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Research Alerts

Guide for WashU students, faculty, and staff on research alerts and current-awarness services

Virtual browsing sites

Set alerts from publisher sites

Publishers require you to create a free personal account or profile before you can save searches or create alerts.  These personal accounts are NOT related to WUSTL connect.  You'll need to keep track of the usernames and password which you set.

Here are a few sample publishers' directions.  Search for alerts at "help" sites at your favorite publishers for more. Sometimes the directions are only available after you create your personal profile and log in.

Set alerts from databases

Most databases require you to create a free personal account or profile before you can save searches or create alerts.  These personal accounts are NOT related to WUSTL connect.  You'll need to keep track of the usernames and password which you set.

Cautions:

  • Databases revise their publications coverage. You can review coverage in the database. If the database includes fulltext, you may also review coverage by checking the journal title in WU ejournals list.
  • Coverage in databases is sometimes slower than coverage at the publisher's site.
  • Fulltext of some publications may be embargoed for a time period after publication.
  • Results will be a list of articles, probably not formatted like a table of contents.

Authentication issues

Tables of contents and abstracts are usually freely available on publisher sites.  Authentication is NOT required.  You can even follow journals via alerts when WU does not have any online access and use Interlibrary Loan or other strategies to get articles you discover.

But authentication that you are affiliated with WU will be required when you want fulltext, except where it is freely available.

Some options:

  • Create proxied links from the links in your email alerts
  • Use Citation Linker, DOI may be easiest, to create GetIt! menus.
  • Look for authentication tokens or apps available at your publisher or database site.  Usually those need to be created on your mobile device while you are on campus and logged in, but then they are stored and work for 3-12 months before they need to be renewed.  They are called various things such as mobile pairing, roaming access, mobile device twinning, etc.