Finding Dissertations 28 Oct 2013

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-285http:// /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 ng/Dissertation_And_Thesis_Difference.htm ng/Dissertation_And_Thesis_Difference.htm thesis-and-dissertation/ thesis-and-dissertation/

4 To start with printed dissertations / theses Using Keyword search from the Library Catalogue and enter the terms: thesis and 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. 4

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6 ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&IUSA Dissertation & Theses CollectionHong 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 Open Access Theses and DissertationsOpen Access PQTD OpenOpen Access Trove (Australian Digital Theses)Web List of Databases of Dissertations and Theses

7 How to access? 1.Search at the Library Catalogue  Keywords: Theses and Dissertations 2.HKIEd Library homepage  E-Databases  By Subject  Theses and Dissertations

8 Doctorial dissertations & master's theses Universities of USA, Canada, Europe and Asia (Selected) > 2.4 million record  Indexes / Citations  Abstracts  24 pages preview Search options:  Abstract  Author  Document Text  Document Title  Subjects heading  University / Institute  … Additional search functions:  Command Line Search / Find Similar 1. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I

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11 Enter search term(s) for Basic Search

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

13 Preview first 24 pages

14 Export selected records to RefWorks

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16 Paste text from a document to find similar materials

17 Create alert: to keep you up-to-date with new articles on the topics that you are interested

18 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

19 2. 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 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

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

21 Limit to Search term

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

23 Direct to the HKUST Library Catalogue View full text of HKUST theses

24 To view or download the full text

25 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

26 3. Dissertations & Theses via CNKI ( 中國知網 ) 中國博士學位論文全文數據庫  Year of coverage  contains >180,000 full text records 中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫  Year of coverage  contains >1,500,000 full text records Searching interface in traditional Chinese Records in simplified Chinese

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28 Select field to search + search term

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30 View full text View "Cited by"

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

32 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

33 4. 中國學位論文全文數據庫 Includes Master & Doctoral theses of Mainland China Year Coverage: Humanities & Social Sciences

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35 Example: 古漢語 & 語素

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中文電子學位論文服務 5. Chinese Electronic Theses and Dissertation Service (CETD) 中文電子學位論文服務 Includes theses & dissertations of 49 Taiwan universities, e.g. 國立臺灣大學, 成功大學, 臺灣師範 大學, etc. Year Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, etc. 37

38 Example: 漢語教學

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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 40

41 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 台灣國家圖書館 Includes theses & dissertations of about 140 universities / institutions in Taiwan Year Abstract 700,000+; Full text 240,000+ Provides Abstract, Table of Content, References Full text available for selected titles (login required) (Free Internet resource)

42 Register to view full text

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7. Internet Resources 45 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 600 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 1.5 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. Trove (Australian Digital Theses) availability=y&l-australian=y Tove is a database from the National Library of Australia and contains digitised PhD and MPhil theses from Australian universities.

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