Alert delivery methods: Choose email or RSS
Alerts may be delivered via:
- email, and/or
- RSS (Really Simple Syndication).
depending on the publisher website or article database vendor. The key difference is in how you see your updates.
Most journal publishers and database providers (e.g. EBSCO, ProQuest) offer both RSS feed and email alert services.
By email
Email alerts will appear in your email inbox, and you will receive separate emails for each alert you've created.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
RSS alerts will appear in your RSS reader (mobile app or webpage), with all alerts collected in one feed that you scroll through.
You may need to install an RSS aggregator or reader to use RSS.
See Current Awareness Tools (UBC) for more info on RSS feeds and links to RSS aggregators and readers.
Search alert types and set up
Table of contents alerts (a.k.a. "journal alerts" or "publication alerts")
Use table of contents alerts to:
- Track when a new issue of a journal of interest is published
- See all current articles from a single issue at a glance.
Learn how to set up a table of contents alert
Saved search alerts
Use saved search alerts to:
- Track when a new publication matching your search criteria is published
- Save time and energy -- the alert re-runs saved searches automatically.
Learn how to set up a saved search alert
Citation or author alerts
Use citation alerts or author alerts to:
- Track new article citations or references on particular subjects or by specific authors
- Note: Not all article databases offer this service.
Learn how to set up a citation alert
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