Information Services

Theses

Useful resources for accessing Theses.

 

China Doctoral and Masters Dissertations Full-text Database (Simplified Chinese Version)

China Doctoral and Masters Dissertations Full-text Database (Traditional Chinese Version)

China Doctoral and Masters Dissertations Full-text Database (English version)

Access information:

Due to a change in Chinese law, fulltext access to this platform was suspended  March 2023, access will be restored during March 2024. For further info, please see Chinese_regulatory_actions_impact_map.pdf (eastview.com)

Access on and off-campus (select China Doctor/Master Dissertations Full-Text Database).

Use this link if you encounter difficulties https://fsso.oversea.cnki.net/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp.ed.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https%3A%2F%2Ffsso.oversea.cnki.net%2Fsecure%2Fukf.aspx%3Flang%3Den-US

Description: The database consists of two parts: China Doctoral Dissertations and China Masters’ Theses. They contain thousands of such texts from higher education institutions and research institutes in China since 1984, in the broad subject areas in arts, humanities and social sciences, including art, literature, language, history, philosophy, military affairs, law, education, economics and management. Coverage of dissertations and theses from top universities and research institutes, including "985 Project" and "211 Project" universities and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is almost complete. The database is cross-searchable with China Academic Journals which we also subscribe to.
Coverage: 1984 onwards
Note: The CNKI platform user manual can be found here. (Microsoft Word document)

 

DART Europe E-Theses

Access information: Freely available
Description: DART Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together to improve global access to European research theses. DART provides researchers with a single European portal for the discovery of electronic theses and dissertations. Useful for searching for theses in European countries that are not well covered by the ProQuest database.

 

Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA)

Access Information: Freely available.
Description: Full-text digital institutional repository of research published by the members of the University of Edinburgh. Includes theses and dissertations, book chapters, working papers, technical reports, journal pre-prints and peer-reviewed journal reprints.

 

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online Service

Access information:

Access on and off-campus. Registration required for full-text access and there may be a delay of some days in receiving required copy.

EThOS is currently unavailable due to a cyber-attack on the British Library at the end of October. Colleagues at the British Library are working to restore services but there is no timescale for the resolution of this outage. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. 08/12/2023.

Description: British Library service providing full text of thousands of UK Higher Education theses (free to staff and students of the University of Edinburgh).
Additional information:

Items unavailable from EThOS may be available through the Inter-Library Loan service (I.L.L.):

Inter-Library Loan (I.L.L.) Service

For more comprehensive searches of theses awarded in your subject area, use ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global:

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

 

History Theses 1901-2014: Historical research for higher degrees in the universities of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

Available via British History Online in two parts: 

https://eux.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/theses-1901-70

https://eux.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/theses-1970-2014

Access information:

Available on and off campus from British History Online.

Description:

Indexes the records of history PhD theses carried out in the universities of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland 1970-2014.  Together both sets provide opportunities to trace shifts and developments in historical research, and chart the role of individual historians—first as doctoral research students and then as supervisors.

Please note: not all the theses listed are necessarily available for consultation since the requirement of students to place a copy of their work on deposit is relatively recent. 

 

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations

Access information: Freely available.
Description: More than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. Links to full-text may take you to the right repository which you search again for the thesis you want.

 

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description: OATD.org is a resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world.  Information about theses comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 5,860,381 items.

 

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a key resource

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description: Millions of searchable citations to worldwide dissertation and theses. Around 70,000 new dissertations and theses added annually.
Coverage: Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637.  Each dissertation published since July, 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.
Full-text: 1997 to date, with selected coverage from earlier years.  Full-text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution.

 

UK Research Councils

Access information: Access on and off campus.
Description:

The Gateway to Research portal holds information on projects funded by the different UK research councils and Innovate UK, including grants awarded, project descriptions, and partners working on the project. It includes details of active projects and the outcomes for projects that have finished. To find funded theses, use the filters to select “studentships” and the relevant funding council. The short record only shows the title and institution to which the funding was awarded, but the full record includes further details.