Human Rights & IGMAP

Trying to stay on top of current developments in your field can be difficult, but there are tools to make following the literature much easier. 

Subject  / Search alerts or Journal Title alerts through Databases

Most of the databases that the Libraries' subscribes to will let you save a search string (using a free account) and send you alerts when new items match the search string.    

To get started, you run a search and generally look for a button to "save" the results and follow the instructions.  Setting up an account under your binghamton.edu is required.    

This method will allow you to receive very targeted updates, and as they are going through the Binghamton University Libraries, it will make it easy to request the full-text of articles if we do not have access. 

The alerts can go to your email or  or by RSS feed.(And if you don't know how read an RSS feed, you can read Why every should still use an RSS Reader in 2025) .

Find it! Topic searches 

By signing into to Find it!, you can save a search queries and have notifications when new results come in go to your binghamton.edu email.   

Journal alerts from the Publisher

Almost all journals will provide instructions on their website on how to sign up for new articles or Table of Content alerts to the email of your choice - or by RSS feed.(And if you don't know how read an RSS feed, you can read Why every should still use an RSS Reader in 2025) .  You can use any email address for these alerts. 

Google Scholar Topic Alerts
After doing a search in Google Scholar, click the envelope on left side to have email alerts sent when items are added matching that search.   These can go to any email address of your choice. 

To prepare to move out into the practitioner field, you also have to familiarize yourself with the tools that exist outside of academia as well.   This can include such things as:

• Magazines and publications that are distributed by workers and practitioners  the field.  Some might be professional magazines that you will get access to by joining professional organization and the purpose of these are to keep readers updated on rapidly changing trends in the field as opposed to peer reviewed research.
   
• Blogs and social media that report on rapidly changing situations or encourage informal and responsible dialogue in-between between professionals. 
   
• Evolving media sources where first hand documentation of events are occuring.