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Current Awareness Services

A guide to tools for keeping up to date with the literature in your field.

PubMed - My NCBI

You can customize My NCBI to access links to full-text articles directly from your PubMed email alerts. When saving searches in My NCBI you need to be sure to choose the abstract format to ensure the FindIt@NU button will display in the email messages you receive. To set your PubMed preferences to include the FindIt@NU button  in My NCBI e-mail alerts:

 

  1. Sign in to PubMed.
  2. Click on your username in the top right corner, then select Dashboard.
  3. Select the NCBI Site Preferences link and scroll down to "PubMed Preferences.Arrow to NCBI Site Preferences
  4.  

  5.  Under "PubMed Preferences" select "Outside Tool."Arrow to Outside Tool link under PubMed Preferences.
  6.  

  7. Under "Set Outside Tool Preferences" click on the letter "N" to navigate to NorthwesternArrow to N link under Outside Tools.
  8.  

  9. Select "Northwestern University Galter Health Sciences Library" and click the save button.
  10. Arrow to Northwestern University Galter Health Sciences Library.

Note that the FindIt@NU icon will only display in the email alerts. If you click the link for updated results that is included in the email alert message, your icons will not display unless you are already signed into My NCBI.  Also, depending on your location (if you're off-campus), you will want to be sure to sign in to the Galter Library website prior to clicking on any FindIt@NU buttons within emails you receive from NCBI.

 

Web of Science - Searches & Alerts

Web of Science allows you to create an account, which allows you to customize your Web of Science experience. You have the option to save a search with an alert or without.

  1. Sign into an existing account or register for a new one.Web of Science sign in and register links
  2.  

  3. Once you run a search, click Create Alert, located above and to the right of your results. Web of Science "Create alert" button
  4.  

  5. Fill in the requested information on the popup form. Be sure to deselect the email alert box if you do not want to receive emails regarding updates to your search results. Click Create.
  6.  

  7. By default, you will receive weekly email alerts for your search. To change this, click Manage Alerts in the alert creation confirmation window or the bell icon in the left vertical menu.
    Web of Science: manage alerts links