Dissertation Abstracts

Dissertation Abstracts, Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) or the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database is a bibliography of American (and international) dissertations published since 1938 by University Microfilms International (UMI) / ProQuest, Ann Arbor. UMI has had an agitated life and the bibliographical data have often shifted owner and name, and therefore appears under different labels. It covers doctoral dissertations accepted at accredited American institutions since 1861. Selected Masters theses have been included since 1962; since 1988, the database includes citations for dissertations from 50 British universities that are available at The British Document Supply Centre.[1] Additionally, it covers a limited number of dissertations from the rest of the world.

Dissertation Abstracts
ProducerProQuest (United States)
History1938 to present
Access
CostSubscription
Coverage
Record depthIndex & abstract
Format coverageDissertations
Temporal coverage1861 to present
Geospatial coverageWorldwide
Print edition
Print titleDissertation Abstracts International
  • Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Section B: Sciences and Engineering
  • Section C: Worldwide
Links

The print version is published monthly and cumulated annually and it is available both in softcover and on microfiche. It is divided in three sections:

  • Section A, Humanities and Social Sciences (ISSN 0419-4209)
  • Section B, Sciences and Engineering (ISSN 0419-4217)
  • Section C (DAI-C),(formerly European Dissertations) (ISSN 1042-7279) covers non-North American materials, most of them unavailable for purchase from ProQuest. As of 2008, ProQuest no longer offers DAI-C as a separate product.

Form or content

The usability of dissertation abstracts depends largely on their content. Many journals within the medical community have settled on a seven sentence structure, which is also gaining acceptance in the social sciences, education and business. In it, the purpose of the study and methodological choices are outlined succinctly, allowing the reader or researcher to quickly scan and evaluate a number of studies to easily choose ones that meet their particular demands. The structure contains variations on the following seven sentence stems: "The purpose of this study is...." "The scope of this study...." "The methodology...." "The Findings..." "Conclusions reached are ..." "Limitations of this study include...." "This study contributes...." Abstracts of dissertation proposals contain the same seven concepts, substituting data collection and analysis in place of findings and conclusions. Abstracts are limited in the United States by the UMI to 350 words.

Historical notes

In 1962, the Xerox Corporation bought UMI. Xerox introduced some changes and in 1971 UMI changed its name to Xerox University Microfilms, but in 1976 reverted to University Microfilms International. In 1985, UMI was sold to Bell & Howell, who changed the name to Bell & Howell Information and Learning in 1999. In 2001 Bell and Howell created the ProQuest Company. December 2006, the Cambridge Information Group (CIG) bought the unit of ProQuest called ProQuest Information and Learning (which included UMI).[2]

Former titles and print titles: From 1969: Dissertations Abstract International; from 1951: Dissertations Abstracts; from Microfilm Abstracts (an annual catalog of the dissertations available for sale from UMI), American Doctoral Dissertations (ADD), (until 1964): Index to American Doctoral Dissertations, (until 1956): Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities. Masters Abstracts International (MAI).

There are different versions in print and online. The online version is Dissertation Abstracts Online while the print bibliography is termed Dissertation Abstracts International. Material except the abstracts themselves were issued also on CD-ROM under the title: Dissertation abstracts ondisc.

  • 1997: Dissertations go digital with ProQuest Digital Dissertations
  • 1998: Library of Congress recognizes UMI as offsite repository of Digital Dissertations Library
gollark: Originally it just did... fortunes, I think? Then DDG access.
gollark: I think ABR was written in 2018-2019ish.
gollark: I will physically eat in the next hour or so.
gollark: Yes, I will do this and take some honey along to eat.
gollark: GPS is the American system.

See also

Notes
  1. Dialog Bluesheet #35: http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0035.html
  2. Center for Research Libraries (2011). Profile: UMI Dissertation Publishing, ProQuest, LLC. http://www.crl.edu/profile/umi-dissertation-publishing-proquest-llc#Summary

References
  • Davinson, D. (1977). Theses and Dissertations as Information Sources. London: Clive Bingley.
  • Glatthorn, A. A. & Joyner, R. L. (2005). Writing the Winning Thesis or Dissertation: A Step by Step Guide. Thousand Oaks, Corwin Press.
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