In this page we will show the unique search features for ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global . Go to the Platform LibGuide for a complete guide to ProQuest's search and display features.
ProQuest brings more focus to the search process by combining its unique dissertation citation database with knowledge graph technology, delivering only highly relevant, impactful sources, including newspapers, journal articles, dissertations, and more. The new Citation Connections, a dynamic network discovery tool which transform each dissertation or theses into a catalyst for topic-related source collection for all types of users.
Foundational Research
Foundational Research panel displays all those records who shares at least five similar references with the seed document. These foundational research documents are available with number of citations which may be journal articles, newspapers, books, dissertations, video etc. Foundational Research records are ranked according to the frequency with which they are cited by documents in the Neighborhood. These documents are available in ProQuest databases that have cited this source.
The idea behind the Foundational Research papers is to connect the students and research scholars with those highly cited research documents which have related themes and ideas with the seed document. This collection of Foundational Research documents can be useful when building a foundational understanding of a topic or when selecting a topic for a research project.
Dissertation citations
Dissertation citations are extracted, cross-linked, and searchable, offering users a “ready-made” list of sources on a topic through Reference links, Cited by links, and Shared References links. Researchers can quickly build a credible source list targeted to their specific topic.
Similar Dissertations
Similar Dissertations is a collection of dissertations with research closely aligned with the seed document displayed on the page, which can be useful to identify other dissertations that have been written on this topic.
Similarity Index
The similarity index is used to rank the collection of Similar Dissertations by the degree of relationship to the topic of the seed document displayed on the page. The closer the score is to 100%, the more likely this dissertation is about the same topic.
Shared References
Shared References is the number of references in common with the seed document displayed on the page. The more references in common, the more likely the overlap in the topic of research.
Tool Tips
Click on any “i” icon to view the description of a feature for more information.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses offers five Look ups or browsable indexes, so you can easily find spelling or format variations of, for example, an author's name or a subject name. You can find the Look up links in the advanced search page and they are available for the following searchable fields: Author, Advisor, Subject name, Index term and School name. For a description of these fields, please see the Searchable fields table to the right.
Note: Look ups are also available from the Command Line search (through the Look up terms link).
To use and locate a Look up or browsable index, select the field from the Advanced Search pull-down menu. If a Look up is available, under the search row you will see a link to the Look up. Other Look ups and browsable indexes will be listed in the Limit To section of the Advanced Search page.
Each Look-up provides a search and browse function and the ability to add multiple terms separated by Boolean Operators similar to the thesaurus.
Some of the Look up links will be listed in the lower section of the advanced search page.
In Advanced Search, you can find 2 boxes with advanced limiters: Manuscript types provides a controlled list highly specific to this database, and Language features allows to select dissertation/thesis with several types of languages.
In your results page, you might see links to supplemental files, order a copy and references, if available.
Supplemental files are included if part of the documentation that had been submitted with the dissertations/theses text to enhance the scholarly record. You can download the supplemental files as required:
You can use the order a copy tab to purchase any dissertation/thesis.
You can dive deeper into the relevant literature by reviewing references within each dissertation on your topic. Examining the resources that other authors rely upon may reveal a very useful resource that hadn’t turned up in your own search.
If one of the References is available to your library through another ProQuest database, you will be able to click on the reference to view the full record.
On results page, you can also get an unique option to filter the documents based on university/institution and university/institution location.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global offers browsing (in addition to searching) as a way of finding content. Use this page to easily locate dissertations/theses based on subject and location.
