Thread by @llmunro

Hey, if you're trying to figure out how to keep up with THE LITERATURE in your field in a way other than doomscrolling twitter, I have a great tech tip for you! #AcWri #AcademicTwitter

🧵A thread:
1/10

You can follow journals in your field in a few different ways:

-social media
- email notifications
- RSS!!!

We're going to talk about RSS, which stands for Real Simple Syndication.
2/10

RSS is old technology, but it still works really well with sites that publish continuous updates. News sites, for example, often have RSS feeds because they're always publishing new articles. So are academic journal article publishers.
3/10

Before you get started with RSS, you need to pick an RSS reader. Google reader was the best but was discontinued in 2013 (and I am still mad about this).

You can use something like Feedly, Inoreader (my current favorite), or Newsblur. Zotero also has a built in RSS reader.

4/11

Go ahead and sign up for whatever RSS reader you choose
5/11

Now you need to find RSS feeds to add. Find the homepage of a journal you'd like to add. Look for 'Subscribe' on the journal homepage to locate new content alerts by email or RSS.
6/11

Click on RSS. And you'll be directed to a page that might look like a jumbled mess. Don't panic. Copy the URL of the RSS feed and add it to your RSS reader (you might have to click on something like, "Add a feed," or "New feed" or paste the URL into a search box)
7/11

Et voila! You should have a new feed in your RSS reader! Every time that journal publishes a new article or issue, your RSS feed will update!

Check your RSS feeds a few times a month and scan the titles and maybe abstracts of all the journals you're subscribed to.
8/11

You could even put 'check RSS feeds' as a recurring item on a to-do list so you remember to do it.
And then you're just always scanning what's getting published in journals in your field and keeping up with THE LITERATURE without crying.
9/11

Here's a screencast of me adding an RSS feed to my Zotero database (recorded for a workshop I gave on journal article writing).
loom.com/share/22be4e44…
10/11

If you found this useful, please follow and RT! You can also get on my email list, where I send out writing advice and thoughts on building writing practices. view.flodesk.com/pages/5ef27dfa…
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