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Why search this literature?
It is crucial for graduate students to search the thesis and dissertation literature to make sure that an idea or hypothesis has not already been tested, explored, and published. An additional reason to search this literature is that it is rich with ideas and information not found elsewhere. If graduate students do not continue on as academics or if students that came after them in their programs did not continue their research, this literature may be the end of the line for scholarship on a topic.
ProQuest has published dissertation e-learning modules covering the usefulness of using dissertations as a research source. See link below:
- Dissertation eLearning resources from ProQuest Uncover the value of dissertations.
Library Databases
All graduate students should, at minimum, search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database (PQDT) to see if the research they are proposing to do has already been done by a student at another institution/university. RIT dissertations and theses have been included in PQDT since approximately 2006.
- Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Identifies Ph.D. dissertations from U.S. & Canadian universities since 1861. Abstracts from 1980. Master's theses from 1988. Many with full-text.
RIT Digital Institutional Repository
- Digital Institutional Repository The digital institutional repository for the Rochester Institute of Technology, managed by RIT Libraries.
- ProQuest - Most Accessed Dissertations/Theses
Each month ProQuest updates this list of the top 25 Most-Accessed Dissertations and Theses across all subjects, based upon total PDF downloads. Find out what is trending.
The web sites below should also be consulted as appropriate to perform a full and thorough review of the dissertation and thesis literature beyond your introductory search of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Consider whether a particular country or part of the world would have an interest in your potential research topic.
Only large-scale repositories of dissertations and theses are included here. You may also need to search individual university repositories directly.
- Ebsco Open Dissertations Search thousands of open dissertations and theses from over 50 participating libraries.
- EThOS (from the British Library) EThOS offers a 'single point of access' where researchers the world over can access ALL theses produced by UK Higher Education.
- Indian Institute of Science Dissertations and theses from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
- Indian Theses and Dissertations (Shodhganga) Over 130 participating Indian universities and over 8800 ETD documents.
- National ETD Portal (South Africa) South African theses and dissertations.
- Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The NDLTD Union Catalog contains more than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. Search the Union Catalog from here: http://thumper.vtls.com:6090/?theme=NDLTD
- OhioLINK ETD Center Electronic theses and dissertations from colleges and universities in the state of Ohio.
- Open Access Theses and Dissertations OATD aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 600 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 1.5 million theses and dissertations. RIT is included.
- Theses Canada Canadian universities voluntarily participate by submitting approved theses and dissertation to Theses Canada. Click on "Search Theses Canada" under the Introduction on the left hand side of the page to begin your search.
- TROVE From the National Library of Australia - Search Trove to explore amazing collections from Australian libraries, universities, museums, galleries and archives.
- Next: Thesis Writing Guides >>
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