Stephanie Bartz
Reference/Government Publications Librarian
sbartz@rci.rutgers.edu
January 11, 2008

Research Resources: Subject Research Guides: Dissertations and Theses:
Writing a Dissertation or Thesis

Rutgers Graduate School Resources
Print Resources
Internet Resources

Rutgers Graduate School Resources

Consult academic department web sites for additional program specific information on dissertations and theses.

Application for Candidacy Forms and Style Guides for Dissertations Graduate School - Newark
Includes application forms and style guides in PDF format for both the Master's Degree and the Doctoral Degree.

Thesis and Dissertation Style Guide Graduate School - New Brunswick
Provides help with issues related to writing a thesis or dissertation, including standard templates for use with MS Word and a link to the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) submission form.

Print Resources

For additional resources, including additional copies and previous editions of the titles below, use IRIS to search for records that contain the SUBJECT keywords dissertations and handbooks or dissertations academic. For more general guides to report writing and research, search for records that contain the SUBJECT keywords report writing and handbooks -- research and handbooks -- or style manuals.

Art of scientific writing: from student reports to professional publications in chemistry and related fields. Hans F. Ebel, Claus Bliefert, William E. Russey. 2nd, completely rev. ed.
Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, c2004.
CHEMISTRY STACKS QD9.15.E23 2004
DANA REF & STACKS QD9.15.E23 2004

Avoiding thesis and dissertation pitfalls: 61 cases of problems and solutions. R. Murray Thomas and Dale L. Brubaker.
Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey, 2001.
CAMDEN STACKS LB2369.T457 2001

Chicago manual of style. 15th ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
ALEXANDER REF & REFDESK Z253.U69 2003
ART REF Z253.U69 2003
CAMDEN REFDESK Z253.U69 2003
DANA REFDESK Z253.U69 2003
DOUGLASS REF Z253.U69 2003
KILMER REF Z253.U69 2003
SPCOL/UA X-REF Z253.U69 2003

Clockwork muse: a practical guide to writing theses, dissertations, and books. Eviatar Zerubavel.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1999.
ALEXANDER STACKS PN145.Z47 1999
CAMDEN STACKS PN145.Z47 1999

Completing your thesis or dissertation: professors share their techniques and strategies. Fred Pyrczak, editor.
Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub., c2000.
DANA STACKS LB2369.C64 2000

Destination dissertation : a traveler's guide to a done dissertation. Sonja K. Foss and William Waters.
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, c2007.
CAMDEN STACKS LB2369.F59 2007

Dissertations and theses from start to finish: psychology and related fields. John D. Cone and Sharon L. Foster. 2nd ed.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, c2006.
ALEX STACKS BF76.5.C645 2006
DANA STACKS BF76.5.C645 2006
LSM STACKS BF76.5.C645 2006

Elements of an effective dissertation and thesis : a step-by-step guide to getting it right the first time. Raymond L. Calabrese.
Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2006.
CAMDEN STACKS LB2369.C275 2006

Essential guide: research writing across the disciplines. James D. Lester and James D. Lester, Jr. 2nd ed.
New York: Longman, c2002.
CAMDEN STACKS LB2369.L47 2002

Getting a PhD in health and social care. Immy Holloway and Jan Walker.
Oxford; Malden, MA: Blackwell Science, 2000.
ALEXANDER STACKS HV11.8.G7H644 2000

Guide to the successful thesis and dissertation: a handbook for students and faculty. James E. Mauch and Jack W. Birch. 4th ed., rev. and expanded.
New York: M. Dekker, c1998.
DANA REF LB2369.M377 1998
LSM REF LB2369.M377 1998

Guide to writing empirical papers, theses, and dissertations. G. David Garson.
New York: Marcel Dekker, c2002.
DANA STACKS LB2369.G27 2002

How to write essays and dissertations: a guide for English literature students. Nigel Fabb and Alan Durant. 2nd ed.
London; New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
ALEXANDER STACKS PE1479.C7F33 2005

Manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers. Kate L. Turabian; revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, and University of Chicago Press editorial staff. 7th ed.
Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2007.
CAMDEN REF LB2369.T8 2007

Manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. Kate L. Turabian. 6th ed.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
ALEXANDER REF, REFDESK, & STACKS LB2369.T8 1996
ART STACKS LB2369.T8 1996
CAMDEN REF & REFDESK LB2369.T8 1996
DANA REFDESK LB2369.T8 1996
DOUGLASS REF LB2369.T8 1996
KILMER REF LB2369.T8 1996
LSM REF LB2369.T8 1996

MLA handbook for writers of research papers. Joseph Gibaldi. 6th ed.
New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
ALEXANDER REF & REFDESK LB2369.G53 2003
CAMDEN REFDESK LB2369.G53 2003
DANA REF LB2369.G53 2003
DOUGLASS REF LB2369.G53 2003
KILMER REF LB2369.G53 2003

MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. Joseph Gibaldi. 2nd ed.
New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1998.
ALEXANDER REF & REFDESK PN147.G444 1998
DANA REFDESK PN147.G444 1998
DOUGLASS REF PN147.G444 1998
KILMER REF PN147.G444 1998

Proposals that work: a guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals. Lawrence F. Locke, Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, Stephen J. Silverman. 4th ed.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, c2000.
CAMDEN STACKS Q180.55.P7L63 2000

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001.
ALCOHOL REF BF76.7.P83 2001
ALEXANDER REF, REFDESK, & SOC BF76.7.P83 2001
CAMDEN REFDESK & STACKS BF76.7.P83 2001
CHANG REF BF76.7.P83 2001
DANA REFDESK BF76.7.P83 2001
DOUGLASS REF BF76.7.P83 2001
KILMER REF BF76.7.P83 2001
LSM REF BF76.7.P83 2001

Scientific style and format : the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. Style Manual Committee, Council of Science Editors. 7th ed.
Reston, VA : Council of Science Editors in cooperation with the Rockefeller University Press, 2006.
DANA REF T11.S386 2006

Surviving your dissertation: a comprehensive guide to content and process. Kjell Erik Rudestam, Rae R. Newton. 2nd ed.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, c2001.
ALEXANDER REF LB2369.R83 2001

Theses and dissertations: a guide to planning, research, and writing. R. Murray Thomas and Dale L. Brubaker.
Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey, 2000.
CAMDEN STACKS LB2369.T458 2000

Thesis and the book: a guide for first-time academic authors. edited by Eleanor Harman ... [et al.].
Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, c2003.
LSM REF Z286.S37T53 2003

Writing and publishing your thesis, dissertation, and research: a guide for students in the helping professions. P. Paul Heppner, Mary J. Heppner.
Belmont, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole, c2004.
DANA STACKS LB2369.H46 2004
DOUGLASS REF LB2369.H46 2004

Writing empirical research reports: a basic guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. Fred Pyrczak and Randall R. Bruce. 4th ed.
Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub., c2003.
ALEXANDER STACKS LB2369.P97 2003

Writing in political science: a practical guide. Diane E. Schmidt. 3rd ed.
New York : Pearson Longman, c2005.
ALEXANDER SOC JA86.S36 2005
DANA STACKS JA86.S36 2005

Writing the winning thesis or dissertation : a step-by-step guide. Allan A. Glatthorn, Randy L. Joyner.
Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Corwin Press, c2005. 2nd ed.
DANA STACKS LB2369.G56 2005

Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day: a guide to starting, revising, and finishing your doctoral thesis. Joan Bolker. 1st ed.
New York: H. Holt, 1998.
ALEXANDER STACKS LB2369.B57 1998
DOUGLASS STACKS LB2369.B57 1998

Internet Resources

ASGS, the Association for Support of Graduate Students
Includes a news and reference bulletin for graduate students writing their theses, an email discussion list, a professional consultants directory, templates, and other information.

Citation Manuals and Related Tools RU Libraries Electronic Reference Sources
Links to guides for APA, CBE, Chicago and Turabian, electronic recources, government publications, MLA, and miscellaneous other citation styles.

Copyright Information RU Libraries Subject Research Guide
A guide to information and issues of importance to higher education; includes links to Rutgers University copyright and licensing policies.

Copyright Law & Graduate Research: New Media, New Rights, and Your New Dissertation
Information on copyright as it relates to dissertation research.

Dissertations and Theses [Rutgers Restricted]
The primary source for identifying doctoral dissertations and master's theses from North American graduate schools and European universities. The database includes bibliographic citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Useful for determining whether a dissertation on a specified topic has already been done.

Dissertation Publishing: Authors
Information for authors submitting dissertations to Proquest/UMI.

Grammar and Writing Style Manuals RU Libraries Electronic Reference Sources
Links to guides for English language writing, including help with punctuation, sentence structure, common errors, and more.

Guide to Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Intended as a resource for graduate students and their mentors, this site from UNESCO includes The Guide, examples, and a database of resources identified as useful to authors.

Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation
Created to "assist graduate students in thinking through the many aspects of crafting, implementing and defending a thesis or dissertation."