ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text Database
Dissertations written and submitted in the US and Canada, plus a few international theses:
Assess the Dissertation as a form of publication:
- what should a dissertation look like?
- What forms do dissertations in your field typically take?
- Is there a literature review?
- Where does it appear?
- How is it typically structured?
- How long and involved is the introduction (sometimes called the statement of purpose), methods (or research design), and analysis sections? Are they present?
Search
The basic search box searches full text, which will bring back a HUGE set of results. Try the advanced search function for much greater control.
Once you've got some results:
For recent dissertations, in the "citation" screen, check for references and other documents with shared references and cataloging terms. This is NOT available for all dissertations, only for recent dissertations submitted electronically. Here are some options for viewing a dissertation that ProQuest might offer:
Using ProQuest?
- Whose Dissertation Is It, Anyway? (Article published in Inside Higher Ed)Balking at a requirement to upload a copy of his doctoral thesis to an online database run by library services company ProQuest, one student pushes back.
By Lindsay McKenzie
Published May 23, 2019
Complete guide to finding dissertations at Cornell
- Dissertations & Thesesa thorough research guide compiled by Olin & Uris Reference Bibliographer, Michael Engle.
International Dissertation Databases
- CRL (Center for Research Libraries)CRL holds 800,000 doctoral dissertations, but will also acquire dissertations on request, which the Cornell Library can help negotiate. This DOES take a long time, however. Their collection of dissertations is reflected in both the CRL library catalog AND the Borrow Direct catalog.
- EBSCO Open DissertationsOpen Access Dissertations submitted by the authors
- The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)An international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).
- Open Access Theses and DissertationsOpen access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 7,124,597 theses and dissertations.
- Database of African Theses & Dissertations-Research (DATAD-R)From the Association of African Universities/Association des Universites Africaines. DATAD-R is a programme to improve management and access to African scholarly work. Theses and dissertations represent a significant proportion of Africa’s research activity.
- National Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Portal, South AfricaThis site is run by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the Committee of Higher Education Librarians of South Africa (CHELSA).It provides access to the full text of many thousands of doctoral PHD and some other dissertations produced in South African universities. These cover the full range of science, social science and humanities topics. There is some coverage from as early as the 1970s although there are larger numbers of post 2009 records.
- DART-Europe E-Theses Portal"The DART-Europe E-theses Portal is a searchable database of electronic research theses held in European repositories. The theses listed are open access - publicly available, in full, without charge. The DART-Europe Portal does not store theses, but we aim to provide a link to at least one electronic copy of every thesis listed in our database." --Help page
- eThosThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is not currently operational. This link currently goes to the BL catalog.
- Theses CanadaTheses Canada provides access to all Canadian dissertations and theses deposited at the National Library of Canada since 1998. Full text for each thesis or dissertation is available four years after publication.
- Trove (theses)A discovery service focused on Australia, Australians, and items found in Australian collecting institutions. The Australasian Digital Thesis Website has now been incorporated into Trove, and it contains theses from universities across Australia and New Zealand.
- CETD Zhong wen shuo bo shi lun wen zi liao ku ji ping tai fu wu / CETD 中文碩博士論文資料庫曁平台服務 Index of master and doctoral disserations from TaiwanIndex of master and doctoral disserations from Taiwan. Contains 2,803,329 dissertations from 2004. Some dissertations available in full-text.
- China Dissertations Database 中国学位论文全文数据库 by 万方数据In the process of updating 万方数据中国学位论文全文数据库（China Dissertations Database），收录始于1980年，年增35余万篇，涵盖基础科学、理学、工业技术、人文科学、社会科学、医药卫生、农业科学、交通运输、航空航天和环境科学等各学科领域。
- Pakistan Research RepositoryAn ongoing project of the Higher Education Commission to promote the international visibility of research originating out of institutes of higher education in Pakistan. The aim of this service is to maintain a digital archive of all PhD and M Phil theses.
- Shodh Ganga: Reservoir of Indian ThesesThe Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers.
- Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana - Tesi di dottorato (Online)Index of Italian university dissertations online begins with the year 2012.
- BocconiBorn digital theses from Università Bocconi published since 2000. Only those theses for which the authors have granted permission are accessible for consultation.
- DART-Europe E-Theses Portal"The DART-Europe E-theses Portal is a searchable database of electronic research theses held in European repositories. The theses listed are open access - publicly available, in full, without charge. The DART-Europe Portal does not store theses, but we aim to provide a link to at least one electronic copy of every thesis listed in our database." --Help page
- DialnetLists almost 4 million articles in more than 8,000 mostly Spanish journals and magazines, and thousands of books and dissertations. The subjects covered include the sciences and technology and the social sciences, humanities, education, business, and law.
- DissOnlineDissOnline provides information on the subject of electronic university publications. It can be used to discover online dissertations and post-doctoral theses. For more information about the portal, go to German National Library website (DNB).
- Die Deutsche Bibliothek DatabaseContains 6.5+ million records representing the holdings of the National Library of Germany, which, following the unification of Germany in October 1990, combines the Deutsche Bucherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurtam Main (including the Deutsche Musikarchiv Berlin). The library collects and catalogs all printed and electronic publications issued in Germany, published abroad in German, translated from German-language publications, and works in any language about Germany (Germanica). The records represent monographs, periodicals, microforms, dissertations, visual materials, maps, printed and recorded music, and electronic publications issued since 1945.
- DiVA portalResearch publications and student theses written at 36 universities and research institutions in Sweden.
- eThosThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is not currently operational. This link currently goes to the BL catalog.
- NARCISSome Dutch e-theses are available through NARCIS.
- TESIOSpain’s Ministry of Education thesis database
- TesionlineOnline index of Italian university tesi di laurea / masters theses.
- Theses.frFrench doctoral theses defended since 1985.
- ARGENTINA - Tesis UBAA catalog of theses and dissertations from the University of Buenos Aires.
- BRAZIL - Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e DissertaçõesA portal providing free access to theses and dissertations from Brazilian universities (more than 192,000 in 2012). It is member of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NTDL).
- Cybertesis: Repositorio Institucional de Tesis y Trabajos de InvestigaciónInstitutional Repository of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. Includes theses from BOLIVIA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, and PERU.
- TESIUNAM: Tesis del Sistema Bibliotecario de la UnamTheses from the National University of Mexico / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. To search for electronic theses, click on “tesis electrónicas (REDUNAM)."
- ARGENTINA - Tesis UBAA catalog of theses and dissertations from the University of Buenos Aires.
- Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana - Tesi di dottorato (Online)Index of Italian university dissertations online begins with the year 2012.
- BocconiBorn digital theses from Università Bocconi published since 2000. Only those theses for which the authors have granted permission are accessible for consultation.
- BRAZIL - Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e DissertaçõesA portal providing free access to theses and dissertations from Brazilian universities (more than 192,000 in 2012). It is member of the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NTDL).
- CETD Zhong wen shuo bo shi lun wen zi liao ku ji ping tai fu wu / CETD 中文碩博士論文資料庫曁平台服務 Index of master and doctoral disserations from TaiwanIndex of master and doctoral disserations from Taiwan. Contains 2,803,329 dissertations from 2004. Some dissertations available in full-text.
- China Dissertations Database 中国学位论文全文数据库 by 万方数据In the process of updating 万方数据中国学位论文全文数据库（China Dissertations Database），收录始于1980年，年增35余万篇，涵盖基础科学、理学、工业技术、人文科学、社会科学、医药卫生、农业科学、交通运输、航空航天和环境科学等各学科领域。
- Cybertesis: Repositorio Institucional de Tesis y Trabajos de InvestigaciónInstitutional Repository of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. Includes theses from BOLIVIA, CHILE, COLOMBIA, and PERU.
- Database of African Theses & Dissertations-Research (DATAD-R)From the Association of African Universities/Association des Universites Africaines. DATAD-R is a programme to improve management and access to African scholarly work. Theses and dissertations represent a significant proportion of Africa’s research activity.
- DialnetLists almost 4 million articles in more than 8,000 mostly Spanish journals and magazines, and thousands of books and dissertations. The subjects covered include the sciences and technology and the social sciences, humanities, education, business, and law.
- DissOnlineDissOnline provides information on the subject of electronic university publications. It can be used to discover online dissertations and post-doctoral theses. For more information about the portal, go to German National Library website (DNB).
- Die Deutsche Bibliothek DatabaseContains 6.5+ million records representing the holdings of the National Library of Germany, which, following the unification of Germany in October 1990, combines the Deutsche Bucherei Leipzig and the Deutsche Bibliothek Frankfurtam Main (including the Deutsche Musikarchiv Berlin). The library collects and catalogs all printed and electronic publications issued in Germany, published abroad in German, translated from German-language publications, and works in any language about Germany (Germanica). The records represent monographs, periodicals, microforms, dissertations, visual materials, maps, printed and recorded music, and electronic publications issued since 1945.
- DiVA portalResearch publications and student theses written at 36 universities and research institutions in Sweden.
- EBSCO Open DissertationsOpen Access Dissertations submitted by the authors
- eThosThe British Library's e-thesis collection. Please note that this database has been affected by the October 2023 cyber attack against the BL and is not currently operational. This link currently goes to the BL catalog.
- NARCISSome Dutch e-theses are available through NARCIS.
- National Electronic Thesis & Dissertation Portal, South AfricaThis site is run by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) in collaboration with the Committee of Higher Education Librarians of South Africa (CHELSA).It provides access to the full text of many thousands of doctoral PHD and some other dissertations produced in South African universities. These cover the full range of science, social science and humanities topics. There is some coverage from as early as the 1970s although there are larger numbers of post 2009 records.
- The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)An international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs).
- Open Access Theses and DissertationsOpen access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 7,124,597 theses and dissertations.
- Pakistan Research RepositoryAn ongoing project of the Higher Education Commission to promote the international visibility of research originating out of institutes of higher education in Pakistan. The aim of this service is to maintain a digital archive of all PhD and M Phil theses.
- Shodh Ganga: Reservoir of Indian ThesesThe Shodhganga@INFLIBNET Centre provides a platform for research students to deposit their Ph.D. theses and make it available to the entire scholarly community in open access. The repository has the ability to capture, index, store, disseminate and preserve ETDs submitted by the researchers.
- TESIOSpain’s Ministry of Education thesis database
- TesionlineOnline index of Italian university tesi di laurea / masters theses.
- TESIUNAM: Tesis del Sistema Bibliotecario de la UnamTheses from the National University of Mexico / Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. To search for electronic theses, click on “tesis electrónicas (REDUNAM)."
- Theses.frFrench doctoral theses defended since 1985.
- Theses CanadaTheses Canada provides access to all Canadian dissertations and theses deposited at the National Library of Canada since 1998. Full text for each thesis or dissertation is available four years after publication.
- Trove (theses)A discovery service focused on Australia, Australians, and items found in Australian collecting institutions. The Australasian Digital Thesis Website has now been incorporated into Trove, and it contains theses from universities across Australia and New Zealand.
Order international dissertations
- via CRL (Center for Research Libraries)Emphasis on European Dissertations. CRL holds 800,000 doctoral dissertations, but will also acquire dissertations on request, which the Cornell Library can help negotiate. Their collection of dissertations is reflected in both the CRL library catalog AND the Borrow Direct catalog.
- via other European research portalsas outlined in Michael Engle's research guide to finding dissertations & theses
Writing
Cornell's Grad School has produced some literature to help you through the writing phase of the dissertation. This is by Jan Allen, Associate Dean.
The Productive Graduate Student Writer by Call Number: Mann LB2369 .A45 2019ISBN: 9781620368909Publication Date: 2019-06-24This book is for graduate students--and others--who want to become more productive writers.
The process or craft of sustained writing is not a matter that's taught to undergraduate or graduate students as part of their studies, leaving most at sea about how to start a practice that is central to a career in academe and vital in many other professional occupations. This book grew out of conversations Cornell Grad School's Associate Dean Jan Allen has held with her graduate students for over 30 years and reflects the fruit of the writing workshops and boot camps she has conducted at three universities, her own and numerous colleagues' experiences with writing and advising, as well as the feedback she receives from her popular Productive Writer listserv. While Jan Allen recognizes that writing is not an innate talent for most of us, she demonstrates that it is a process based on skills which we can identify, learn, practice and refine. She focuses both on the process and habits of writing as well as on helping you uncover what kind of writer are you, and reflect on your challenges and successes.
Assessing Other Dissertations
- Dissertation ReviewsFeatures overviews of recently defended doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences. Also features reviews of and guides to archives, libraries, databases, and other collections where such dissertation research was conducted.
Publishing your dissertation
- Submitting your thesis (Grad School)* What Cornell requires
* What ProQuest requires - Cornell's Institutional Repository: eCommonsThe Cornell Electronic Thesis Collection