Part of every researchers´ information seeking skills involves not only staying current with the latest developments and trends in their academic field but also maintaining a timeline perspective. This entails navigating through real time updates via social media platforms, where current events unfold swiftly, alongside delving into scientific articles or books that represent a more enduring aspect of research.
To achieve this, researchers can leverage various databases, services, and tools to access news updates, recent publications, and notifications regarding their citations. Typically, these resources are easily accessible and free to use for researchers affiliated with universities. Additionally, exploring non-previewed sources such as science popularization publications and blogs can offer valuable insights.
You can choose your current awareness tools based on your preferred delivery methods, such as email alerts, RSS feeds, newsletters, blog posts, and news feeds.
Some tools utilize 'Push technology,' which sends updates at regular intervals to your inbox, desktop, or reference manager. The advantage of this approach is that users can set it up and forget about it, as the technology handles the rest. However, the downside is that updates may arrive at inconvenient times, potentially disrupting other tasks. Examples of push technology tools include search alerts and RSS feeds.
Other tools use 'Pull technology,' requiring users to access updates on their own schedule. The advantage here is that users can engage with the technology at their convenience. The downside is that users need to remember to check for updates. An example of pull technology is Browzine for tracking journal issue updates.
