Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

In this day of millions of websites, thousands of publications, and hundreds of e-mails in your inbox each day, how do you keep up? The days are over when you can casually browse a few websites each day looking for the best articles and information. There are too many good sources of information now and it’s near impossible to check them all each day.

So what is a researcher, scientist, or just plain interested party to do? RSS to the rescue!

What is RSS? There are a few accepted acronyms of the term, but the one most commonly used is Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a way for you to keep up with dozens or even hundreds of newspapers, blogs, databases, catalogs, and other content without having to visit numerous websites every day. RSS is a mix between your local newspaper, a web portal like My Yahoo, and Reader’s Digest, except you choose all of the content yourself. RSS allows you to create your own newspaper of sorts from a conglomeration of whatever sources you like. You’re not just restricted to using Reuters and the Associated Press.

Most websites have what are called RSS feeds nowadays: large newspapers like the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and New York Times; small news organizations like my local Falls Church News Press; job sites like Monster and Career Builder; classified ads sites like Craigslist; just about every web log, or “blog;” even government sites like USA.gov and Whitehouse.gov; and, most importantly to Web Watch readers, many online journals and scientific websites have RSS feeds.

So why is this useful? Imagine this: Instead of browsing to your dozens of bookmarked websites each day to see if there is a new article or tidbit of information to read, or constantly searching for content via your favorite search engine like Google, you will be told when and only when new content is available. Your RSS reader (also known as a feed reader or aggregator) will check the subscriptions that you have chosen a few times a day to see if there is new content. If there is, the RSS reader will download the full content or a summary along with a link to the original article or web page.

How does it work? RSS, along with something called Atom, is a standard specification that uses XML (eXtensible Markup Language) to format content in a way that an RSS reader (and some modern web browsers) can understand. The content is tagged so that the title, link, publication date, description, and a few other properties are available via the RSS feed. Websites create RSS feeds to share the XML. Once you subscribe to an RSS feed, your RSS reader keeps track of the subscription. Any time new content is posted to the feed, you are alerted.

So how do you use RSS feeds? Web browsers such as Fire-fox, Internet Explorer 7, and Safari have built-in RSS readers. E-mail programs like Outlook 2007, Opera Mail, Apple Mail (in the upcoming Leopard), and Thunderbird have built in RSS support. You may find a dedicated RSS reader like RSS Bandit, NewsGator, or something like Google Desktop or the Windows Vista Sidebar. Lastly, online services like Google Reader, Yahoo Mail, and Windows Live have ways to manage and read your RSS feeds all in one web interface. Your organization’s intranet portal may also have a feed reader available on your personal portal “My Page” or “My Site.”

Dedicated readers and mail programs are best if you want to read RSS feeds on one primary computer or if you want to read feeds offline, say, on a laptop. Browser and online readers are most useful if you are online most of the time or use multiple computers to track and read feed subscriptions. It’s all a matter of personal preference.

Once you get your RSS reader installed, how can you start filling it up with content? Start with your favorite websites. Many websites, like FDA.gov, the International Journal of Surgical Pathology, and Retrovirology have feeds. Visit them in your web browser and look for the little orange RSS, Atom, or XML icons ( , , ) or the universal feed icon ( ). Many websites will have sections dedicated to explaining which RSS feeds are available and how to set them up. Then use your browser to subscribe, or copy and paste the feed URL into your RSS reader to set up the subscription. Some web browsers will even automatically discover feeds and display the universal feed icon somewhere in the top toolbar so you can easily click and subscribe.

Alternately, try a web search for your favorite terms plus “RSS,” like “RSS toxicology” or “RSS rat kidney” or “RSS mouse brain.” This will yield dozens of potential sources to add to your subscription list. Most likely, there is a feed out there for the subject you want. Some websites and search engines may even allow you to create custom feeds with your own keywords, so you can keep track of changes to databases on the fly. There are even feeds for funding opportunities and job openings.

Some websites or journals that charge fees for their publications may not have RSS feeds or may have limited content available via RSS feeds. Other websites may just not have any feeds at all. As time goes on, however, these sites will most likely make more content available as more people use RSS to make their lives more efficient.

So what are you going to do now? Go out and set up your RSS subscriptions! Start with a few feeds and try out a few different RSS readers until you find one you like. Then when you get comfortable, go whole hog! You’ll never read a website the same way again.