FINDING THESES

“How-to” guide

1. University of Queensland Theses

UQ LIBRARY:

• From 2008, UQ doctoral and research master's theses are submitted electronically
and available online in the UQ Library's eSpace repository.

• Until 2007, the UQ Library received a paper copy of each doctoral and research
master's thesis. Some of these were also made available online at the Australasian
Digital Theses website (see below).

• Some honours theses are also available on paper in the Library or online at
eSpace.

• Most paper theses are located in the UQ Library's special collections in the Fryer
Library.

• The UQ Library catalogue lists all paper theses held by the Library, and all doctoral
and research master's theses in eSpace.

• To locate a thesis on a particular topic in the Library catalogue:

o Go the Library catalogue at
http://library.uq.edu.au/screens/opacmenu.html
o Under More Catalogue Options, click on the Theses heading.
o Type your keyword(s) in the search box.
o You will find details of the Library’s holdings of UQ paper theses and also
links to any online UQ theses.

• To locate a thesis on eSpace:

o Go to http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/
o Click on the Login tab and login with your UQ username and password.
o Click on the Search tab.
o Type your terms in the search boxes.
o Browse down to the Collection box and select the Open access collection
of UQ Honours, Masters and PhD Theses or the UQ Theses Collection
(MPhil and PhD). You can select more than one collection by holding down
the Ctrl key.
o Click on the Search button.

UQ SCHOOLS:
Many theses are also housed within collections in University of Queensland schools.
This is often the only way to obtain honours theses. Contact the appropriate school.

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2. Australian Theses

AUSTRALASIAN DIGITAL THESES PROGRAM:

• The Australasian Digital Theses Program is a comprehensive repository of Australian

and New Zealand PhD and research Master's theses. Some of the theses are
available online.

• Go to the ADT website at http://adt.caul.edu.au/ to search the database. You can

check the Digital only box to restrict your search to online theses.

LIBRARIES AUSTRALIA:

• Another way of searching for Australian theses is to use the Libraries Australia
database, which lists the holdings of most university libraries in Australia.

• To access Libraries Australia, go to the Other Library Catalogues screen on the

Library website at http://www.library.uq.edu.au/ias/othrcats.html and select
Libraries Australia.

• Type your search terms in the search box. Use the Limit to boxes to select Theses.

3. United Kingdom Theses

INDEX TO THESES:

• The Index to Theses database is a comprehensive listing (with abstracts) of theses

accepted for higher degrees by universities in Great Britain and Ireland since 1716.
Abstracts are available from 1970 onwards.

• Access Index to Theses via the UQ Library catalogue at:

http://library.uq.edu.au/record=e1000348

ETHOS:

• EthOS (Electronic Theses Online Service) is a new service from the British Library
which allows researchers to locate theses from UK universities and download or
purchase copies. Access it at: http://ethos.bl.uk/

• The search function is not as sophisticated as that of Index to Theses (see above).

• A limited number of theses are available for free immediate download. Registration
(free) is required for downloading theses.

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4. United States Theses

• ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (formerly known as Dissertation Abstracts

International) contains citations to theses accepted for doctoral and master's
degrees by North American universities and some European universities.

• Access it via the UQ Library catalogue at:

http://library.uq.edu.au/record=e1000441

• Lists U.S. dissertations from 1861 onwards.

• From 1980 the database includes abstracts.

• In many cases, the first 24 pages of the thesis are available for free viewing online,
and full download is available for a fee. A small number of theses are available for
free download.

5. Other Sources

Networked Digital Library of http://www.ndltd.org/

Theses and Dissertations
Provides access to free, electronic full-text
of theses from participating universities.
Theses Canada http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/thesescanada/
Database of Canadian theses since 1965.
Many are available free online.
German Theses https://portal.d-nb.de/
• German theses since 1945 are listed
in the catalogue of the Deutsche
Nationalbibliothek.
• Enter search terms in the box,
followed by diss
• Click Finden
thèses-EN-ligne http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/
• Open archive for digital French theses.
Abstracts are available in English.
• Use the drop-down menu to change
from version française to English
version.

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 SUDOC http://www.sudoc.abes.fr/
• Database of holdings of French
university libraries.
• Click on British flag for interface in
English.
• Click on Sudoc-Catalogue
• Click on Advanced at top of screen.
• Under Material Selection check
Dissertations
National Library Catalogues http://www.library.uq.edu.au/natlibs/
Worldwide
Some national library catalogues list
theses or have separate listings of theses.

6. Can theses be purchased for the UQ Library collection?

Requests should be sent to the School’s Liaison Librarian. These items are generally
purchased by the Library and are added to the Library’s collection and made available for
loan.

Ask at the Information Desk in any Library

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