Scopus: Saving searches and alerts

Saved searches: Scopus gives you the option to save a search. You can then re-run that saved search at a later date (without having to re-enter all your search terms again) and you'll retrieve an updated set of results. Of course, you may want to modify or expand your keywords if you've developed your knowledge of a topic's terminology since your original search.
 

Email alerts: To help you maintain current awareness of your topic, Scopus also gives you the option to set up an email alert that will inform you of:

• New articles on your topic that have been indexed by Scopus since your original search (i.e. based on the keywords that you entered).
• The latest articles written by an individual author (indexed by Scopus).
• The latest tables of contents from a journal (although you may prefer to set up a journal alert in the relevant journal website instead).

Before saving searches and setting up alerts:
 

1. Connect to Scopus via the Library website or Library Catalogue (when you click on the link, you may be required to enter your University username and password). 
    
2. Click the Sign In button in the top right-hand corner. You then have two options: you can sign-in either via your institution or via a personal Scopus account as follows:
   
   To sign in via your institution: click the 'sign in via your institution' button and then use 'Find your institution' to select 'University of Bath'. Click 'Continue' followed by 'Access through University of Bath'. IF you have previously set up a personal Scopus account, this institutional option won't work until you have followed the instructions for adding your institution's name to your profile.
   
   To sign-in via a personal Scopus account: enter your email address and click 'Continue'. Then enter your Scopus password and click 'Sign-in'.  If you don't have a Scopus account, click 'Create Account' on the Scopus homepage (near the top right-hand corner) and enter the basic information required including a password of your choice. 
    
3. The ‘Save’ and ‘Set Alert’ options appear above your search results (to the left of the screen).  
   
   
   
    
4. Saving searches: Search on a topic of your choice and click the ‘save’ option. Choose and enter a name for your search, and click 'save'.  A confirmation message appears; this includes a link to your saved search(es).  The link takes you to a list of your saved searches, with a link from each listed search to its associated search results.
   
   The next time you enter Scopus, sign-in to your Scopus account. To retrieve and re-run a saved search, clicking the icon displaying your initials in the right-hand corner of the screen. A drop-down menu appears featuring options including saved searches, alerts and saved lists. To re-run a previous search, click Saved Searches to take you to a list of previous searches. To re-run the search, click on the relevant named search in the list.
   
   Combining saved searches: You can also use the saved searches screen to combine sets of results (using the number assigned to the relevant search). For example, you could enter #1 AND #2 to retrieve an overlapping set of results. Alternatively, you could enter #1 OR #2 to retrieve all results from across both sets (duplicated results are excluded). 
   
    
5. Creating email alerts: Go back to your search results. Click ‘set alert’ (located just above your results). A dialog box appears. Enter your email address. Select a name for the alert and set your preferred frequency for receiving the alert. Finally, click ‘set alert’.
   
   You can edit or delete previous alerts: click your initials in the top right-hand corner of the screen and then click ‘Alerts’. Find the alert you want to edit/delete. Here you find a 'trash can' icon for deleting and a pencil icon for editing.
   
   You can also set up a document citation alert for a specific article. You then receive an email if the article is cited by another article in the future (if the citing article is indexed by Scopus). To do this, enter the full Scopus record for the article (click the article title in your list of search results). Click ‘set citation alert’ (in the right-hand column). Enter your email address. Select a name for the alert, and your preferred frequency for receiving the alert. Finally, click ‘set alert’.