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Guide to Finding Dissertations

Scope note: This web page supplements information needs of students in the School of Social Work, by describing how to locate doctoral dissertations. The information presented here is not meant to be comprehensive. Please contact Library staff for additional information at social.work.library@umich.edu.

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Locating doctoral dissertations on social work and social welfare topics can be complicated. One of the first questions to ask while researching a topic is: do I need to find a dissertation on my topic?

You might want to find dissertations on your topic:

• if you are a current doctoral candidate
• if you are researching a specific geographic area like Detroit, Michigan
• if you want to review a comprehensive bibliography on your topic, or,
• if your topic is "cutting edge"

If the answer to any of the above questions is "yes," then you should search (subject-specific) topical indexes because they provide citations to many different sources of information, including dissertations. Typically, these indexes cite U.S. (English) dissertations. Please be aware that not all citation databases cover dissertations. Some examples of appropriate social work related indexes that include dissertation citations are:

• AGELINE -- in the Advanced Search form, use the term dissertation in the Publication Type (PT=) field.
• America: History and Life -- use the term dissertation in the Document Type field.
• Criminal Justice Abstracts -- in the Advanced Search form, use the term dissertation as a term in the Abstract (AB) field.
• CINAHL -- click on the Dissertation filter after entering your search terms.
• ERIC -- use the term dissertations in the Record Type field.
• Family & Society Studies Worldwide -- in the Advanced Search mode, use the phrase thesis/dissertation in the Publication Type field.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses -- the most comprehensive index for dissertations! Provides indexing and authors' abstracts of all dissertations in all subjects accepted at all accredited institutions in the U.S. and Canada, and from selected institutions in other countries; and of masters theses from selected accredited institutions worldwide. This is "the" database for dissertation searching. No need to input the term dissertation in any field in this database. Search for author, dissertation title, advisor, institution, and terms in the abstract.
• PsycINFO -- in the Advanced Search form, select dissertation abstract in the Publication Type pull-down menu.
• Social Work Abstracts -- in the Advanced Search form, use the phrase dissertation abstract in the ABSTRACT (AB) field. Can also use the search michigan adj phd in the DISSERTATION Affiliation (DA) field, if you need to localize the dissertation to the University of Michigan.
• Sociological Abstracts -- in the Advanced Search form, use the term dissertation in the Publication Type (PT=) field.

Note: There are delays between the time a dissertation is completed and the time it appears in an index or database.

Most students look for social work or social welfare dissertations that were completed here at the University of Michigan. This leads to the second question: am I looking for a dissertation completed at U-M?

All U-M dissertations may be searched in the Mirlyn catalog by author, title or keyword. If you know the author of the dissertation, use a Browse "Author (last name first)" search. If you want to search by subject words, use the Command Language search mode, searching for your terms as words in the subject fields, and combining them with the term "diss" as a call number. [E.g. wsu=psychology and (call=diss or w510=dissertation)]

A list of of U-M dissertations on that topic will appear, with the campus locations indicated. Most U-M dissertations are shelved at the Buhr Shelving Facility. You can request delivery of a U-M dissertation to the Social work Library and may borrow it like other circulating books.

Important: All U-M dissertations completed since 1997 are available full-text to the U-M community at Dissertations @ University of Michigan

Of special note to social work researchers is the Social Work Library's browsing collection of social work dissertations. This special non-circulating collection consists of many of the dissertations accepted by the School of Social Work.

If you find a citation to a dissertation which was completed at another institution (from an index for example), the third question becomes: how can I get a copy of this dissertation?

Dissertations written at Big Ten institutions since 1997 are available in full-text, free of charge at Dissertations & Theses @ CIC Institutions (Big Ten Universities).  Some institutions allow paper dissertations to circulate to other institutions, however most do not. Most libraries only allow a microfilm copy to be borrowed, making the researcher rely on the availability of microfilm reading equipment. To borrow a non-University of Michigan dissertation, complete an Interlibrary Loan request form. Be sure to allow two to three weeks for delivery. Some dissertations are also available for purchase through a service called Dissertation Express. The cost per digitally printed copy is $41.00, plus tax. Faculty, staff, and doctoral candidates with access to a University account can charge the copy request. Dissertations may be purchased directly from Proquest by phone (1-800-521-3042) or from their Website:  http://www.lib.umi.com/dxweb/gateway

Created by: Karen Rieman-Sendi

Document Custodian: Karen Blackford

Content last updated on: 30 October 2008

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