Citation Alert Guide

Citation Alert (track who cites a specific paper):
  1. Search for the paper in Google Scholar
  2. Click "Cited by N" under the result
  3. Click the envelope icon ("Create alert")
  4. Enter your email address
  5. You will receive an email when new papers cite this work

Keyword Alert (track new papers matching a query):
  1. Go to scholar.google.com/scholar_alerts
  2. Click "Create alert"
  3. Enter your search query (use quotes for phrases)
  4. Enter your email address
  5. Choose frequency: as-it-happens or weekly digest

def design_alert_system(research_topics: list[str],
                        key_papers: list[str],
                        key_authors: list[str]) -> dict:
    """
    Design a comprehensive literature monitoring system.

    Args:
        research_topics: Core research interest phrases
        key_papers: DOIs or titles of seminal papers to track
        key_authors: Names of researchers to follow
    """
    system = {
        "citation_alerts": {
            "platform": "Google Scholar + Web of Science",
            "items": [
                {"paper": p, "reason": "Seminal work in my area"}
                for p in key_papers
            ],
            "frequency": "as-it-happens"
        },
        "keyword_alerts": {
            "platform": "Google Scholar + PubMed",
            "queries": research_topics,
            "frequency": "weekly"
        },
        "author_alerts": {
            "platform": "OpenAlex + Scopus",
            "authors": key_authors,
            "frequency": "monthly"
        },
        "journal_toc_alerts": {
            "platform": "Web of Science or journal website",
            "note": "Subscribe to table-of-contents for top 3-5 journals"
        }
    }
    return system

Daily (5 minutes):
  - Skim citation alert emails
  - Star/flag relevant hits in your reference manager

Weekly (30 minutes):
  - Review keyword alert digests
  - Scan journal ToC for top 3 journals
  - Add promising papers to "To Read" folder

Monthly (1 hour):
  - Review author alerts for new publications from key groups
  - Update keyword queries if your focus has shifted
  - Prune alerts that are no longer relevant

1. Narrow keyword queries:
   Before: "machine learning"
   After:  "machine learning" AND "protein folding"

2. Use field restrictions:
   PubMed: "deep learning"[Title] AND "radiology"[MeSH]

3. Limit to high-impact sources:
   Web of Science: Set alert with journal filter

4. Consolidate with an RSS reader:
   - Export alerts to RSS where supported
   - Use Feedly, Inoreader, or Zotero's feed reader
   - Group feeds by topic for efficient scanning

1. Run your search in PubMed
2. Click "Save" below the search bar
3. Sign in to My NCBI (free account)
4. Name your search
5. Set schedule: daily, weekly, or monthly
6. Set format: summary, abstract, or full
7. PubMed emails you new results matching your saved search