1. Finding Dissertations
Feb 2017

2. The definition of dissertations
A lengthy piece of academic writing based on research undertaken by the candidate and submitted by them in partial fulfilment of the requirement for an award, usually as postgraduate level, such as that of a master's degree. It is a term sometimes used interchangeably with thesis, although in most universities it is used to assess candidates at a level lower than that of doctorate.
Permanent link of the this record retrieved from A Dictionary of Education: /acref e-285

3. Dissertation vs Thesis
A dissertation (thesis) is a document that presents the author's research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification
Thesis comes from the Greek θέσις, meaning "position", and refers to an intellectual proposition
Dissertation comes from the Latin dissertātiō, meaning "discourse"
Difference between dissertation and thesis varies with countries and institutes
/Writing/Dissertation_And_Thesis_Difference.htm
between-thesis-and-dissertation/

4. How to access? Search at the Library Catalogue
Keywords: Thesis and <subject word>
EdUHK Library homepage
E-Resources
By Subject
Theses and Dissertations

5. To start with printed dissertations / theses
Using Keyword search from the Library Catalogue and enter the terms:
thesis and <subject word>
thesis and teaching
thesis and curriculum
The "Note" field indicates whether it is an original thesis or a general book on thesis or dissertation writing.

7. List of Databases of Dissertations and Theses
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I Worldwide
Digital Dissertation Consortium (DDC) Worldwide
Dissertation & Theses Collection (DTC) Hong Kong
中國博士學位論文全文數據庫 (中國知網) China
中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫 (中國知網) China
中國學位論文全文數據庫 (萬方數據) China
中文電子學位論文服務 Taiwan
臺灣博碩士論文知識加值系統 Taiwan
American Doctoral Dissertations Open Access
Open Access Theses and Dissertations Open Access
PQTD Open Open Access

8. 1. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I
Doctoral dissertations & master's theses
Universities of USA, Canada, Europe and Asia (Selected)
> 3 million records
Indexes / Citations 1861+
Abstracts 1980+
24 pages preview 1997+
Search options:
Abstract
Author
Document Text
Document Title
Subject Heading
University / Institute …
Additional search functions:
Command Line Search

10. Enter search term(s) for Basic Search

11. Select field(s) to search
Enter search term(s) for Advanced Search

12. Narrow down by date, subject terms, university/institution, language, etc.

13. Use suggested subject terms to expand the search

14. Most records provide 24-page previews of dissertations and theses only, some of them have full text.

15. To check a list of documents that have cited this document

16. Use Boolean operator "OR" to include more search terms

17. "Cite" option in ProQuest

18. To export selected records to RefWorks

20. Dissertations & Theses @ The Education University of Hong Kong
It gives access to the dissertations and theses produced by the postgraduate students at EdUHK.

21. Dissertations & Theses @ The Education University of Hong Kong

22. Create alert / set up your RSS feed: To keep you up-to-date with new articles on the topics that you are interested

23. Exercise (Advanced Search)
Find dissertations and theses:
Keywords "social networking" & facebook
Published in English language
Published after 2011
Select manuscript type as master's theses
Preview the copy of any records found
Display the citation of any records found

24. 2. Digital Dissertation Consortium (DDC)
Hosted by Academic Sinica Computing Center, Taiwan.
Provides access to more than 200,000 dissertations and theses purchased by the Consortium member institutions from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Features of the platform: quick search, advanced search, search results filter, browse dissertations, direct export to RefWorks, etc.

25. Advanced Search
Search Limiters

26. To view or download the full text

27. To export selected records to RefWorks

28. Exercise (Digital Dissertation Consortium)
Search for dissertations and theses with keywords ”mobile learning” published in or after 2010
Use the export options to get a list of citations for the selected works

29. 3. Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC)
Developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library
Union collection of doctoral & master dissertations and theses of seven university libraries of Hong Kong and one university of Macau
Consists of more than 70,000 titles
One-stop search of all university libraries collections
Links to local library catalogue record
Access to full text (HKUST, HKU, Lingnan) subject to copyright restriction
Access the print copy at respective university library with your JULAC card

30. Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC)
Search by
Title
Author
Subject
Keyword
Limit by
University
Department
Language
Degree
Year

31. Search term
Limit to

32. Example: To view full text via HKUST
Click the title URL to view detail

33. Direct to the HKUST Library Catalogue
View full text of HKUST theses

34. To view or download the full text

35. Exercise (Dissertations and Theses Collections)
Search for dissertations and theses with keywords ”public policy”
View and download the full text of any records of Lingnan University

36. 4. Dissertations & Theses via CNKI (中國知網)
中國博士學位論文全文數據庫
Year of coverage 1984+
contains >300,000 full text records
中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫
contains >2,800,000 full text records
Searching interface in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese and English
Records in simplified Chinese

38. Select field to search + search term

39. Sort by "Times Cited"

40. Select "Chapter Download" if the PDF is too large
View "Cited by"

41. From CNKI platform, select searching the Master Theses & Doctoral Dissertations simultaneously

42. Exercise (Dissertations & Theses via CNKI)
Search the dissertations and theses under the topic of “幼兒情緒” and “學習”
View the top cited item
To view the full text in PDF format

43. 5. 中國學位論文全文數據庫 Includes Master & Doctoral theses of Mainland China
Includes Master & Doctoral theses of Mainland China
Year 1977+
Coverage: Humanities, social sciences and more

45. Example: 古漢語 & 虛詞

47. Explore more by using the “cross database search” (跨庫檢索)

48. 6. Chinese Electronic Theses and Dissertation Service (CETD) 博碩士論文
Content Field：With Chinese as the main language category, there are masters and Ph.D theses from 49 different outstanding universities and colleges located in Taiwan or overseas. And the institutions include: National Taiwan University, National Chiao Tung University, National Chung Hsing University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Tsing Hua University, National Taipei University, Tamkang University, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taipei Medical University, Chung Shan Medical University, China Medical University, University of Hong Kong, etc.
Time Period：Since 2004

50. Browse by university/institution, e.g. 臺北教育大學教育學系

51. Advanced search, e.g. 漢語教學 + 語境

52. Refine results

53. Download the entire thesis

54. Export the records to other reference manager tools

55. Exercise: CETD博碩士論文 Keyword search: 教育改革 Limit to the works of 臺灣師範大學
To view the full text in PDF format

56. 7. National Digital Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan 臺灣博碩士論文知識加值系統 http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/
Developed by National Central Library of Taiwan
台灣國家圖書館
Includes theses & dissertations of about 140 universities / institutions in Taiwan
Year 1956+
Abstract 900,000+; Full text 300,000+
Provides Abstract, Table of Content, References
Full text available for selected titles (Please register for a free account first)
(Free Internet resource)

57. Register to view full text
Basic search, e.g. 國小 + 品德教育

58. Refine results

59. Download the entire thesis

60. Sort by "Times Cited"
View "Cited by"

61. Browse the citation rate, click rate, download rate, etc.

62. Browse by subject

63. 8. Other Free Resources
American Doctoral Dissertations
American Doctoral Dissertations database provides free access to more than 153,000 theses and dissertations in total, including 70,000 new citations for theses and dissertations from 1902 to the present. The new citations include a link to access the full text, when available, via the Institutional Repository where the thesis or dissertation is housed such as OhioLINK, Rochester Institute of Technology and North Carolina State University. The content is also available via iSearch.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)
A collection of open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1,100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 3 million theses and dissertations. 
PQTD Open
PQDT Open provides the full texts of open access dissertations and theses free of charge. The authors of these dissertations and theses have opted to publish as open access and make their research available for free on the open Web. From ProQuest.

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