Look to the Right!

So, you may have noticed that I've packaged lots of stuff on the right hand side of this blog. Not only the typical stuff (archives, important links, etc.) but also some customized content such as CINAHL search on MRSA (this search should update weekly), Shared items from the Nurse_WannaB Google Reader, and something called del.icio.us. Below is a rundown on what this stuff is and some of the ways it can be used.

CINAHL and PubMed, as you no doubt know, are databases. Both CINAHL and PubMed allow you to save a search as an RSS Feed (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication). What this means is that rather than going to a database and rerunning a search, and rather than checking for email from the database, you can have the results appear on an aggregator (also called a reader). CommonCraft has a video called RSS In Plain English that describes this process much better than I can. You should watch it!

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site. This is similar to using bookmarks or favorites in your browser, except instead of saving your bookmarks on a browser on a specific computer, you can access your bookmarks wherever you have internet access. Also, you can allow others to see your bookmarks, so your colleagues and peers can keep up with your research without you having to write updates! CommonCraft also has a video called Social Bookmarking in Plain English that explains this concept!

I'm putting these elements here partially because there is interesting information listed, but also because I want to show some ways to keep up to date with research/news/colleagues.