"5-Min Craft". HSE Library

What is the first step in writing any academic paper? Of course, it is an analysis of the literature of other authors in the academic field under study. This step allows you to fully immerse in the topic and find research gaps. However, finding a scientific article in the public domain is not the easiest task. Fortunately, you are reading this article, in which the students of the programme will tell you how to register in the HSE electronic library, which resources are best used to search for literature, and much more.

You can use electronic resources both from personal devices and from HSE computers. There are different rules for each of these methods

Rule №1

If you want to get access to HSE electronic resources without registering, then the easiest way is to use computers that are placed in all buildings of the Higher School of Economics.

Rule №2

In addition, you can visit any HSE library in a full-time format. To do this, each student needs to issue a library card in one of the libraries. With the approval of a library employee, some books can be taken home. The full list of addresses of libraries of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow includes:

• Pokrovsky b-r, 11, building N
• Pokrovsky Boulevard, 11, 1st floor, Building S
• Myasnitskaya str., 20
• Staraya Basmannaya str., 21/4, b. A.
• Staraya Basmannaya str., 21/4, b. В
• Malaya Pionerskaya str., 12
• Tallinskaya str., 34
• 3rd Kolobovsky lane, 8, b. 2
• Shabolovka str., 28/11 b. 2

More detailed information about opening hours and sanitary days can be found on the website: Library Working Hours and Rules. 

Rule №3

If you are a student, a free listener, a graduate student, students of the lyceum, or are part of the teaching staff, then you can get electronic access to the library and its resources. To perform this, it is necessary, firstly, to have a library card and, secondly, to fill out a form that is available at the link. After sending the completed form, the system will automatically send you an email with your username and password, which will contain further instructions. The password is valid for 180 days and if you will try to log in after this period expires, a new password will be automatically sent to your mailbox specified during registration. For more efficient use of electronic resources, it is recommended to install the extension in the Google Chrome browser. Step-by-step instructions on installing the extension can be found here.

Most in-demand and material-rich sources

There are more than 65 electronic journals available in the HSE electronic library, where you can find an article on any scientific topic. We identify the following most in-demand and material-rich sources:

1. JSTOR. Contains publications on economics, business, sociology, political science, statistics, mathematics, healthcare, biology, physics, philosophy, ancient studies, linguistics, literature, etc. Coverage - from the first day of the publication to 2012-2014.
2. World Development Indicators. Contains statistical information on more than 850 world development indicators. Time series have been presented since 1960 for 209 countries. Economic, social, and financial indicators, as well as data on natural resources and the environment, are covered. The resource is equipped with a function of graphical representation of the received information.
3. ScienceDirect. Contains more than 1,700 Elsevier journals in all thematic areas, including publications on economics, business, social sciences, psychology, mathematics, computer science, engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, etc. The coverage varies from one edition to another, most often from 2000 to the present times; “deep archives” are also available for many publications, from 1994 to the very first issue.
4. Oxford Journals. Contains more than 200 journals published by Oxford University Press across the entire spectrum of disciplines (about 100 publications on social sciences and humanities). Coverage - from the very first publication to 2021.
5. Cambridge Journals Online. Contains about 450 journals published by Cambridge University Press across the entire spectrum of disciplines (about 250 publications on social sciences and humanities).

Top-5 sites that help out in situations

Despite the almost limitless possibilities offered by the HSE's electronic resources, there may be situations when a student cannot download the full version of a scientific article. In such cases, various platforms containing publicly available closed materials come to the rescue.

We prepared a rating of the top-5 sites that help out in situations when most people lose hope of downloading a full-length article:

• SciHub - contains more than 88 million articles of closed access.
• Open Access Button - helps in the search for free and full-text scientific articles.
• eLibrary - the platform on which articles and scientific publications included in the RSCI (Russian Science Citation Index) are posted. To use this platform you need to register and you may be asked to specify a special password for your organization.
• Google Scholar  - an excellent search engine for scientific articles on any topic.
• Cyberleninka - electronic library of Russian scientific articles.

We hope that this guide was useful and you will never again have difficulties in finding literature for your scientific papers.

The author of the article - Korolkova Elizaveta, first-year Population and Development student