Searching for a thesis - Thesis information - Flinders LibGuides at Flinders University

Thesis Collection

Special Collections

Location:

Level 3, Central Library (adjacent to the Law Library)

Normal opening hours:

8.30am to 5pm weekdays (excluding public holidays)

Vacation opening hours:

9am to 5pm weekdays (excluding public holidays)

Email:

special.collections@flinders.edu.au

Phone:

8201 5238

Postal address:

Special Collections,

Central Library,

Flinders University,

GPO Box 2100,

ADELAIDE, SA 5001

Finding Flinders University theses

All Flinders University theses held by the library are catalogued on FindIt@Flinders

It is a university requirement that copies of higher degree theses (doctorates and masters level) are provided to the library. Many honours theses are also held.

To Search on FindIt@Flinders for Flinders Theses by Discipline

1. Select Advanced Search
2. Search for "[discipline name] thesis" – is (exact) – in Subject, with Material Type Thesis selected
e.g. "biological sciences thesis"
"psychology thesis"
"public health thesis"

3. Select Search Scope: Books, Journals, DVDs & more...

This will produce a complete list of all theses held in the Thesis Collection for that discipline.

Search tips

Add other elements to your search to limit it, e.g. search terms such as subject, author, title, keywords
Sort the list by Date - Newest to see most recent theses first.

Valid Discipline names

Discipline/department names which may have been used to index theses are listed in the Guide to searching on Voyager for Flinders Theses by discipline. Discipline and department names often change, and the most recent names can be found on the University website.

Note that earlier theses in your discipline may use an earlier form of the discipline or department's name.

Please be aware that theses from some departments may cross discipline boundaries so it may be preferable to do a subject keyword search, including the words 'flinders' and 'thesis' if satisfactory results are not found using the discipline search.

Browse Flinders University Digital Theses by Author

Information about the Flinders University Thesis Collection including conditions of access, location, and coverage.

Finding Australian theses

Using Trove, you can search the catalogues of all Australian university libraries simultaneously - this will include details of all theses available in library collections and digital repositories.

Search all Australian theses or Search all digital Australian theses via Trove.

Tip: use the advanced search feature and select the format 'thesis'

Searching for international theses

International Theses

PQDT Open
Provides the full text of open access dissertations free of charge, via ProQuest's UMI Dissertation Publishing

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
An international electronic thesis repository. Largely US based but picks up some South American, Australian, Canadian and European titles.

Theses Canada
The portal for Canadian theses and includes free access to electronic theses where available (especially between 1998-2002.)

WorldCat (advanced search)
WorldCat is a US-based, international network of libraries and services. Limit results of a search by selecting Dissertation/Thesis in the content box. Very occasionally there will be a link to an online abstract or copy of the thesis.

British Library's Electronic Thesis Online Service
Occasionally theses theses are freely available to download; you have to register to do this. This is a huge repository of theses, but it is very expensive to source the full text.

National Library of Medicine
Selectively lists modern dissertations which emphasise significant primary research and includes some from countries that produce little biomedical literature. Include "thesis" as a search term and limit to "manuscripts" [material type.]

Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI)

This is a print reference tool providing abstracts for theses in all academic disciplines in US doctoral-granting institutions. Flinders Library holds (in the SA Universities Research Repository) the following:

Dissertation abstracts. A, The humanities and social sciences, 1966-1996
Dissertation abstracts. B, Sciences and engineering, 1969-1996
Comprehensive dissertation index, 1861-1972

Subject Sets of DAI Abstracts

DAI Abstracts for a variety of subject areas are also available online via the following subscription databases (mostly on the OVID or CSA Illumina platforms.) It is usually a case of limiting a keyword or subject search to a dissertation publication type or source.

ASFA: Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts
Go to Advanced Search and select Dissertations and Theses in Source Type

CINAHL (health care and nursing)
Limit search for "doctoral dissertation" or "masters theses" in publication type [pt]

Historical Abstracts
Limit search by ticking Dissertation/Theses box

MLA International Bibliography
Limit search for "dissertation abstract" to document type [dt]

ProQuest
Go to Advanced Search; limit search to "Dissertations and Theses " in Source Type

PsycInfo(via OVID)
Limit search for "dissertation abstract" to publication type [pt]

Social Services Abstracts (via ProQuest)
Go to Advanced Search; limit search to "Dissertations and Theses " in Source Type

Sociological Abstracts (via ProQuest)
Go to Advanced Search; limit search to "Dissertations and Theses " in Source Type

ERIC Educational Information Resources Centre (via ProQuest)

These are theses abstracts written specifically for the Educational Information Resources Center, not DAI.
Go to advanced search; limit search to one of the following document types:

dissertations theses
dissertations theses doctoral dissertations
dissertations theses masters theses
dissertations theses practicum papers

Thesis information