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Library 101 - Part 3: Advanced Research Techniques

A tour of advanced research techniques that can be deployed across resources and databases available through the Lyman Beecher Brooks Library.

Set an Alert

Creating an alert will send you an email when new results for your search parameters appear.

In an academic database, Search Alerts can save valuable research time by providing automatic e-mail notification whenever new search results for scholarship in your area of study becomes available. In a search engine you can get info about news, products, or specific terms, such as mentions of your name.

Search Alerts save valuable research time, and can be set up to provide automatic e-mail notification whenever new search results become available. You can also retrieve those alerts to perform the search immediately, instead of waiting for the alert to run. There are two ways to save your search as an alert.

NOTE: To create an alert, you must Sign In. If you accessed the EBSCOhost database through OpenAthens, your account will be automatically recognized and all that you will need to do is click Sign In at the top of the EBSCOhost search page before setting up and alert or you can click Sign In in the alert setup box. This will log you into MyEBSCO and will allow you to access personal folders and set up search alerts.

Creating a Search Alert

To save your search as an alert from the Share link:

  1. Run a search and view your search results.

  2. Click the Share link and select E-mail Alert from the resulting pop- up menu. The Create Alert window appears over the result list.

  3. If you have not done so already, click the Sign in link in the alert window to sign into your MyEBSCO folder.

  4. Set your alert parameters and click Save Alert.

Note: When you create a Search Alert, the sort selection of the result list is honored for your alert. For example, if your result list is sorted by relevancy when you create your alert, your alert will be sorted by relevancy when it is delivered.

In the E-mail area of the window:

  1. Subject - In the Subject field, enter a brief explanation that will appear in the subject line of the Alert e-mail.

  2. E-mail from - Defaults to: EPAlerts@EPNET.COM. You can enter a different "From" e-mail address if desired.

  3. E-mail to - Enter your E-mail Address. If you are entering multiple e-mail addresses, place a semicolon between each e-mail address.

  4. Hide addresses from recipients - If you select this option, the e-mail addresses you enter will be placed into the BCC (Blind Copy) field of the e-mail, rather than the "To" field.

  5. E-mail format - Select Plain Text or HTML.

In the General Settings area of the window:

  1. Frequency - Select how often the search will be run:

    • Once a day (the default)
    • Once a week
    • Bi-weekly
    • Once a month

  2. Results format - Select a results format for your alert.

    • Brief
    • Detailed
    • Bibliographic Manager

  3. Articles published within the last - To limit which articles are searched, select one:

    • One month
    • Two months
    • Six months
    • One year
    • No limit (the default)

Note: To view all available alert settings, click the Advanced Search link.

To save a search as an alert from the Search Alert/History window:

  1. Run a search and view your search results.

  2. Click the Search History/Alerts link, and then click the Save Searches/Alerts link. The Save Search Alert Screen appears. If you have not already signed in your personal account, you will be prompted to do so.

On the Save Search Alert Screen

  1. Enter a Name and Description for the Alert.

  2. To run the Alert against a different database, select the Databases from the drop-down list. (Hold down the control key and left-click your mouse to select multiple databases.)

  3. Search strategy - The search terms are displayed. (not editable)

In the Save Search As area of the screen:

  1. To save the search as an Alert that can be automatically run, click the Alert radio button. The Save Search Alert Screen appears.

  2. To select how often the search will be run, from the Frequency drop-down list, select one:

    • Once a day (the default)
    • Once a week
    • Bi-weekly
    • Once a month

  1. To limit which articles are searched, from the Articles published within the last drop-down list, select one:

    • One month
    • Two months
    • Six months
    • One year
    • No limit (the default)

  1. In the Run Alert for field, select one:

    • One month
    • Two months
    • Six months
    • One year (the default)

In the Alert Options area of the screen:

  1. Select the Alert results format: Brief, Detailed, or Bibliographic Manager.

  2. To limit EBSCOhost access to only the articles in alert (rather than the entire site), mark the checkbox to the left of this field.

    Note: When this box is marked, the folder feature will not be available to users accessing articles from the alert.

In the E-mail Options area of the screen:

  1. Indicate how you would like to be notified. Select one:

    • E-mail all alerts and notices (the default)
    • E-mail only creation notice
    • No e-mail (RSS only) - if you select this option, the remaining E-mail Properties will be hidden (because they are not necessary for RSS).

  1. Enter your E-mail Address. If you are entering multiple e-mail addresses, place a semicolon between each e-mail address.

  2. Hide addresses from recipients - if you select this option, the e-mail addresses you enter will be placed into the BCC (Blind Copy) field of the e-mail, rather than the "To" field.

  3. In the Subject field, enter a brief explanation that will appear in the subject line of the Alert e-mail.

  4. Title - you can optionally enter a title for the e-mail. The default value for the Title field is: EBSCOhost Alert Notification.

  5. E-mail [From] address - Defaults to: EPAlerts@EPNET.COM. You can enter a different "From" e-mail address if desired.

  6. Select the E-mail format to use: Plain Text or HTML.

  7. To have your search string included with your results, mark the Include query string in results checkbox. To include the alert frequency, mark the frequency checkbox.

  8. When you have finished making changes, click the Save button.

Related terms: alert, EBSCO Discovery Service, EDS

Editing a Search Alert

To edit a search alert:

  • From the Advanced Search Screen, click on the Search History link below the Find field.

  • Click the Retrieve Alerts link.

  • Sign in to MyEBSCO.

  • Click the Search Alerts link.

  • Locate the alert you want to edit.

  • Click on the Edit Alert link to access the Save Alert page.

  • Edit the alert.

  • Click Save.

Note: If you would like to edit the search terms or limiters/expanders of your alert, click the Edit link in the Search History box at the bottom of the alert. 

Deleting a Search Alert

You can delete your Alert by logging in to your MyEBSCO personal folder (once you are logged in to EBSCOhost).

To delete an alert:

  1. Click the Sign in link in the upper left corner of the screen.

  2. Click the Folder link.

  3. Your folder contents display, with a menu located on the left-hand column.

  4. Click Search Alerts.

  5. Mark the check box for each alert you would like to delete.

  6. Click the Delete Items button. The selected items are removed from the folder.

Viewing a Search Alert

EBSCOhost alerts are set to display the first 100 results. If your alert produces more than 100 results, and you want to view the remaining results, there are two ways to view all results from your alerts.

Click on the persistent link in the alert email to view all available results or view them by using the Retrieve Alerts feature in EBSCOhost.

To view all results from an alert in EBSCOhost:

  1. From the Advanced Search Screen, click the Search History link.

  2. Click the Retrieve Alerts Link.

  3. Sign in to your personal account.

  4. Locate the alert you want to view, and click on the date of the alert. Your search results will appear.

 

-From EBSCO, How to Use Search Alerts

A search alert notifies you when there are new articles that match your search query. All alert related email from ProQuest will be sent from the address alert@proquest.com.
Helpful Tip: use this address to set up a filter if you wish these message to arrive in a folder other than your inbox.

It is not necessary to have a My Research account to subscribe to email alerts. However, if you are signed into your My Research account while creating an alert you can view and manage all your alerts from within My Research.

Follow the steps below to create a new search alert.

  1. Make sure you are on the Set up Your Search Alert page by doing one of the following:
  • Run the desired search from either the Basic or Advanced pages.
  • Note: If you want to receive notification only of full-text documents, make sure you limit your search to full-text documents.
  • From the Results page, click Set up Alert.
  • Or, from the Basic or Advanced pages, click on Recent Searches. Locate the desired search, mark the check box next to the search and then click on Set up Alert next to the search.

2. Select how frequently you want alerts sent. Your options are:

  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly


Check the box next to Send message when there are no new results to receive an alert, even if no new results are available.

  1. Select when to stop sending the alerts. Your options are:
  • Two weeks
  • One month
  • Two months
  • Four months
  • Six months
  • One year


Alerts can be renewed, if desired.
      1. Enter the email address to which you'd like to send the alerts. You cannot send an alert to multiple addresses.
      2. The remaining fields are optional and include: a subject header for the email, and a message you'd like to include in the body of your email.
      3. Pick the formatting for your alert (HTML or Text Only)
      4. Click Set up alert.
      5. You will see a confirmation page, summarizing your information. If the information is correct, click Close. Otherwise, you can click Delete this Alert to delete the alert.

You will receive a confirmation message by email. If this is the first alert for this email address you will need to click "accept" to begin receiving alerts. (You will only be asked to "accept" the first time you set up an alert for your address.)

-From ProQuest, Create a Search Alert

Setting an alert will send you emails when new results for a topic show up in Google Search. For example, you can get info about news, products, or mentions of your name.

Create an alert

  1. Go to Google Alerts.
  2. In the box at the top, enter a topic you want to follow.
  3. To change your settings, click Show options. You can change:
    • How often you get notifications
    • The types of sites you’ll see
    • Your language
    • The part of the world you want info from
    • How many results you want to see
    • What accounts get the alert
  4. Click Create Alert. You’ll get emails whenever we find matching search results.

Edit an alert

  1. Go to Google Alerts.
  2. Next to an alert, click Edit Edit.
  3. If you don’t see any options, click Show options.
  4. Make your changes.
  5. Click Update Alert.
  6. To change how you get alerts, click Settings Settings and then check the options you want and click Save.

Delete an alert

  1. Go to Google Alerts.
  2. Next to the alert you want to remove, click Delete Delete.
  3. Optional: You can also delete an alert by clicking Unsubscribe at the bottom of an alert email.

-From Google, Create an alert

Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.

Setting an alert will send you emails when new results for a topic appear in Google Scholar Search. For example, you can be notified when a new article appears in your area of research. 

You must have a Google account to create an alert.

Create an alert:

  1. From Google Scholar homepage, expand the menu on the top left
  2. Select Alerts from the menu.
  3. Choose your account and log in.
  4. Click CREATE ALERT button and fill out search words.
  5. On this page you will see sample search results generated as you type and you have the option to change the email address where the related alerts are sent.
  6. Click the CREATE ALERT button to set the alert.
  7. Locate Alerts Envelop in right column to view saved alerts

Delete an alert:

  1. From Google Scholar homepage, expand the menu on the top left
  2. Click the Alerts Envelop on the left
  3. Click CANCEL on the alert you would like to remove.
  4. A screen will appear with a confirmation of the alert query you wish to cancel and your email. Click the CANCEL ALERT button.

 

JSTOR does not have an alert system, however it does have a “Workspace.” 

With your Workspace, you can:

  • Save what you find on JSTOR, including articles, book chapters, images, and primary source materials to revisit anytime
  • Organize your research with folders
  • Add your own notes to items you've saved
  • Export your research as reference lists or presentations
  • Present your research in full screen mode
  • Share folders with other members of your institution

Create your Workspace account:

  1. Log in to JSTOR through the library website: https://lbbl.nsu.edu/jstor
  2. Click on the "Register" button in the upper right corner.
  3. Provide an email address.
    • The email address you choose to register with will be your default username.
  4. Confirm your email address.
  5. Select a strong password. Passwords must:
    • Contain at least one (1) upper or lowercase character.
    • Contain at least one (1) number or special character.
    • Be a minimum of six (6) characters in length.
    • No blank spaces are permitted.
  6. Confirm your password.
  7. The institution or university field should be pre-populated with "Norfolk State University"
  8. Optionally, provide any additional information you would like to share (role, area of study, etc.).
  9. To opt into updates from JSTOR and/or JSTOR-participating publishers, select JSTOR Updates.
  10. To stay logged in, select Keep me Logged In.
  11. Review the Terms and Conditions of use and select the checkbox.
  12. Then click the "Register" button.

PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM). 

Create an alert:

  1. Navigate to the Sign in to MyNCBI link at the top right of the PubMed homepage to sign in, or to register for a new account.
  2. Perform a search for which you would like to set up an alert.
  3. Click the Create Alert link located directly below the search box.
  4. You can set
    • Which email accounts get the alert.
    • How often you get notifications
    • How many results you want to see
  5. Click Save. You’ll get emails whenever we find matching search results.

Edit an alert:

  1. Sign in to MyNCBI link at the top right of the PubMed homepage.
  2. Click on your account name in the upper right.
  3. Click on Dashboard.
  4. Under Saved Searches, click on the settings icon settings gear icon
  5. Make any changes you to the search you would like
  6. Click Save to confirm changes.

Delete an alert:

  1. Sign in to MyNCBI link at the top right of the PubMed homepage.
  2. Click on your account name in the upper right.
  3. Click on Dashboard.
  4. Under Saved Searches, click on the settings icon settings gear icon
  5. Click the Delete button at the bottom.
  6. Click OK to confirm deletion.