Set a Watch for the ID Number You Are Waiting On

If you are waiting for an official number to be assigned, such as a publication ID for a research paper, a muse can watch for it on a schedule and message you the moment it appears, so you stop checking by hand.

What it does

A paper gets its official ID when the publisher assigns it, and until then the only way to know is to keep looking up the same page. A muse can take over that checking. You give it what to watch and where the number will appear, and it checks on a set schedule in the background, even after you close the app. A researcher waiting on a paper's PMC ID, for example, can hand the checking over instead of looking the same page up by hand every day. One short message replaces days of manual checking.

How to use it

1. Name the number and where it will show up: the paper title, the journal or database page, or the account page where the reference will appear.
2. Say how often to check, such as once a day in the morning, and how to tell you, such as a message in the app or an email.
3. Give it any details it needs to find the right record, such as the exact title or a submission reference you already have. Do not hand over passwords it does not need for a public lookup.
4. When the alert arrives, open the source page yourself and confirm the number matches your record before you cite it, submit it, or send it to anyone.
5. Tell the muse to stop the watch once the number is in, so it does not keep checking a finished job.

What you need

• The name of the item being tracked, such as the paper title
• The website or account page where the number will appear
• A schedule for checking and a way you want to be notified

What to watch for

• It is normal if a background watch sounds strange at first. The control is simple: you set the schedule, you can pause or cancel the watch at any time, and the muse only reports what it finds.
• A watch is only as good as the page it checks. If the publisher posts the number somewhere else first, the alert can lag.
• Similar titles can cause a mix-up, which is why you confirm the number against your own record before using it.
• The muse watches; you decide what the number gets used for.