Finding Dissertations
Nov 2014
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.
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Permanent link of the this record retrieved from A Dictionary of Education: http://0www.oxfordreference.com.edlis.ied.edu.hk/view/10.1093/acref/9780199212064.001
.0001/acref-9780199212064-e-285
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
to an intellectual proposition
θέσις, meaning "position", and refers
 Dissertation comes from the Latin
dissertātiō, meaning "discourse"
 Difference between dissertation and thesis varies with countries
and institutes
 http://www.educationalwriting.net/resource_center/Dissertation
/Writing/Dissertation_And_Thesis_Difference.htm
 http://www.differencebetween.net/language/differencebetween-thesis-and-dissertation/
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How to access?
1. Search at the Library Catalogue
 Keywords: Theses and
Dissertations
2. HKIEd Library homepage
http://www.lib.ied.edu.hk
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E-Databases
 By Subject
 Theses and Dissertations
To start with printed dissertations / theses
 Using Keyword search from the Library
Catalogue and enter the terms:
 thesis and <subject word>
a) thesis and teaching
b) thesis and curriculum
 The "Note" field indicates whether it is an
original thesis or a general book on thesis or
dissertation writing.
 Limit your search by location: HKIEd Theses
(MMW CIR counter G/F)
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List of Databases of Dissertations and Theses
 ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I
 Dissertation & Theses Collection
 中國博士學位論文全文數據庫 (中國知網)
 中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫 (中國知網)
 中國學位論文全文數據庫 (萬方數據)
 中文電子學位論文服務
 臺灣博碩士論文知識加值系統
 Open Access Theses and Dissertations
 PQTD Open
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USA
Hong Kong
China
China
China
Taiwan
Taiwan
Open Access
Open Access
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I
 Doctorial dissertations & master's theses
 Universities of USA, Canada, Europe and Asia (Selected)
 > 3 million record
 Indexes / Citations 1861+
 Abstracts 1980+
 24 pages preview 1997+
 Search options:
 Abstract
 Author
 Document Text
 Document Title
 Subjects heading
 University / Institute
…
 Additional search functions:
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 Command
Line Search / Find Similar
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Enter search term(s) for Basic Search
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Select field(s) to search
Enter search term(s) for
Advanced Search
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Narrow down by subject terms,
university/institution, language, dates, etc.
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Use suggested subject terms to expand the search
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It provides 24-page previews
of dissertations and theses
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To order a copy of the whole PDF file online
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Use Boolean operator “OR” to include more search terms
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Example: cite function
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To export selected records to RefWorks
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To Paste text from a document to find similar materials
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Create alert / set up your RSS feed:
to keep you up-to-date with new articles on the topics
that you are interested
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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
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Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC)
 Developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library
 Union collection of doctoral & master dissertations
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and theses of seven university libraries of Hong
Kong and one university of Macau
Consists of more than 57,000 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
Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC)
 Search by
 Title
 Author
 Subject
 Keyword
 Limit by
 University
 Department
 Language
 Degree
 Year
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Search term
Limit to
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Example: To view full text via HKUST
Click the title URL to view detail
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Direct to the HKUST Library Catalogue
View full text of
HKUST theses
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To view or download
the full text
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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
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3. Dissertations & Theses via CNKI (中國知網)
 中國博士學位論文全文數據庫
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Year of coverage 1984+
contains >240,000 full text records
 中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫
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Year of coverage 1999+
contains >2,100,000 full text records
 Searching interface in traditional Chinese
 Records in simplified Chinese
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Select field to search + search term
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View full text
View "Cited
by"
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From CNKI platform, select searching
the Master Theses & Doctoral
Dissertations simultaneously
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Exercise (China Dissertations &
Theses Full-text Database)
 Search the dissertations and theses under the
topic of “兒童文學”
 View the top cited item
 To view the full text in PDF format
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4. 中國學位論文全文數據庫
 Includes Master & Doctoral theses of Mainland
China
 Year 1977+
 Coverage: Humanities & Social Sciences
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Example: 古漢語 & 虛詞
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Explore more theses by using
the “Knowledge Trend
Analysis Service”
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5. Chinese Electronic Theses and
Dissertation Service (CETD) 中文電子學位論
文服務
 收錄範圍：以中文為主要語言類別，目前主要收錄
臺灣及其他地方共49所大專院校的碩博士論文，收
錄學校包括：國立臺灣大學、國立交通大學、國立
中興大學、國立臺北科技大學、國立清華大學、國
立臺北大學、淡江大學、高雄醫學大學、臺北醫學
大學、中山醫學大學、中國醫藥大學、香港大學等
等優秀大專院校之博碩士論文。
 收錄年代：自2004年起。
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Browse by
university/institution, e.g.
臺北教育大學教育學系
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Advanced search, e.g.
漢語教學 + 語境
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Refine
results
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Download the
entire thesis
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Export the records to
other reference
manager tools
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Exercise: CETD中文電子學位論文服務
 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
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6. National Digital Theses and
Dissertations in Taiwan 臺灣博碩士論文知
識加值系統
 Developed by National Central Library of Taiwan
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台灣國家圖書館
Includes theses & dissertations of about 140
universities / institutions in Taiwan
Year 1956+
Abstract 800,000+; Full text 300,000+
Provides Abstract, Table of Content, References
Full text available for selected titles (login required)
(Free Internet resource)
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Register to view full
text
Basic search, e.g.
國小 + 品德教育
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Refine
results
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Download the
entire thesis
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View
"Cited by"
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Browse by
university/institution
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Browse by subject
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7. Other Free Resources
Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)
http://oatd.org/oatd/search
A collection of open access graduate theses and dissertations
published around the world. Metadata (information about the
theses) comes from over 1,000 colleges, universities, and
research institutions. OATD currently indexes 2,295,000 theses
and dissertations.
PQTD Open
http://pqdtopen.proquest.com
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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Q&A
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