Overview
A dissertation is the major, book-length research project required as part of a doctoral degree. It often contains cutting-edge, original research and emerging areas of scholarly interest that have yet to appear in journal articles and books.
Dissertations are bibliographic monsters—citation krakens bursting from Puget Sound—so if you can find dissertations that share themes, subjects, and approaches with your own topic, you will have a jump start on your research.
Look at these theses or dissertations by students who graduated from your program.You can search for your faculty adviser’s name in the adviser field.
Activity: Locating Dissertations
- Brainstorm words, synonymous words, topics, and phrases related to your research interest.
- Go to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. This database includes the full text of more than a million dissertations plus information on millions more.
- Use your brainstormed words to search for dissertations related to your research interest. If you find a dissertation that looks good, scroll to its final pages to review its bibliography.
Reflection
- Which search terms brought back the most relevant results for you?
- What can you learn from reading the dissertations of others in your research area?
Bonus Tip
- If you find an article or book in the dissertation’s bibliography that you want to read, look it up in UW Libraries Search. Even if we don’t own it, we can get it for you via Interlibrary Loan.
- Find other collections of dissertations on Dissertations & Theses guide.