name field.

Topic

Each article is assigned to one or more topics when it is entered. To show only articles that have been assigned to one or more topics, click the checkbox corresponding to each topic you want.

If you select multiple topics, the list will show articles assigned to any of the topics you selected.

Publication or fiscal year

Use the Publication Year or Fiscal Year fields to show only articles published in one year or a range of years. CDC's fiscal years begin October 1 and end September 30. For example, fiscal year 2025 began October 1, 2024 and ends September 30, 2025. You can filter by calendar years or fiscal years, but not both.

For example:

• If you want to show only articles that were published between 2021 and 2025, select 2021 in the Start Year list and 2025 in the End Year list.
• If you want to show only articles published during 2025, select 2025 in both the Start Year and End Year lists.

Using several search criteria together

You can combine search criteria to get more specific results. Please see the examples below.

• Type "lung" in the Title Keyword field and press Enter. Then check the NCCCP topic checkbox.
  • Result: The list shows only articles about lung cancer control activities in CDC's National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP).
• Type "Jones" in the Author Last Name field and press Enter. Then check the NPCR topic checkbox.
  • Result: The list shows only articles by researchers with the last name Jones about activities in CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR).
• Click the DCPC first authors checkbox. Then, under the Fiscal Year field, select 2024 from the Start Year list and 2025 from the End Year list.
  • Result: The list shows only articles that were first-authored by a DCPC researcher during fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

Reading an article

To read an article in the list:

• Click on the article title. A new browser window will open and show either the abstract of the article (if available) in PubMed, or the full text of the article in PubMed Central, MMWR, or Preventing Chronic Disease. The PubMed abstract will include links (if available) to the full text of the article, but many journals charge a fee to access the full text.
• Click on the DOI (if available). A new browser window will open and show the article in a journal.

Exporting the list of articles

You can export the list of articles in several formats. To do so:

1. Click the Data Portal button.
2. Click the Export button in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Choose the format you prefer and click Download.