Staying On Top of Scholarly Literature by Developing Healthy Research Habits

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We all know it can be difficult to keep up with the published literature in our fields of interest and this is not made easy for many research areas where the volume of data and information shared continues to grow at a rapid rate. Staying on top of the literature often is a time-consuming activity. In April 2011, I wrote a blog posted entitled “Top Ten Reasons Staying Current Matters” and upon reflection, I created a companion list focused on possible habits for keeping on top of papers, links, and websites you need to monitor so that you can avoid surprises, make informed decisions, be an effective team contributor, keep your eye on research and medical trends, and set yourself up as a trailblazer to support generating innovative ideas and research excellence.

Six Habits for Staying in “the Know”

  1. Understand available information resources, key journals & conferences, and experts in your field – Ask Us how you can set up current awareness alerts, Journal Table of Contents emails, and RSS feeds so that recent info can be pushed to your attention
  2. Set aside a fixed time each week to review and read papers that matter to you – this is definitely not an easy habit to form but in the long run will pay off
  3. Touch base with your reference librarian to see if any new resources exist in your field of interest – the information landscape is ever-changing and s/he can help you understand what is available
  4. Partner with your colleagues within or outside your organization with similar interests and set up regular meetings to discuss what you have recently read
  5. Leverage a bibliographic management tool like EndNote, RefWorks or Mendeley to organize your papers and keep summary notes on what you have read. We offer workshops on all three
  6. Look for opportunities to network and stay connected, whether they be face-to-face (seminars, journal clubs) or via online resources (relevant blogs, follow applicable twitter handles, or LinkedIn groups)

While these are just my ideas for good research habits, they can be considered a starting point towards developing an approach for staying on top of the literature. 

Donna Gibson
Director of Library Services