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Database Alerts

Alerts for researchers

Alerts are automatic updates of new information added to journal databases and websites. They are available from the Library's subscription databases, publisher's websites and via social media. By subscribing to alerts you can:

  • keep up with the latest research in your field
  • identify new areas of potential research
  • learn about forthcoming conferences
  • save time and effort

Alerts are delivered to subscribers via email and/or RSS feeds. 

There are three types of database alerts:

  1. Journal alerts
    • Also called Journal Table of Contents (TOC) alerts.
    • Notification of the publication of new issues in specific journals.
  2. Search alerts
    • Notifications of new results from saved database searches.
  3. Citation alerts
    • Document citation - notification of newly added documents that cite a specific article.
    • Author citation - notification when any paper published by an author is cited in another document. 

Consult the help pages of individual databases to find out what type of alerts are available and how to subscribe.

Maintain your alerts

Avoid information overload by periodically adjusting your alerts. Suggestions include:

  • Adjust the delivery frequency if you are feeling overwhelmed by too much information or excessive emails.
  • Tweak the search terms of saved search alerts if you are getting irrelevant information.
  • Suspend the delivery of alerts if you go on extended leave.
  • Cancel alerts you are not reading.

 

There are time saving ways to keep up to date with new literature published.

Table of contents (TOC) alerts: 

If you find some journals that publish work that is directly relevant to your research you can set up a Journal Table of Contents alert for new issues, or check the journal's homepage to see if you can set up an internal alert.

If you’ve perfected your search so that it's finding relevant literature and want to keep it up-to-date, then sign into the database when you run your search so that you can save the search AND set up an alert which will make sure you don't miss out on any new publications that match your search terms

If database/journals don't allow you to set up an alert, you can run your search again periodically to pick up new publications.