How to Set up Automated Research Notices From PubMed

by Nan Bernstein-Ratner

Go to the PubMed main page at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
Locate the My NCBI link (hint: sometimes it is a central icon right in the middle of the main page; at other times it is in the upper right hand quadrant) -- it may look like this:
Set up your account by supplying the requested information
Run a search related to stuttering (or other topics).
In running your search, make use of meta-characters and alternates to ensure that you get the widest response. For instance, run the search on stutter* rather than stuttering; this will locate articles using the terms stutter, stuttering, stutterers, stuttered, etc. You may wish to save alternate searches that use the term stammer* or *fluen* to get British terminology articles as well as articles that more broadly address dis/dysfluency, disfluent speech, etc.
Select a notification preference (daily, weekly, etc.)
Don't get discouraged by "bad hits" -- the term stuttering is used in genetic sequencing and is also a symptom of some medical conditions, such as priapism.
When you receive notifications, you may access the abstract at the PubMed site; in order to obtain full-text, you will need to do the following:
1. Use your available library resources or the ASHA web site (for ASHA journals)
2. Purchase articles directly through the PubMed link usually supplied next to the abstract
3. BEST: if you cannot easily obtain the article through a library service, contact the first author, whose e-mail is usually linked through the abstracting information. Because authors now typically receive pre-print copies of their articles electronically, they can usually send you a pre-print pdf version of the article very easily through e-mail and are typically very happy to do so quickly.