Library DDP Keeping up-to-date with RSS feeds Marion Tattersall Research Development Librarian University of Sheffield Library

Today’s 1 hour session Introductory talk –What is RSS, why it is useful, –How it works for different sources Hands-on practice with workbook –at your own pace, staff to help suggested time 30 mins Information Skills Resource for researchers access via Library home pageInformation Skills Resource for researchers Feedback

What is RSS? RSS is a web feed to which you subscribe Useful for content which changes regularly Collects material from a wide variety of sources –Databases of peer reviewed articles eg Scopus, Web of Science, Pubget –Journal tables of contents –Web pages, news alerts, blogs You still need a reference manager to store, manage and reformat any items you want to keep

Why use RSS? Alerts from different sources in 1 place – the feed reader Controls/tailors what you get – not overwhelming Clear format to scan Avoids losing or deleting important items Reduces risk of spam and frozen inbox Can organise tags/folders to suit you Helps you share with colleagues RSS in 100 seconds video

RSS symbol for available feeds Previously More frequently a standard icon is used

Look for the symbol it may be small, at top, at bottom.....

How do I get started with RSS? 1 Choose a feed reader We recommend Bloglines is a popular alternativewww.google.com/reader 2 Set up the reader Today 3 Organise it to suit youLater folders, display options

Advice on setting up Google reader Set up an account and follow the workbook instructions Follow our online interactive tutorial Library information skills resource Researcher’s tab Keeping up to date, Library information skills resource Researcher’s tab Keeping up to date, Watch a video on YouTube Getting Started with Google Reader about 1 year old runs for 2 mins Getting Started with Google Reader

Add some feeds 1: Databases Slightly older articles, but specific –keywords, authors –citations to follow influential papers Scopus & Web of Science - multi-disciplinary subject specific ones eg PubMed for Biomedicine, MLA for languages Keep your references current Extra benefit from previous searches

RSS feeds from Scopus Set up personal account Carry out specific search –keywords, authors, combine terms –test on short time period citation (cited reference) –use a key paper, –find by sorting other results in citation order Process details –See workbook 1

Web of Science RSS feeds Also require a personal account Same search advice NB Must save to server. Form covers too, must select RSS Process –screencasts in Library ISR include citation alertscreencasts in Library ISR –workbook field tagged

Alerts: WoS or Scopus? All WoS journals are in Scopus - except Arts Scopus has expanded its Arts coverage Engineering and medicine – more in Scopus Test which works best– now & later Don’t be distracted by the interface it’s the results that count Use both? – sometimes/always You may also need a subject database

Add some feeds 2: Journal contents pages Latest articles, but not topic specific Useful once you know the key journals Use aggregator services Zetoc British Library service > 20,000 journals easy to use, good help and FAQZetoc ticTOCS 14,000 titles, some not in Zetoc. searching for possible titles differs export to reader a little more complexticTOCS

GREY LITERATURE Reports/Working Papers– 3-6 mths Posters/Conference papers – 3 mths News - Immediate Web pages - Immediate Scholarly Information Cycle Rough time scale to publication PEER REVIEWED Scholarly books – 12 mths Published theses Published theses – 3 mths Journal articles – 6 mths INFORMAL COMMUNICATION Personal communication Discussion boards lists Blogs/Wikis Immediate

Add some feeds: 3 News From news sites eg BBC News sections of other sites –eg learned societies, professional bodies From recommended websites –Eg Library’s own list on next slide Using Google Alerts

Links to useful Internet resources can be found on the Library webpages:

Google Alerts Google Reader is not the only feature that Google provide to keep you up to date Try Google Alerts –monitoring a developing news story –keeping current on a competitor or industry –tracking medical or technological advances –getting the latest on a celebrity or sports team –searching for new videos that match a specific topic Delivered by RSS feed into your Google Reader account

Add feeds: 4 Blogs informal IMMEDIATE info Web log = blog like a diary Chronological - most recent first Primary source of information about relevant people and research Internet publishing & reflective practice –follow leaders, expand your network, build your reputation, get feedback..... –University advice in setting up and usingUniversity advice in setting up and using Evaluate carefully to avoid overload

GREY LITERATURE Reports/Working Papers– 3-6 mths Posters/Conference papers – 3 mths News - Immediate Web pages - Immediate Scholarly Information Cycle Rough time scale to publication PEER REVIEWED Scholarly books – 12 mths Published theses Published theses – 3 mths Journal articles – 6 mths INFORMAL COMMUNICATION Personal communication Discussion boards lists Blogs/Wikis Immediate

What next with Google Reader? Star items, add notes, share with your friends Find out how from Google Reader HelpGoogle Reader Help –Explanatory pages eg organizing covers tags and folders –Links to videos –Help forum Feed into other services such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Pageflakes etc.iGoogle NetvibesPageflakes

Summary RSS feeds help you to –save time & effort –save and organise items –tap into formal and informal sources –prioritise & share information

Find out more – try it out Workbook –login to MUSE Library tab –have another browser window open Library information skills resource –slides, workbooks, interactive tutorials Record progress in your ePortfolio in uSpaceePortfolio in uSpace –training need met? How will you work differently? What do you need next?

Library contact details Library DDP Feedback – us your comments us your comments –join our evaluation projectjoin our evaluation project For subject specific help contact your Faculty LibrarianFor subject specific help contact your Faculty Librarian All other Library staff