Research for Thesis & Dissertation Literature Reviews: Stay Up to Date

Push Notifications

It can be difficult to keep up with all the new information that might be relevant to us. One way to make it easier is using "push notifications". These are simply tools that send you information on an ongoing basis after you have subscribed to them.

By setting up alerts you don't have to remember to check if a journal has published a new issue, you will be notified via email. You can also use search alerts in databases to be alerted if there any new articles that match your search terms. 

Google Scholar Alerts

After performing a search for the topic of interest, click "Create alert" in the sidebar of the search results page; enter your email address. Google will periodically email new results that match your search criteria.

Google Scholar create alert button

Join Discussion Lists or Research Networks

Every discipline will have a space for conversation among researchers. Sometimes these virtual spaces are in the form of a blog, wiki, social network, or email listserv. Consider joining or following an academic network in your field of study to keep up to date on new research.