Keeping up-to-date
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- describe the purpose of an alert service
- describe the sorts of alerts
- recognise a RSS alert feed.
What is an alert service?
Many journal databases and book publishers offer free alert services. These are an effective means of keeping track of the latest research.
Alert services come in different forms. The most common include:
- a search alert. This is a saved search which alerts you when a book or article that matches your search terms is published.
- a TOC (Table of Contents) alert. Such an alert notifies you when a new issue of a journal is published, and provides you with the issue's table of contents.
- a citation alert. This advises you when a new article cites a particular work.
Most alert services are email-based. An increasing number are now offered as an RSS feed. If you are just beginning, you might like to try email alerts first. These are generally easier to create.
How to set up alerts
To create an alert, you generally need to register with each journal index. Below is a list of some of the main journal databases that offer alert services. Not all of these are appropriate for your research. Browse the journal database first to check that it is relevant.
| American Chemical Society |  |
| American Mathematical Society | |
| AustLit | |
| BioMed Central | |
| BioOne | |
| Cambridge University Press | |
| CSIRO Journals | |
| Duke University Journals | |
| Emerald FullText | |
| HighWire | |
| IngentaConnect | |
| Institute of Physics | |
| Nature Publishing Group | |
| PNAS | |
| PubMed | |
| Royal Society of Chemistry | |
| Sage Publications | |
| Science Direct | |
| SpringerLink | |
| Web of Science | |
| Wiley Online Library | |
Book publishers
Many publishers now offer alert service to readers. These can be a useful means of tracking non-journal research.
| Blackwell Publishers | |
| Brill | |
| Cambridge University Press | |
| DA Books Alert | |
| Jossey-Bass | |
| Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins | |
| MIT Press | |
| Prentice Hall | |
| Wiley | |
| University of Chicago Press | |
| Springer | |
Google Alerts
Google Alerts allow you to set up a search on Google which sends you an email message when Google finds new relevant content.
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Create a Google Alert Why not create an alert now. It only takes a few seconds. Follow these steps:
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Web Feeds
Many academic publishers now send out alerts via RSS or Web feeds. RSS is a popular alternative to email alerts. To get started you need a RSS reader, feed reader, or feed aggregator which will check RSS-enabled sites and download the latest content.
Although specialised RSS aggregators exist, many popular email and browser packages can be used as feed readers. Examples include Outlook 2007, Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 3.
To sign up to your favourite journal, check the journal site for one of the common RSS icons. Examples are below:
Clicking on these buttons in a browser such as Internet Explorer 7, will subscribe you to the associated feed. Otherwise, clicking on the button will display the feed address.
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Getting started The University of Nevada, Reno maintains a list of academic journals which post their table of contents by RSS feed. Note, however, you will need to go to journal sites direct to sign up. |
Summary
This module dealt with
- the different sorts of alert services that exist
- the range of alerts available from academic publishers
- RSS alert feeds.
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Self-test
Try these quick self-test questions to assess what you have learnt from this module. |