Frequently Asked Questions

What content can I find in the MSF Science Portal?

The Science Portal repository includes:

MSF co-authored publications in peer-reviewed journals
Presentations from recent MSF and Epicentre scientific conferences
Journal-associated blogs
Subset of MSF-authored technical reports
MSF Ethics Review Board documentation
Subset of protocols from MSF research studies
MSF policies relevant to research or publication.

General search tips

Use quotation marks around single search terms with two or more words, whether the term is a country, journal, topic, author name, or article title. Examples: “South Sudan”, “Lancet Infectious Diseases”, “hepatitis c”, “Smith PK”, “Leaving no one behind: the need for a truly global response to antimicrobial resistance”
To search for multiple terms at once, list them consecutively in the search bar—e.g., measles Mozambique, or measles “South Sudan” will look for content matching both terms (an AND search). Alternatively, you can search for the first term, then use the filters on the search results page to query your results further.
To search for content with one or another term, add OR between them—e.g., measles OR Mozambique.
To search by specific field (author, journal, etc.) use the filters on the second page of the Portal, reached by clicking VIEW ALL next to the search bar. See the next section for more detailed tips.

What is the best way to search by...

Topic	Enter a topic into the search bar at the top of the home page (using quotation marks for terms with two or more words—see above) and click “SEARCH.” From the initial results page you can then narrow your search using the filters in the left-hand column. If you are already looking at search results, you can fine-tune topic using the Subject Area filter.
Country	Click VIEW ALL next to the search bar, then use the Country filter (left-hand column) to identify content where the country was a setting for, or focus of, the research. You can also use the search bar, which identifies not only the most relevant content where that country was a focus of the work but all content mentioning the country. When using SEARCH, remember to add quotation marks around country names with two or more words.
Journal or author	Click VIEW ALL next to the search bar then use the filters in the left-hand column. You can also use the search bar by entering the full name of the journal (with quotation marks as needed) or the author last name and first initial (also in quotation marks, e.g., “Zachariah R”). Note that using SEARCH instead of VIEW ALL plus filters will yield not only articles in the journal of interest, or by the author of interest, but also those where the journal or author is mentioned in passing—for example, in the reference list (so these will likely have low relevance).
Conference	Click VIEW ALL and then use the Conference filter in the left-hand column. Conferences are listed by name in reverse chronological order (newest first). You can also filter results from a specific conference further, for example by Content Type (e.g., abstracts, posters, or videos of talks) or by Language.

What determines how search results are ranked when I sort them by relevance?

The most important factors in ranking content by relevance are the presence of the search term in the title of each item, in the abstract (if the item has one), and the relevant field (topic/subject area, country, author name, journal name, etc.)

What is a Collection?

A Collection is a themed package of content from the Science Portal repository, curated by our editors and MSF subject-area experts. It can be a good entry point and sampler of MSF’s work on a given topic. The home page of the Portal typically features one or more Collections. You can browse the complete list on our main Collections page, also reached from the home page by clicking the light blue BROWSE ALL COLLECTIONS button under the featured Collections.

How can I save specific pieces of content to read or download at another time?

Click the “SAVE” button under each item you want to view later. When you’re ready to view your saved content, click on “MY SAVED ITEMS” in the upper right hand corner of any page.

Note: These items will save only on the same device you initially used, and will not be saved if you shut down the device.