LibGuides: Planning Research Guide: Current Awareness: Content Alerts!

Current Awareness

The Engineering, Architecture, and Planning fields are in a constant state of evolution, with the introduction of new technologies, processes, and ideas. It can be difficult to stay up to date on all new developments, but there are some handy tools that can help.
This guide contains the tools you need to stay up to date with the above disciplines, as well as the Sexton Library, and greater Dalhousie community.

Current Awareness Resources

Table of Contents (TOC) Alerts

Table of Contents (TOC) alerts allow a user to stay up-to-date on the status of online journals. When a new volume or issue of a journal is added, an alert with the table of contents will be sent to the user's email. Follow the steps below to register for TOC alerts.

EBSCOhost Databases

Users can set up a TOC alert on EBSCOhost.

1. Access the database through the Dal Libraries website, or by clicking the link above
2. Log in or register for an account by clicking the Sign-In button
3. Check the “Select All Databases” box
4. Click the “Publications” drop-down menu at the top left of the page to access lists of available journals
5. Find the title of the desired journal
6. Set up and alert by clicking the RSS icon beside the journal of choice
7. Fill out the TOC alert form

JournalTOCs

Users can use JournaITOCs to set up TOC alerts.

1. Register for an account by clicking the Sign-In button
2. After logging in, click on account settings to adjust the frequency of alert emails
3. Find journals by entering titles/keywords into the search box or by browsing subject or publisher
4. Check the box next to the desired journal titles
5. Under Username, select Followed Journals to ensure desired journals have been saved

ProQuest Databases

Users can set up a TOC alert on Proquest.

1. Access database through Dal Libraries website
2. Click the 'Publications' button at the top of the page to access the list of available journals
3. Select your journal
4. Click 'Create Alert' under the Publication Information
5. Fill out the TOC alert form

Library-Subscribed Auto-Alerts

Many databases that Dalhousie subscribes to allow a user to sign up for a free personal account. These accounts give you tools that allow you to set up search alerts, saved searches, saved citations, etc. It's an easy way to stay up-to-date with the latest publications in your discipline.

To access the below databases, click the links, or go to the Dalhousie Libraries main page (http://libraries.dal.ca/ ), and search for them under 'Databases' in the drop-down menu.

Access Engineering

A patron can create search alerts, save searches, annotate and label text, export tables to Excel, and view your search history on Access Engineering.

1. Access database through Dal Libraries website.
2. Select My Account.
3. To register, choose Log-In Via Email/Username.
4. Search for keywords in the search box.
5. To Save a search, click the blue Save Search button on the right side of the screen.
6. In the pop-up box, turn email notifications for this search on or off.
7. Click Save.
*NOTE: You can manage search notifications by going to My Account > Saved Searches or Alerts.

ARTSTOR

A patron can save citations, export images to PowerPoint, and more on ARTstor.

1. Access database through Dal Libraries website.
2. Register for an account.
3. Search for images in the search bar.
4. Select the desired image.
5. Save the image by clicking the Add to Group option.
6. Access saved images by selecting Browse > Groups from the navigation bar.

Compendex: Engineering Village

A patron can create search alerts on Engineering Village.

1. Access database through Dal Libraries website.
2. Create your own personal account (Register, top left of page).
3. Do a search for your topic.
4. On the Results page of a search, click the Create Alert button, on the top bar.
5. An email alert of new items under this search will be sent to you.

IEEE/IEE Electronic Library

A patron can save searches, set up search alerts, and export their results from IEEE Explore.

1. Access database through Dal Libraries website.
2. Create an account.
3. Click on My Settings (in white letters) from the menu bar along the top of the page.
4. Click on Content Alerts.
5. Select titles.
6. Click Update.

Publisher TOC Alerts

Many independent academic publishers offer online TOC alerts for new volumes of journals that they publish. This is a partial list of the wide spectrum of publishers out there!

MIT Press

1. Create an account by clicking on Register Now at the top of the screen
2. Log in once the account has been created
3. Browse through the listing of journals or search for the title
2. Click the title of your desired journal
3. At the bottom of the page click "Issue Alerts"
4. Select "Closed Issue Alert" or "Continuous Publishing Added Articles Alert"
5. Pick desired settings
6. Click Save Changes

Oxford University Press journals

1. Create an account
2. Browse through the listing of journals or enter a search
2. Click the highlighted title of your desired journal
3. Select Alerts from the top menu bar
4. Click on add alerts
5. Select the titles you want alerts from
6. Click add alert from the bottom of the page

Sage

1. Click on new users register here
2. Sign up for an account
3. Verify email address
4. Click on browse
5. Add a title you want an alert for by checking the box next to the title
6. Click on add alerts button
7. In the pop-up box click on the type of results you want
8. Click on add alerts

Springer

1. Create an Account by clicking Log In
2. Browse Journals A-Z List
3. Click the highlighted title of your desired journal
4. Click "Sign up for alerts" button on menu to the right
5. Enter your email and click subscribe
6. Check your email to verify the request

Taylor and Francis

1. Create and account and verify email
2. Sign up for alerts on the homepage, or begin a search or browse the publications listing
3. Click the highlighted title of your desired journal
4. Choose New Content Alert (next to the journal image)
5. Choose frequency of email alerts

Wiley Online Library

1. Register for an account and verify email
2. Browse through the listing of journals or enter a search
3. Click the highlighted title of your desired journal
4. Click Get Content Alerts from the right side of the screen
5. Choose alert frequency

Journal Metrics

Journal metrics are tools that allow researchers to gauge the impact factor of different publications in any given field. The key indicator of journal impact is the number of citations that the articles in a journal receive. Network and information analysis are also a key aspect. Below are sources that are useful for researchers to evaluate the impact of academic journals.

Eigenfactor