michigan informatics

Using Table of Contents of Journal Literature to Stay Informed

Many publishers maintain web sites for their journals and offer a free table of contents service. You can receive via e-mail the table of contents of your favorite journals when a new journal issue is available. This will help you track if there may be new articles of interest to you. If the publisher does not provide this feature, you can set up a free journal title search from the PubMed database. This strategy for staying informed works best when you are trying to keep up to date in a narrow area of interest where there may be only a few key journals that cover that topic.

To get started, you need to identify journals for which you would like to start receiving table of contents. You are probably already familiar with the key journals in your area of expertise. If not, you can visit the Core Public Health Journal List from the Public Health/Health Administration section of the Medical Library Association. This list covers the key journals in public health. Another method to find journals would be to do a search in PubMed or other databases to identify the journals with articles related to your interests. Searching the Journals Database feature in PubMed or PubList may also give you ideas. Remember your local health sciences librarian can also help you identify key journals.

Once you identify the journals, use your favorite search engine to find the publisher’s web site for the journal. Look for a link that says “e-mail alerts” or “e-mail notifications.” Clicking on the link will typically take you to a web page where you can sign up for a table of content delivery service. You may be asked just for your e-mail address or for complete registration information.

As you identify relevant articles, ask your local health sciences, state or public library to help you obtain the full text. If you do not have a library that serves you, contact the National Network of Libraries of Medicine to find a library.

Take some time to explore the selected examples of public health related table of contents services.

• MMWR
  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) series prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Full-text is available.
• Emerging Infectious Diseases
  A publication from the CDC. Full-text is available.
• JAMA
  The Journal of the American Medical Association. Full-text is available to subscribers.