Special Criteria for Student Research Papers Submitted for the HSE University NIRS Competition in Media Communications

Dear students,

So that the experts may effectively assess your work, please make sure to format your paper in line with the following criteria. 

1. Remove mentions of a paper's authors, co-authors and academic supervisor from the title page, the main body and the page headers. IMPORTANT! Information on authors/co-authors, academic supervisors, and place of study is provided only in the supporting questionnaire that is filled in when submitting the paper. The title page must not contain any reference to your home university and city; it should state only the title of your paper and the relevant keywords.
2. Please make sure that your paper is limited to 60,000 characters, including spaces. We will count the entire volume of the file, which includes the bibliography, all annexes (or appendices), the title page, and the contents. Footnotes will be disregarded for the purposes of calculating the overall volume of the paper. 
3. It is not permittedto use screenshots in the paper, with the exception of captions, graphs and tables, data collection tools (e.g., interview guides, screeners, questionnaires, observation minutes, etc.), as well as code tables, transcripts of interviews and focus groups, completed journals, and observation/experiment minutes, etc. See the "Special Criteria" section for further details. Papers that include screenshots of textual data not pertaining to those data types listed above (e.g., a bibliographical list) will be considered without taking such screenshots into account, for the purpose of reducing the paper's word count . IMPORTANT!
4. Only those papers saved in the following formats will be accepted for the Competition: .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf; the file's volume may not exceed 200 MB.
5. Each borrowing must be matched by a footnote with a bibliographical link to the source literature, formatted in accordance with the GOST P 7.0.5-2008 and GOST P 7.0.108-2022 standards. If a paper has been written in English, it should follow the APA formatting style.
6. The paper must provide an in-depth analysis of the topic stated in the paper's title. The main body should focus on the core of the problem at hand; arguments must be clear and concise; and the presentation thereof must be logical.
7. The main body must be in four sections:

• The Introduction performs the function of the reader's first immersion in the given research topic through providing substantiated reasons for selecting the given topic and the author's research interests, as well as contextualising the research topic by demonstrating sources that are critical for the reader's comprehension of the objectives and structure of the given research study. 
• The main body should contain at least two chapters: conceptual and empirical.The Literature Review should recreate the academic discussions dedicated to the given research topic and should include a critical analysis of the key research works on the topic, while also enabling the precise specification of the research problem by means of posing a research question, as well as conceptualising the key concepts and terms and stating the hypotheses (if necessary). The premise of the conceptual part should serve as the basis for developing the research design, which must include descriptions of the techniques for collecting primary data (IMPORTANT!)and its subsequent analysis. In the empirical part, the author should perform an in-depth analysis of the empirical data and present a substantive interpretation of the research findings.
• The Conclusion must feature a correlation between the research findings and prior academic discussions, while also outlining limitations on and future prospects for research. The Conclusion may specify the applied and academic significance of the research work, as well as give recommendations drawn from the research results.
• The List of Cited Sources and Literature(mandatory element) and annexes (or appendices) (if necessary). The paper must conclude with the List of Cited Sources and Literature, which must be formatted as per the GOST Р 7.0.100– 2018 standard (if the paper is in Russian) or APA style (if the paper is in a foreign language).

Special Criteria for Research Methods

In-depth and expert interviews, focus groups, peer groups, etc.

• When using the results of in-depth interviews, expert interviews, focus groups, peer groups, etc., the main body of the paper shall be followed by an annex (appendix) with a list of respondents (which indicates their sex, age, and other personal characteristics that are pertinent to the given research study) and experts (indicating their job positions, places of employment, etc.) If an agreement has been reached to maintain the anonymity of a given source, this fact must be disclosed and all information that may infringe upon the person's anonymous status must be duly concealed. In addition, the time, place and method for collecting data shall be specified.
  For research work, in which interviews constitute the basic means of data gathering, seven to 10 interviews are required (for each quota). For papers citing focus group research, three to five focus groups are required for each quota, while the maximum quantity thereof shall be limited by theoretical saturation.
• Guides for interviews, scenarios for focus groups, lists of respondents, one exemplary transcript with informants from each quota, interviews conducted and focus groups held, and code tables must be attached as screenshots to the paper's annexes (appendices).

Polling and Surveys

• For research work where polling or surveys were a key method, a questionnaire shall be attached in the annexes (appendices) (screenshots are permitted), along with descriptions of the relevant data gathering and analysis procedures. When applying statistical analysis methods (measures for a central tendency/variability, paired correlation, comparison of means, regression analysis, factor and cluster analysis), the given paper's author must supplement the annexes (appendices) with relevant tables (screenshots are permitted), which proivide visual validation of the conclusions made.

Content Analysis

• For research work where the content analysis method was used, the given paper's author(s) must attach code tables to the annexes (appendices) (screenshots are permitted), enabling readers to independently test the resulting conclusions. If databases of media outlets and social networks were used for content analysis purposes (e.g., Medialogia, Brand Analytics, etc.), the given paper's text must include the prompt that the author used for data gathering, and the time interval during which the data was uploaded.

Ethnographic Research

• For ethnographic research (e.g., case studies, netnography, participant observation, journalling, etc.), the work shall be supplemented with the data gathering tools applied (e.g., observation minutes, journal template, etc.) in the paper's annexes (appendices) (screenshots are permitted), and the number of sessions held should be indicated. The minimum number of sessions is five, while the maximum number shall be limited only by theoretical saturation.  Furthermore, the given paper's annexes (appendices) must also include filled in minutes of observations, journal records, etc. (screenshots are permitted).

Conditions and Limitations

• The Organising Committee of the Student Research Papers Competition (NIRS Competition) will disqualify any papers found to exhibit violations of academic standards (e.g., cases of plagiarism, fabrication, forgery, etc.) and bar them from the Competition, and the authors of such disqualified papers shall be stripped of any right to enter and take part in future competitions. IMPORTANT!The application of generative models without proper disclosure of their use, according to the established AI use disclosure procedures, shall also be deemed as a violation of academic standards. 
• Research papers submitted for the NIRS Competition must be original work and may be prepared by a single author independently, or in collaboration with other students as co-authors, but no more than five collaborators per paper.
• Competition papers written by a group of co-authors representing Bachelor's, Master's or Specialist degree students may be submitted to the Competition only by a Master's degree student.
• The NIRS Competition will accept research papers written in either Russian or English.
• Please note that research papers created in collaboration with an academic supervisor are not eligible for the Competition.
• Each applicant may submit up to two different papers for the Competition overall, but is limited to submitting only one paper per each Competition field.
• If your paper does not meet the established requirements, you will be notified of its rejection for this reason within seven business daysafter its date of submission. Failing to meet the requirements will not, however, disqualify you from participating in future iterations of the Competition. Moreover, if the deadline for the current Competition has not yet expired, you will still have the opportunity to make any necessary amendments to your paper and resubmit it.

Application Package

• Application: This document includes details about your chosen Competition category (field) and nomination, as well as information about the paper's author, co-authors, and academic supervisor (if applicable).
• Copy of Student ID or Study Certificate: required for applicants who are not students of HSE University.
• Copy of Academic Credentials: Applicants who are not graduates of HSE University must provide a copy of their academic credentials, such as a diploma or degree certificate, to validate their educational background.
• Research Paper: the text of the research paper submitted for the Competition.