How To Search
Dissertation Abstracts

(Proquest Digital Dissertations)

Dissertation Abstracts, containing over 1.6 million entries from over 1000 graduate schools, is the authoritative source for dissertations and master theses. The database encompasses schools in both the U. S. and many other countries. Citations are available for dissertations filed from 1861 to the present day. Abstracts are available for dissertations from 1980 forward, and abstracts are available for theses from 1988 forward. Titles published since 1997 are available in PDF digital format and have 24 page previews available. Users can order dissertations or theses from other schools through Interlibrary Loan or the Proquest Digital Dissertations ordering service.

Getting Started

> Select "Digital Dissertations" on the Libraries databases list.
> Click the blue "Enter" button

Basic Searching

> Enter specific words in the blank search fields. Connect the words by selecting and, or, and not from the menus on the left side of the screen.

> Choose a field from the menus on the right wide of the screen. Select "Keyword" to search both the titles and abstracts of the dissertations.
Example: You are looking for a dissertation by an author named "Bryant" that has the word "frog" in the title. Type "Bryant" in the top search box and choose Author from the first top menu. Type "frog" in the middle search box and select "Title" from the middle field menu.

> Click Search.

> Click the blue "Citation+Abstract" to view this information. Only dissertations filed after 1980 have abstracts. Dissertations filed after 1997 may also have a 24-page Preview.

> Users can print out individual dissertation citations using the browser bar or checkmark the folder icons next to several citations and print them out as a list.

> See the back for ordering information.

Advanced Searching

> Click the Advanced Search Tab at the top of the screen.

> Connect words with AND, OR, NOT in the large search box.

> Use tags to limit searching to a particular field. Click Examples to see a list of all the tags.
Example: ti(anatomy) searches only the titles of the dissertations for the word "anatomy".

> Subject Tree: Click the Subject Tree to limit your search to a particular discipline.
Example: You are searching for dissertations about the history of books, but you only want to find dissertations written within the discipline of library science. Click the subject tree and select Communications and the Arts. Then, click "Add" next to Library Science. Scroll up to the large search box and type "and history and books" after the subject number for library science. Click search.

> School Index—useful if you are unsure of the name of the school.

Obtaining Dissertations

Option 1: Order the dissertation through the UA Libraries interlibrary loan department (ILL) on the second floor of the Gorgas Library. Users can also place orders on the "ILL request form" accessible from the top menu on the Libraries home page: http://www.lib.ua.edu.

Option 2: Order the dissertation directly through Digital Dissertations. Click "Order Now" off to the side of the dissertation that you wish to order. Or mark the shopping cart icon next to several dissertations and then click "Shopping Cart" near the top of the screen. Special Note: Please be aware of the pricing information for each dissertation!

Option 3: Dissertations filed at UA can be located by using the Libraries Catalog. The dissertations are usually shelved with regular books. Many academic departments also keep copies of the dissertations of their candidates.