WISER Focus on Theses and Dissertations This session

WISER: Focus on… Theses and Dissertations This session offers guidance on finding theses, both those held in Oxford University Libraries and those from other institutions in the UK and abroad. It will demonstrate how to exploit the main sources of information for theses and dissertations: OLIS; Index to Theses (UK and Ireland); Dissertation Abstracts International (America). Rob Wilkes & Mat Andrews

What will you learn in this session? • How to use OLIS and other catalogues to find Oxford and other universities’ theses in Oxford University Libraries • How to find theses relevant to your research held elsewhere in the world • How to undertake basic searches on Index to Theses and Dissertation Abstracts International • How to obtain copies of theses not held in Oxford

Oxford theses in Oxford University Libraries l l l Radcliffe Science Library: science theses (D. Phil. and M. Sc. ) Central Bodleian: non-science theses (D. Phil. , M. Litt. /B. Litt. , M. Phil. / B. Phil. and B. D. ). Consulted in Duke Humfrey’s Library, and music theses also in the Music Reading Room Law Library: Law Commonwealth and African Studies (Rhodes House) Library: Sub-Saharan Africa and Commonwealth (except south Asia) Vere Harmsworth Library: United States Social Science Library: Economics M. Phils 2000 -

Oxford theses: catalogues OLIS: all non-science D. Phils, all non-science masters theses from 1994, all Law theses, all postgraduate science theses from 1995, all science D. Phils from 1988. Card catalogues: RSL entrance hall (postgraduate science); Duke Humfrey (postgraduate non-science) Index to Theses via Ox. LIP: for bibliographic details of theses not on OLIS Lists in Duke Humfrey: details of theses in progress; full titles of accepted theses.

Finding Oxford University theses on OLIS by author or faculty Author keyword search (aw=): Main entry (the author): Maas, Korey. Added entries (the corporate body): University of Oxford. Faculty of Theology. Thesis. - pre-2000, a single entry (Faculty); - post-2000, three entries (Division, Faculty/Sub-Faculty/Department, and College)

Finding Oxford University theses on OLIS by title Title keyword search (tw=): Main entry (the title): Robert Barnes (1495 -1540) as historical theologian Note: will also find keywords in Uniform Title (for works of which a thesis is an edition under a variant title), and in Added Title Entry (where title page differs from Official Title given in published University lists)

Finding Oxford University theses on OLIS by subject Subject keyword search (sw=): Barnes, Robert, 1495 -1540. Theology, Doctrinal -- History. (Library of Congress Subject Headings) Note: Subject entries gather under one heading works whose titles may express the subject under many different terms. A subject heading must represent at least 20 per cent of the catalogued work.

Finding Oxford University theses on OLIS by type of degree Notes keyword search nw=: Supervisor: Professor Diarmaid Mac. Culloch. Thesis (D. Phil. )--University of Oxford, 2005. Bibliography: leaves 264 -274. Note: For post-2000 theses, find here the supervisor’s name. For all theses, find here the degree given.

Undertaking a combined search: Author keyword = thesis and maas and Subject keywords robert barnes and Notes keyword d. phil. would find this thesis. aw=thesis maas sw=robert barnes nw=d. phil Sometimes, it is necessary to use all these search terms but, in this case, the author keywords thesis and maas would be sufficient

Finding theses written at other universities and held in Oxford • Try OLIS! (nw=thesis may help) • Electronic dissertation collections via Ox. LIP or http: //www. bodley. ox. ac. uk/dept/readerserv/reference/theses. html • Bodleian card catalogue of pre-1973 foreign dissertations – Theology Room of the Old Bodleian Lower Reading Room includes l American Ph. D theses on film l (Continental) European Ph. D print theses N. B: some theses may take up to a week to arrive

Bodleian Dissertation Bingo • 23175 e. 19 • 12085 d. 1 • Diss. C C. 3 (5) • Films 365 • Diss. Films 180 • 1970 Hels 50 N. B: some theses may take up to a week to arrive

Finding British and Irish theses Index to Theses: via OXLIP or at: http: //www. theses. com/ Inter-library loans: Printout from Index to Theses, plus completed application form and Thesis Declaration Form Copies from: http: //www. bl. uk/services/document/brittheses. html

Finding American (U. S. ) theses Dissertation Abstracts International: via OXLIP or at: http: //wwwlib. umi. com/dissertations/ A 24 -page preview is available for American dissertations from 1997 onwards. Inter-library loans: Printout from Dissertation Abstracts International, with your name and email address Copies from: http: //wwwlib. umi. com/dissertations/ Or contact your subject consultant: http: //www. ouls. ox. ac. uk/collections/librarians

Finding other theses l l Dissertation Abstracts International: Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden…. Other theses – only databases: e. g. TESEO (Spanish) International union catalogues: World. Cat, RLG (Eureka), Francis, Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog (can search many. . . ) National union and national library catalogues: e. g. France’s BN catalogue and Sudoc l Subject bibliographical databases: RILM (Eureka) l COPAC: British research libraries union catalogue Further links and information at: http: //www. bodley. ox. ac. uk/dept/readerserv/reference/theses. html

Index to Theses Gareth Stedman Jones labour Liberation Theology Dissertation Abstracts International John S. North Tennyson Liberation Theology

Index to Theses Nicholas von Maltzahn Milton European Union and Bulgaria Dissertation Abstracts International Lees Paris Commune European Union and Bulgaria

Remember! • All those consulting Oxford theses must sign a form at the front of thesis recognising the author’s copyright. • If you are using a print copy of a thesis borrowed from another university, please check to see if you need to sign a form at the front of thesis.

Any questions? • Modern Papers Room (2)77045 rajw@bodley. ox. ac. uk • Main Enquiry Desk (2)77162 reader. services@bodley. ox. ac. uk