Throughout this guide we will mention the fact that many websites allow you to set up email or RSS alerts. An RSS feed is an easy way to be informed if new content has been added to a website you're interested in. The icon indicating that an RSS feed is available looks like this:
You need to have access to an RSS feed reader or aggregator to receive feeds. Some browsers have built in feed readers or alternatively you can sign up for a free web based reader like FeedReader, Feedly, Netvibes, etc.
Guide last updated by Alice Tyson, April 2022
The law is always changing and keeping abreast of the changes in your research area can be challenging. Fortunately there are many tools available to assist you in your quest to stay up-to-date. Most methods mentioned in this guide are freely available online and easy to use. Many push the information out to you by way of an alert, so after the initial set up very little effort is required on your part; the information comes straight to your email inbox or RSS reader!
This guide provides tips on how you can stay up-to-date using tools such as blogs and social networks. It also provides guidance on how you can find out about new books, articles and papers, cases, bills and legislation, EU law, news and events in your field of research.
If you use a legal current awareness method not included in this guide please let us know; we would love to hear from you.
You can set up an alert to monitor changes to a web page even if the website in question doesn't offer an email or RSS alert option. Here are a few suggestions on how to do this.
Setting up a web page monitoring alert
The following services send you emails when any changes have been made to a webpage specified by you. The emails include details of what has changed. You will need to register for a free account.