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Library Guides

Library Skills

Keeping up to date with the literature

There are various types of alerts that can be set on databases so that the latest research lands straight in your inbox:

  • If you have spent time constructing a search it is advisable to set up an alert so that the database will auto run your search at periodic intervals and alert you to new publications that match your terms.
  • Follow an author to be notified when they publish another paper or to receive notifications when one of their published papers is cited.
  • Follow a paper to be notified when it is cited.

You will be required to create a personal account with the databases beyond the sign in you use as a University member to access the resource in the first place.  Therefore, this is a second 'log in' after first authenticating to use the resource. 

Setting alerts on key literature databases

These resources cover most STEM and Social Science literature:

Create a personal account in Web of Science to set up alerts that will notify you of new publications matching your search terms and alerts for citations for a favourite paper.

Clarivate guidance on the available options for setting up Web of Science alerts

Create a personal account in Scopus to set up alerts that will notify you of new publications matching your search terms, new citations for a favourite paper and also author alerts.

Elsevier guidance on the available options for setting up Scopus alerts

Google Scholar Alerts search for new material that has been added to the Google Scholar database, not necessarily newly published material. Unfortunately, this means that date ranges do not work for Google Scholar Alerts.  You cannot create alerts for publications from individual sources.

Set up a Google Scholar alert

Further video guidance for key Library resources

The Library subscribes to a number of other literature databases and journal collections.  We have produced instructional videos for these, some of which include highlighting alerting features.

Table of Contents alerts:

If you want a more customised approach to setting alerts, Journal TOCs can inform you when new issues of journals are available or individual articles via setting your keyword preferences: