University Library Services

Keeping up to date

There are many ways to keep yourself update with developments in your field including:

What's new

for researchers

• Reading the latest literature in your subject.
• Attending University research seminars and events.
• Collaborating with other researchers in your discipline.
• Making the most of social media tools.

Current awareness

Ensure you are reading the most recently published literature:

• Use Journaltocs to set up table of contents alerts.
• Save your searches and create alerts in Library Search to ensure you are emailed when new results are are published which match your search criteria. Many of our subject databases also have this facility.
• Create citation alerts for key articles which an excellent way to find out who is citing your work or key papers in your research area.

Collaborating with other researchers

Exchanging ideas and information with your peers is a great way to keep up to date in your subject. Email discussion lists and other online collaboration tools are a great way to communicate with other researchers and experts in your field.

• Find out about research events within the University.
• JISCmail is the leading discussion list service for the UK academic community.
• PhD2Published provides support for academic writing and publishing.
• Vitae Community is an online network for researchers to share practice and discuss the latest policy implications.

Web tools and social media

Use social media and online tools to explore rich sources of news, latest research and best practice from across the globe. Engage in debate with academics and other researchers.

• The London School of Economics Impact blog is really useful for anyone interested in maximising the impact of academic work in the social sciences and other disciplines, including how to communicate and disseminate your own research.
• Research Whisperer blog focuses doing research in academia.
• Thesis Whisperer is a newspaper-style blog dedicated to doing a PhD.

Engaging with your own institutions social media is a great way to keep in touch and up to date with what is happening around you. Many faculties and schools within the University have their own social media presence, search it out and become involved.

• @Uniofsunlib will keep you up to date with all the latest the library news

There are many web tools and platforms you can use to support your research and help you collaborate with other researchers.

• Vitae is an organisation supporting the professional development of researchers. As a member of Sunderland University, you can register with your university email to access a wealth of resources to help you become a more effective researcher and develop your career in or outside academia.
• A selection of tools are listed in this guide covering subjects like organising your work, collaborative writing and referencing management. Some tools are freely available, and others may provide a free basic version and offer subscriptions to access more advanced features.

When using social media or web tools it’s a good idea to think about what tools you use and why. Having a social media strategy is a good idea as it will help you evaluate the impact of your online activities.

• The Digital identify health check for academics is a useful aide-memoir for all researchers to ‘health check’ your digital presence.
• Consider key factors such as online safety and copyright and managing your online identity and reputation.
• Get advice on making the most of attending academic conferences and using social media to enhance your engagement with the conference.
• Use online toolkits to reflect on the impact of your research.

Funding

Find out more about research funding opportunities on the University's research funding blog. Research Professional is an online database of research funding opportunities. It is a source of international research policy and practice news - you can create customised searches of its content.

Page reviewed: September 2020