Access electronic resources from on-campus

[ Please note: you can also get information on accessing electronic resources from off-campus ]

Most electronic resources are protected to ensure that only Heriot-Watt staff or students can gain access - this is known as "authentication" and it can take several forms. Whichever method is used for a particular resource is clearly shown on the Databases A-Z list. At present, the following methods of authentication are used when accessing resources from on-campus – the most common methods are listed first.

ip authentication

The most common way that resources are authenticated is by limiting access to the specific range of ip (Internet) addresses used by computers at Heriot-Watt University. Please note that any laptop using the University's WiFi service will have a Heriot-Watt ip address.

If you are on-campus, therefore, just click straight through to the resource.

Heriot-Watt University username & password

Some resources use a system called Shibboleth for authentication. When using this method, you will be required to enter your Heriot-Watt username and password - Shibboleth then connects to the central University servers to verify that your details exist and are entered correctly.

To test that you are using a valid Heriot-Watt username and password, try logging into the University's WebMail service. If you cannot login to WebMail successfully, contact the IT Help Desk (ex. 4045, ITHelp@hw.ac.uk).
When looking for the login link in a resource, the wording will often vary from resource to resource - "UK Federation login", "UK Access Management Federation login", "Institutional login", "Shibboleth login" or just plain "Login".
Before you can enter your username and password, you will have to select Heriot-Watt University from a list of institutions.

Individual resource username & password

Some resources issue their own username and password to control access - these are listed on the Passwords page.

Free resources

Some resources are free for public use and therefore don't use any form of authentication, whether they are accessed from off- or on-campus.