Typical questions

• • Is this thesis online?

• • Where can I search for recent theses?

Starting points

• • Masters dissertations are not often held in UK academic libraries. They may be available in the relevant academic department of the university either in print or on the website.

• • Increasing numbers of countries are now digitising PhD theses and placing them on open access online either in specialist national theses sites or via individual university repositories. Good examples are listed in this chapter. However, remember to check which universities and dates are covered as older examples may be held in print only. Students are also advised to check the local interlibrary loan policy to see if items can be borrowed from elsewhere.

Recommended resources

UK

EThOS [Basic]

ethos.bl.uk

The Electronic Theses Online Service is run by the British Library and provides access to UK doctoral theses. There are currently over 350,000 available. Students should however check the list of participating universities as it does not include all institutions. Users must register and are then able to freely download digitised titles and to request the digitisation of those not already online. Note that requests may require time and possible payment. Check with the local interlending service.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (Subscription)

www.proquest.com/products-services/pqdtglobal.html

Includes references to over four million doctoral and masters theses from 88 nations worldwide. Comprehensive UK and North American listings. Many recent titles are in full text. The site provides free access to some full text titles at pqdtopen.proquest.com.

International

Database of African Theses and Dissertations including Research [Specialist]

datad.aau.org

Great free resource made available by the Association of African Universities that makes it possible to trace the latest research from African universities. Many items are full text including theses.

DART-Europe E-theses Portal

www.dart-europe.eu

This service enables rapid discovery of theses submitted in a large number of European universities.

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations

www.ndltd.org

Excellent starting point for tracing the existence of online theses. Maintains a searchable catalogue of e-theses and a directory of links to key websites.