UCB Libraries

RSS Feeds

How do I use RSS feeds?


  • RSS: The Basics
  • For research
  • For Communication
  • For Fun

 

What is RSS? | Why should I use it? | Feed readers | Subscribe to feeds

 

What is RSS?

  • RSS means "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary." An RSS feed is simply a list of new information from a website. Using RSS, you can collect information in one place rather than visiting various websites.

  • Content updates exist for websites, blogs, searches, everything!

 

RSS in Plain English

 

 

 

 

Why should I use it?
  1. It puts you in control of the information you receive
    1. Visit one website daily as opposed to 20
    2. Subscribe and unsubscribe easily
  2. Eliminates email spam, identity theft, inbox build up, having to contact listserv administrators.
  3. Organise content for later retrieval by folder, category or search
  4. Help prevent eyestrain through standardized text size and no pop ups/adverts


 

Feed Readers

 

You will need a reader or an aggregator to view your RSS subscriptions.

 

A feed aggregator, also known as a feed reader, news reader or simply aggregator, is a software application, webpage or service that collects content from disparate sources such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs and displays it in a single location for easy viewing.

 

Web based feed readers allow you to access your content from any computer with an internet connection. You do not have to download anything.

 

Personalized home pages provide a different, more visual format for your reading and can also incorporate non RSS feeds, eg search boxes

 

Web-based Feed Readers
Personalized Homepage

 

How to use Bloglines


1Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content. With Bloglines, there is no software to download or install -- simply register as a new user and you can instantly begin accessing your account any time, from any computer or mobile device. And it's FREE!


How to Organize & Track Favorite Blogs

This is an introductory tutorial about how to use Bloglines.com to organize and keep track of your favorite blogs.

 

How to use Google Reader

 

1Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing.

 

Google Reader Tutorial
A short tutorial on using Google's RSS aggregator to find information.

 

How to use PageFlakes

1At Pageflakes, you can easily customize the Internet and make it yours using ‘”Flakes” – small, movable versions of all of your web favorites that you can arrange on your personal homepage.


Pageflakes

A brief tutorial on Pageflakes.

 

Subscribe to Content

 

You now need to subscribe or follow some feeds!

 

Look for the RSS symbol to see whether an RSS feed is available. It is normally indicated by the following images:

RSS or XML or Subscribe

 

If you are already logged in to your reader, a screen may appear which will subscribe you automatically.

 

If you get a page of code, simply cut and paste the URL and copy the URL into your reader's Add New Subscription feature.

 

Where can I search for feeds?

 

Blogs
Other feeds
   

 

 

No RSS feed?

 

No orange button to be seen? Try the following tools to make your own RSS feed.

 

Page2rss.com

Dapper

 
 


 


Automatic Searches

With RSS, you can set up an automatic search for your search terms. This is possible in many databases or through online news webpages.

Databases

 

  1. Perform your search.
  2. Look for the RSS icon on the results page.
  3. This will normally take you to another screen where you can fill in the parameters (eg how often to search, how many items to display)
  4. Click on Create the RSS feed, and copy and paste the feed into your reader.

 

News

 

  1. Perform your Google News search as usual

    2.  

  2. (Include all parameters via Advanced Search)

    3.  

  3. Click on the RSS logo

    4.  

  4. Copy and Paste the URL (which ends in .rss or .xml) into your reader

 

 

 

Table of Contents

Most journals will now give you the option to receive Table of Contents of new journal issues through RSS.

 

Either:

  1. Search Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
  2. Use the Advanced Search: search by title keyword, subject, etc.and check the box to limit your search to journals with RSS Available.
  3. From the results screen click on the journal title that interests you.
  4. Click on the Abstracting / Indexing & Article Access tab to see the URL for the feed(s) for that journal.

Or:

  1. Register for a free account with TicTocs Journal Table of Contents Alert Service
  2. Search for the journal or publisher you are interested in.
  3. Add the journals to your TicTocs account
  4. Read the latest editions within this service or export the list to your reader.

Some smaller journals may not yet have RSS feeds. To obtain an up to date list of journals with RSS feeds, try TicTocs or check this list from the University of Liverpool.

 

New Publications in Chinook

UCB Libraries has started RSS feeds for new books in different subject areas. The RSS feeds are updated daily, and (in most cases) are a list of the new titles purchased in a particular subject area in the last 30 days. To see the feeds, click on the "New titles" link at the bottom of the Chinook main page

  1. Click on the orange subscribe button
  2. Copy and paste the URL (ends in .xml) into your feed reader.
  3. Do not paste the URL that ends in .html. This is a pretty version of the XML for people who do not have RSS readers.

 


Crowd Sourcing

Use the power of the crowd! To keep up with up to the minute research, subscribe to del.icio.us tag feeds. You'll receive updates everytime somone tags an item on the web in del.icio.us with your search terms. This is a great way to keep up to date with a new topic, eg the Semantic Web

  1. Search delicious for tags that interest you.
  2. Scroll down and click on RSS feed at the borrom of the page to subscribe.

 

Information Overload?

One of best tips to deal with information overload is that you don't have to read everything... There are some great RSS tools that will help you filter the most important news or developments in a field, so you don't have to!

Try the following tools to help you keep up with news, while reading less.

 

1AideRSS is an intelligent assistant, which continuously monitors RSS feeds, finds the good stuff, creates a PostRank™, and delivers it to you. They do the grunt work of collecting information on every post, allowing you to focus on your agenda and stay on top of the news stream.

  1. Enter the URL of a website that you want to follow
  2. Click on the tabs at the top of the page to see either the Good Posts the Great Posts or the Best Posts. AideRSS filters all posts from a site and categorises them by popularity or keyword etc
  3. Click on subscribe in feed reader to immediately cut down on the amount of feeds you receive while ensuring that you don't miss out on top news.

Snackr is an RSS ticker that pulls random items from your feeds and scrolls them across your desktop. When you see a title that looks interesting, you can click on it to pop up the item in a window.

 

Try Snackr and AideRSS together!

 

1Feedly is an alternative reader that displays RSS feeds more like a magazine. It also, however, integrates your RSS feeds into Google searches, meaning you don't even have to read any of your feeds! Download the Firefox extension here.

 

aFeed Rinse is an easy to use tool that lets you automatically filter out syndicated content that you aren't interested in. It's like a spam filter for your RSS subscriptions. 

 

Other ways to deal with Information Overload

 

Taken from:

Being Wired or Being Tired: 10 Ways to Cope with Information Overload

Sarah Houghton-Jan

 

Limit the Number of Feeds

A microcosm of information overload, a person’s collection of RSS feeds grows organically and in an unorganised fashion. Set aside half an hour or more to weed through your RSS feeds, deciding which ones are essential to your work or personal life, and which ones you can delete. The latter tend to be the ones that you simply click through, do not read, feel guilty about, and tell yourself that you will read someday. There is no someday. Start deleting.

 

Organise Feeds

Organise your RSS feeds into subject-based folders. Set aside a primary folder, right at the top of your list, that includes all of your priority RSS feeds - the ones you read first. Look at those first each day, and only at the others when you need information on a particular subject or have the time to read them.

 

 

 


Publish!

 

RSS feeds can also be adapted for communication with other people; not only does it make your pages more up to date, it also gives the appearance that they are not static and forgotten about.

 

Publish a simple RSS feed on a web page:

Publish a more complex RSS feed on a webpage:

  • Mash up your own RSS feed to produce an amalgamation of several different feeds filtered by keyword using Yahoo! Pipes or Feed Informer

Publish useful links and your commentary in an RSS feed:

  • Bookmark interesting items under a specific tag in delicious , e.g. US_elections, grab the RSS feed from Delicious, and publish it through Feedburner. People can then subscribe to your thoughts and comments. If you change from Bloglines to Google reader, the Feedburner feed link will not be lost.
  • Share items through Google Reader or Bloglines

Try these other links for ideas how to publish your own feeds and use RSS for educational purposes:

 

 

 

 

 

Fun uses of RSS!

There is an ever growing number of ways you can use RSS. Try some of the following!

 

Put your Internet bookmarks, email, calendar and to-do lists all on one page using Pageflakes or Netvibes

 

Don't have any windows? Track the weather using The National Weather Service, Weather.com or Accuweather.com

 

Track your packages and auctions

 

Find out what people think is important about a particular subject with Del.icio.us and Furl

 

Track photos on Flickr or videos on Youtube by keyword or contributor

 

Stay updated on someone's schedule using RSScalendar.com and Localendar.com

 

Reed your favorite comics using Comicalert.com and The Webcomic List

 

Search for jobs using LISjobs.com, Indeed.com and RSSjobs.com

 

Find out what's going on in your city: Yay Longmont! Or try Eventful.com and Upcoming.org

 

Track weird blogs...

 

Get sports scores from ESPN

 

Keep track of Flight Delays

 

Subscribe to any search at Craigslist

 

Track price changes at Amazon with RSStalker

 

Have Betty Crocker deliver a Recipe of the Day

 

Read the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci one day at a time

 

Learn a new word every day

 

 

 

 

Citation Styles | RefWorks | Tips & Strategies

Citation Styles

The following guides provide samples of common citation formats. Consult Reference Desk personnel for additional information.

 

APA Style (PDF document)

 

MLA Style (PDF document)

 

Turabian: a form of Chicago Style (PDF document)

 

You may also find print guides in the library:

 

APA

MLA

Turabian (Chicago)



REFWorks
A personal online database and bibliography creator that allows users to create a personal database online, import references automatically from multiple databases, organize references, and quickly format bibliographies and manuscripts. You will need to create a login and password. Provided by the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries.

 

How do I use RefWorks?

 



Pick an Interesting Topic It is easier to express your own opinions and thoughts if you are interested in the topic.

 

Manage Your Time

Many students are tempted to plagiarize because they do not start researching and writing far enough in advance. Start your paper at least 3 weeks before the due date. Plagiarism could compromise your entire academic career. Speak to your professor if you have run out of time.

 

Create a Bibliography as you Research

Record the sources you consult. Include all the bibliographic information needed in your works cited (Author, Title, Pages, Publisher, Year, Volume, Issue).This will help you to cite correctly and to compile your works cited.

 

Take Clear Notes

Designate all direct quotes with quotation marks.

Designate when you are paraphrasing.

Electronic Research and Note taking is the same: Use quotation marks when you cut and paste.

Always note the source/ author.

 

Be Careful with Paraphrasing

Be sure you understand the text.

Do not look at the original source when writing your paraphrase.

Reorganize the information in your own words and in your own style.

Check to be sure you have not used the vocabulary or structure of the original work.

Mention the author near or in your paraphrase.

 

And Remember to Cite:

Any information that was not originally created by you:
  • Quotations
  • Key terms or phrases
  • Ideas
  • Facts not broadly known
  • Images and Sounds
Any material from another source regardless of where you found it:
  • Printed sources
  • Electronic sources
  • Conversation or email
  • Recorded sources
  • Images