Transcript The definition of dissertations

Finding Dissertations
28 Oct 2013
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: http://0www.oxfordreference.com.edlis.ied.edu.hk/view/10.1093/acref/9780199212064.001.00
01/acref-9780199212064-e-285
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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
 http://www.educationalwriting.net/resource_center/Dissertation/Writi
ng/Dissertation_And_Thesis_Difference.htm
 http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-betweenthesis-and-dissertation/
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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.
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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
 Trove (Australian Digital Theses)
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USA
Hong Kong
China
China
China
Taiwan
Taiwan
Open Access
Open Access
Web
How to access?
1. Search at the Library Catalogue
 Keywords: Theses and Dissertations
2. HKIEd Library homepage
http://www.lib.ied.edu.hk
 E-Databases
 By Subject
 Theses and Dissertations
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1. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses A&I
 Doctorial dissertations & master's theses
 Universities of USA, Canada, Europe and Asia (Selected)
 > 2.4 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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Preview first 24 pages
Export selected records to RefWorks
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Paste text from a document to find similar materials
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Create alert: 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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2. Dissertations and Theses Collections (DTC)
 Developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library
 Union collection of doctoral & master dissertations and
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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
 Year
of coverage 1984+
 contains >180,000 full text records
 中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫
 Year
of coverage 1999+
 contains >1,500,000 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 & 語素
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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 2004+
 Humanities, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, etc.
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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
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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 700,000+; Full text 240,000+
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
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7. Internet 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 600 colleges,
universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 1.5 million
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.
Trove (Australian Digital Theses)
http://trove.nla.gov.au/book/result?l-format=Thesis&sortby=dateDesc&q=&lavailability=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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