5. Resources for Dissertation Writers
You may want to use citation management software to help you keep track of your references and to help you generation bibliographies and footnotes. Find out more about choosing and using such software in the guide Using Refworks, Endnote, and Other Citation Tools.
To see if your topic has been addressed by another researcher, or to find related dissertations that may be of use to you in your dissertation research, search Dissertations and Theses Full Text. This resource indexes dissertations and masters' theses from most North American graduate schools as well as some European universities; it provides the full text of dissertations from 1997 to the present; it includes abstracts from 1980 to the present; and it indexes dissertations from 1861 to the present. The file is updated monthly.
Instructions for viewing the text online and for downloading to print, etc., are available as part of the site. You will be able to access these when you have located a dissertation in the online system.
If you wish to consult dissertations or theses not available in full-text form online, you may request them through Interlibrary Loan.
For help in locating dissertations and theses written in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and other countries, see the research guide Finding Dissertations and Theses.
The Harvard University Archives collects Harvard Ph.D., Ed.D., and Th.D. dissertations in print, while microform copies are kept in the Government Documents/Microforms Collection on Level B of Lamont Library. (You will very likely be directed to use the microform copy). All Harvard dissertations are listed in the HOLLIS catalog; for detailed instructions on searching HOLLIS for Harvard dissertations see Finding Dissertations and Theses.
Dissertation Research Consultations
As you prepare to begin your dissertation at Harvard, we strongly recommend that you meet with a reference or research librarian early in the process. We can probably save you time and help you locate materials both here and outside Harvard to enhance your research. To locate a librarian, consult the lists of and Research Contacts and Library Liaisons.