RSS Feeds for Research: Speedy Delivery September 20, 2007
Posted by Phoebe in : Database Tip , 1 comment so farI hope many of you are reading my words right now thanks to an RSS feed - you’ve subscribed to this blog through Bloglines or Google Reader or your choice of aggregator. We make the RSS feed of the blog available in DukePass and it may soon be appearing on the Duke Libraries home page. You can add it to your Facebook page using the application FlogBlog.
RSS feeds can do a lot more than just allow you to spend hours procrastinating from your research by reading blogs that other people write as a form of procrastination. Many providers of article databases now allow you to set up repeated searches (often called “alerts”) that will deliver articles relevant to your work via an RSS feed. You can set up a search that sends all new articles from the most relevant journals in your field (a do-it-yourself table of contents service), or all new articles written on a topic, using a keyword search or subject heading.
The University of Wisconsin Library has set up a guide to databases that offer alert services - some of them only have traditional email alerts, which generally require you to register, but RSS feeds are noted when available, and they seem to be an increasingly popular offering. If you’re not sure what vendor provides your favorite database, look up the database in our finder, and click the “i” link for information. The vendor will be noted.
For an example, The Shifted Librarian raves about EBSCO databases’ newly revised RSS feed services - one click of a bright orange link gets you a url for the search that you can drop into your RSS feed tool. EBSCO databases at Duke include Academic Search Premiere, ATLA, ERIC, MLA, PsycINFO, and many others.
Some Gale databases have recently added the same feature: see the RSS4lib blog post for a screenshot. Academic Onefile (until recently called InfoTrac Onefile) is the biggest Gale database at Duke that has this enabled.
Automating searches for new articles in your field is a great way to keep up with what’s new - and RSS delivers it directly to you. Do you have another RSS feed research tip to share? Leave a comment!
What’s new in Lexis? September 17, 2007
Posted by Emily in : Database Tip, Research Help , add a commentIf you’re a fan of LexisNexis, you’ve probably noticed some changes in the last few weeks. The interface is more appealing and easier to navigate; its search box is larger and allows for “natural language” searches (the types of searches you do in Google); and you no longer get those annoying error messages when Lexis decides your search is too broad.
If you were put off by the old interface or haven’t used Lexis before, now’s the time to give it a shot. Why bother familiarizing yourself with such a GIANT research tool, you ask? Well, to start with…
- Search over 300 newspapers from around the world by date, headline, photo caption, keyword and more. Many are updated continuously, so you’ll never be behind!
- It’s not just about news–click “Legal” at the top of the page to access law review articles, legislation, and Supreme Court decisions from 1790
- Pull up SEC filings and company profiles, including Standard & Poor’s reports–just click on the “Business” button at the top of the screen.
- Find out how the public responds to Gallup Polls (and other public opinion polls)–go to “News” and click on “Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.” You can search polls back to 1935.
- Search blogs and web publications–just check those boxes on the “Easy Search” screen.
- Track down broadcast transcripts from NPR, CNN, and other major networks by checking the box by “TV and Radio Broadcast Transcripts” on the “Easy Search” screen.
So, next time you need the full-text of a Supreme Court decision for poli sci, a futures report for finance or are just curious how Americans weigh in on their favorite soft drinks, run a search through LexisNexis Academic.
Find a source or discover a trick worth sharing? Post a comment!
Find yourself discouraged and frustrated? Save time, Ask a Librarian!
Photo Scavenger Hunt Update September 14, 2007
Posted by Phoebe in : Life in the library , add a comment
absent.canadian titled this picture “On the Outside Looking In.” It’s his answer to the prompt “light” from the Library Hacks Photo Scavenger Hunt in Flickr. Go have a look at his work and add your own at the group pool: DukeLibraryScavengerHunt
Learning, lattes cohabit at Duke library September 10, 2007
Posted by Paolo in : Life in the library , add a comment
The News & Observer has discovered Bostock.
This morning’s edition of the Raleigh-based newspaper describes Bostock Library as a place where research meshes successfully with technology, socializing and group learning. And yes, lots of coffee. The article begins like this:
Feel free to raise your voice a little in Duke’s Bostock Library. You won’t get shushed.
And that steaming cup o’ java isn’t a problem, either. Just don’t spill it on the Ralph Waldo Emerson anthology.
Bostock, a bright, airy two-year-old addition to Duke’s Perkins Library complex, is now where the cool kids hang out. It is, in a way, what you would get by crossing a traditional university library with a modern student union. Macbeth, it appears, is more easily digested when chased with a latte.
Read the rest of the article here.
[ The following was added a few days after originally posting this entry. ]
The Durham News, the N&O’s weekly Durham-specific paper, published a longer version of this article over the weekend. This one expands on the theme, and describes the increasing emphasis on collaborative and social learning at Duke and elsewhere. The new title is “Students check out trendy library, give it an A“.
Taking notes that work September 7, 2007
Posted by Paolo in : Tips for students , add a commentThe awesome LifeHack blog has an article today with advice for students on how to take good notes. They write
Note-taking is one of those skills that rarely gets taught. Teachers and professors assume either that taking good notes comes naturally or that someone else must have already taught students how to take notes.
and continue
Not only do good notes help us recall facts and ideas we may have forgotten, the act of writing things down helps many of us to remember them better in the first place.
The short article provides advice on how to take good notes and describes several different note-taking techniques you might want to try.
Check it out here: Advice for Students: Taking Notes that Work.
