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Dissertations and Theses: About Dissertations
Dissertation Terminology
An ETD is an electronic or digital copy of a thesis or dissertation.
An IR or institutional repository, is a digital space for collecting, preserving and disseminiating the intellectual output of an institution. Many universities include dissertations and theses in their institutional repositories.
Introduction to Using Dissertations & Theses
Dissertations contain recent research that may not yet be published. Reviewing dissertations can be helpful preparation for your own dissertation.
The literature review chapter of a dissertation attempts to cover all of the relevant literature on a topic. Use that and the references to discover sources.
Review the methodology chapter of a dissertation that used a methodology you're interested in using for your research. Measurements used in the dissertation will be described in this chapter and a copy of the measurement tool should appear in the appendix.
Recommendations for future research are contained in the last chapter of a dissertation. The author makes recommendations based on existing gaps in the literature. Review the recommendations for future research in a dissertation written on your topic to help focus your research question.