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EBSCO Open Dissertations

EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable. 

Increasing Discovery & Usage of ETD Research

EBSCO Open Dissertations is a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs to increase traffic and discoverability of ETD research. You can join the movement and add your theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to your institutional repository. 

EBSCO Open Dissertations extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

How Does EBSCO Open Dissertations Work?

Your ETD metadata is harvested via OAI and integrated into EBSCO’s platform, where pointers send traffic to your IR.

EBSCO integrates this data into their current subscriber environments and makes the data available on the open web via opendissertations.org .

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EBSCO Open Dissertations

Search millions of electronic theses and dissertations (etds).

With EBSCO Open Dissertations, institutions and students are offered an innovative approach to driving additional traffic to ETDs in institutional repositories. Our goal is to help make their students’ theses and dissertations as widely visible and cited as possible.

This approach extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

Get involved in the EBSCO Open Dissertations project and make your electronic theses and dissertations freely available to researchers everywhere. Please contact Margaret Richter for more information.

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Description.

This page provides links to databases and websites to find dissertations. This includes links to general databases to find dissertations, databases focused on the humanities, foreign dissertations, dissertations on religion, and dissertations hosted by other universities.

General Databases

Humanities dissertations, foreign dissertations, religion dissertations, dissertations of universities, yale divinity library.

Science Dissertations

• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2023 5:35 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.yale.edu/dissertations

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

• What is ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
• ProQuest Dissertations eLearning Companions

E-Learning Modules

Webinar recordings, powerpoint presentations, additional resources, support center articles.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global   is a wealth of unique global scholarship, which is a credible and quality source to Uncover the Undiscovered research insights and intelligence in easiest and most effective ways. The equitable discoverability of more than 5.8 million dissertations and theses with coverage from year 1637, allows researchers to amplify diverse voices and place their research in a global context. The database offers nearly 3.2 million full texts for most of the dissertations added since 1997.

By leveraging the rich citation data found in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global and with new citation insight tool, researchers can benefit from focused pathways of discovery to build foundational knowledge on various research topics. Over 200,000 new dissertations and theses are added to the database each year to enrich the citation data continuously.

For more information about the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global , navigate to the Content Page .

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global   Database  is also part of ProQuest One Academic .  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global resides on the ProQuest Platform. For more information about the ProQuest Platform search and display features, see the  ProQuest Platform LibGuide .

The Dissertations Bootcamp eLearning Modules are a free resource that help support graduate student planning, writing, and research.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Citation Connections

Here you can have a preview of the new features just launched for the Cited Reference documents in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Librarian

Intended for Librarians who want to learn how to use the database's advanced search to support subject area research at their institution. Duration: 2 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Searching Titles and Languages

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can use the database's advanced search to identify known dissertations by title and search/analyze by languages other than English. Duration: 3 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Searching Names

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or Ph, can use the database's advanced search to identify dissertations of known Authors or Advisors and further refine/analyze them. Duration: 4 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Cited References

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can use the dissertations to retrieve and explore further the Cited References. Duration: 4 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Supplemental Files

This session reviews how Students, both Masters or PhD, can identify dissertations with Supplemental files which may contain useful materials for their graduate work. Duration: 3.5 minutes.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for the Student, Subject Searching

This session will show Students, both Masters or PhD, some Search techniques both Basic and Advanced to locate dissertations on a certain topic. Duration: 5.5 minutes.

Webinar Title : Best Practices for Searching ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global

This session demonstrates how users can utilize the best practices of searching the " ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global  database" to connect with relevant information for their academic work. Duration:  52 minutes.

Materials in English - Figures (Database size) and Platform features images now updated as of March 2023

• PQDT Global Basic Version PPT
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• ProQuest ETD Dissemination Program
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index Training Assest: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index PPT- May 2024
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• New Change in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT) Structure and its Impact on Usage Reports in 2023
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• Best Practices for Incorporating ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Product into EBSCO Discovery
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• Last Updated: May 4, 2024 10:06 AM
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Finding Dissertations and Theses

• IU Dissertations
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Ask a Librarian

Kristina Bradley-Khan, Nickoal Eichmann, Emily Okada, Keila DuBois, Alyssa Denneler.

Based on a document created by Sarah Mitchell in 2010

Created: February 2013

A Guide to Finding Dissertations

Dissertations are book-length works based on a PhD candidate's original research that are written as requirements for the doctoral degree. Theses are similar but shorter texts that are written by students working towards Master's and sometimes Bachelor's degrees.  Both dissertations and theses offer researchers valuable insights and analysis of all subjects. They can also be useful in leading to other resources as part of your own research.

Click on the tabs at the top of this page for information about specific resources and useful search techniques for finding dissertations. You can also navigate using the "Guide Contents" links on the left side of the page.

If you encounter difficulties in obtaining full-texts of dissertations or theses, consult a librarian. The "Ask A Librarian" instant message widget is located on the left of every page underneath the tabs.

Getting Started

Know what you're looking for (mostly)?

When looking for a specific dissertation, you need some or all of the following:

Just looking for a certain subject area?

When looking for dissertations in a specific subject area, you may need a variety of search terms and limiters. For example:

Where to Search

In general, start your search in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. If you are looking for an IU dissertation and cannot find it in ProQuest, search ScholarWorks. If it is not in ScholarWorks, search IUCAT.

Comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, including millions of works from thousands of universities. Each dissertation published since July, 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637.

Includes the following: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: UK & Ireland ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: A & I ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: CIC Institutions

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• Last Updated: Dec 7, 2023 4:47 PM
• URL: https://guides.libraries.indiana.edu/dissertations

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How to search for Harvard dissertations

• DASH , Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.  Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from  March 2012 forward  are available online in DASH.
• Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the   Advanced Search   and limiting Resource  Type   to Dissertations
• Search the database  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Don't hesitate to  Ask a Librarian  for assistance.

How to search for Non-Harvard dissertations

Library Database:

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Free Resources:

• Many  universities  provide full-text access to their dissertations via a digital repository.  If you know the title of a particular dissertation or thesis, try doing a Google search.  

Related Sites

• Formatting Your Dissertation - GSAS
• Ph.D. Dissertation Submission  - FAS
• Empowering Students Before you Sign that Contract!  - Copyright at Harvard Library

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• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 1:52 PM
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Dissertations and Theses

• Find Dissertations
• About the Dissertation Office
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Finding Dissertations

There is no single source for a comprehensive dissertation search. WorldCat  and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global include most American dissertations. Dissertations @ The Center for Research Libraries lends non-American dissertations to member borrowers. Library catalogs and specialized repositories contain other titles. Request any dissertation through Interlibrary Loan . Though not every title is available through ILL, it is worth a try.

Dissertation Databases & Repositories

• Graduate Center Dissertations in Academic Works, 2014-present As of 2014, all Graduate Center dissertations, theses, and capstone projects are posted to CUNY Academic Works. Some are immediately available to read and download, and some become available after an embargo period set by the author.

• U.S. and international legal and government resources
• ADT Australian Digital Theses Program
• Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations of the University of São Paulo
• Colección de Tesis Digitales Universidad de las Américas Puebla Tesis digitales Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, México
• Danish Royal Library
• DART Europe E-theses Europe except France
• Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Hochschulschriften in the German National Library
• Dissonline.de Full-text dissertations from the German and Swiss National Libraries
• E-theses University of Helsinki, Finland dissertations; all free full-text
• EThOS British Library Electronic Theses Online Searches 250,000+ theses, many available in full text with a free online account. Theses not available for immediate download take 30 days to digitize. Order via CUNY Graduate Center interlibrary loan to cover any digitization fees. Most UK universities participate except Oxford, Cambridge, and Univ of Southampton.
• JAIRO: Japanese Institutional Respositories Online Open access; full-text
• NARCIS Dissertations from all Dutch Universities
• National Library of Norway
• Nauka Polska Poland's dissertation repository
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Global ETD Search NDLTD's Global ETD Search is a free service that allows researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations based on keyword, date, institution, language and subject.
• OAIster from open access digital archive world-wide
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations Metadata from over 1100 institutions, indexes over 2.5 million theses and dissertations.
• Osterreichischen Bibliothekenverbundes Austrian Hochschulschriften
• Russian State Library Digital Library Dissertations Over 650,000 free, full-text of dissertations from 1998
• Systeme Universitaire de Documentation French science theses from 1972; humanities, social sciences, law and health from 1983
• Tesi-online Italian university PhD theses; free full-text
• Theses.fr expanding index of French theses
• Theses Canada Canadian universities voluntarily submit approved theses and dissertation to Theses Canada
• Trove Australian university digital and print theses

Dissertation Indexes (Print & Microformat)

Use these to supplement searches in online databases. Historical information in print indexes is sometimes more complete (i.e. abstracts appear in print before 1980 in Dissertation Abstracts International, but are not currently online). Print indexes may contain earlier works not included in online databases.

• American Doctoral Dissertations 1933-1955 Digitized version of the print index, "Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities." Includes nearly 100,000 citations.
• Comprehensive Dissertation Index 1861 - 1972 37 volumes divided by subject with author index. Each subject has keyword index. Bibliographic citations include title, author, degree, year, institution. No abstracts. JFF 98-1512 in the NYPL Schwarzman Main Reading Room
• Deutsche Bibliographie: Hochschulschriften-Verzeichnis 1972 - 1990 German dissertations NYPL OFFSITE JFM 93-99
• Dissertation Abstracts 1938-1966 Index with abstracts to American doctoral dissertations. NYPL JFM 74-61 OFFSITE
• Dissertation Abstracts International, 1969 - These volumes succeed Dissertation Abstracts. Includes title, author, degree, institution, year, pages, and an abstract. Author and keyword indexes. Includes abstracts for pre-1980 works not abstracted in online version. Graduate Center 1970-1984 MIC-Per 164 NYPL Schwarzman Main Reading Room A: Humanities and Social Sciences JFM 74 - 62 B: Sciences and Engineering JFM 74 - 34 C: International/European 1977 - 2003 OFFSITE
• Dissertation Abstracts International 1966 - 1969 Ser A: Humanities and Social Sciences JFM 74 - 63 OFFSITE Ser B: Sciences and Engineering JFM 74 - 60 OFFSITE
• Dissertation Abstracts International Retrospective Index 1938 - 1969 Indexes Dissertation abstracts (v.1-26) and Dissertation Abstracts International (v.27-29); 1933 - 1969. NYPL: Offsite; request in avance.
• Dissertation Abstracts [Microfilm] 1952-1964 MIC-Per 164 at the Graduate Center Library
• Index to theses accepted for higher degrees by the universities of Great Britain and Ireland and the Council for National Academic Awards 1950 - 1985 NYPL OFFSITE JFM 88-379
• Jahresverzeichnis der Deutschen Hochschulschriften, 1936 - 1964 German dissertations NYPL OFFSITE L-10 9257
• Microfilm Abstracts 1938-1951 Graduate Center MIC-Per 164

CRL Dissertations

Based in Chicago, the Center for Research Libraries was founded in 1948 by a consortium of Midwestern universities seeking to pool lesser-used resources. The collection holds over 800,000 dissertations from 90+ universities in Germany (66%), Netherlands (2%), France (16%), Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the UK; also from Latin America, South America, and Africa. What CRL does not own, it will acquire for interlibrary loan to Graduate Center affiliates.

British Dissertations

The Center for Research Libraries reviews all Grad Center ILL requests for loan or demand purchase of UK dissertations. If CRL finds the title accessible through EThOS or that it can be digitized free of charge (in approx 30 days), CRL will notify the requesting institution of its availability via the EThOS online venue. CRL will also place orders via EThOS and alert requestors when a dissertation is available for download. If EThOS requires a fee for digitization, CRL will place the order on behalf of the requesting institution and pay for digitization.

• << Previous: Digital Dissertations
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• Last Updated: Apr 10, 2024 12:38 PM
• URL: https://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/dissertations

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How do I find dissertations and theses?

• Finding Dissertations and Theses from Other Institutions
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Quick Links

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window Subscription database. Single access point for North American dissertations and theses with significant and growing international coverage. & more less... Includes citations for materials from the first U.S. dissertation (1861) to those accepted as recently as last semester. Starting in 1997 full-text is often available. If full-text is not available information about ordering the document is provided.
• PQDT Open Open access dissertations from the ProQuest database. ( North America .)
• CRL Guide to Dissertations Center for Research Libraries guide to foreign dissertations.
• EThOS This link opens in a new window & more less... EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses. Register for free to download theses and dissertations.
• Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) Contains brief citations for theses and dissertations completed in African universities.
• Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD) IBICT ETD initiative for Brazilian theses and dissertations.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) This link opens in a new window & more less... International organization for ETDs.
• Theses Canada Portal Central access point for Canadian theses. See ProQuest database also.
• SUDOC: Système Universitaire de Documentation This link opens in a new window Union catalog for over 3000 French universities & more less... The combined catalogs of French academic libraries. See also the Bibliothèque Nationale de France .
• Digitaler Dissertationen in Deutschland This link opens in a new window A gateway to online dissertation sites of many German universities. & more less... A gateway to online dissertation sites of many German universities.
• Tesionline This link opens in a new window Italian service from the Corriere della sera. & more less... Provides bibliographic and full text access to over 8,000 Italian theses and dissertations, from the bachelors level to doctoral dissertations.
• DART-Europe This link opens in a new window Portal for European ETDs. & more less... Portal for European Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
• Base de datos de tesis doctorales (TESEO) Covers theses completed at Spanish universities.
• Theses en ligne This link opens in a new window & more less... Llimited in content, but provides access to the full text of some French dissertations.

Obtaining Dissertations the Library Does Not Hold

Current University of Chicago faculty, students, and staff may borrow dissertations and theses by placing an interlibrary loan request .

Dissertations from U.S. or Canadian Institutions

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses contains records for most North American doctoral dissertations. To locate dissertations of interest, search by keyword.  Select More Search Options or use the Advanced search interface to search for terms in specific fields (Author, School, etc.).  Note that some fields (Abstract, Advisor, Committee Member, Department) will not work for dissertations produced before a certain date.  Most titles submitted since 1997 are available online.

The Theses Canada Portal provides additional information about Canadian theses.

Dissertations from Academic Institutions Outside the U.S.

Dissertations and theses from institutions outside the United States and Canada can sometimes be challenging to obtain. The Center for Research Libraries has a large collection of foreign dissertations. We borrow material from them, and in many cases interlibrary loan staff will ask CRL to acquire material they do not hold. See the CRL guide to dissertations for additional information.

Other Sources for Identifying Dissertations

While ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and the CRL Guide to Dissertations are good starting points, many of the Library's subscription databases contain records for dissertations. Along with the records for books and other material, WorldCat contains records for dissertations or theses held by member libraries. Most of the major subject-specific indexes (such as PsycINFO, SciFinder Scholar, or Sociological Abstracts) will also include citations for dissertations. Some of the Library's research guides mention additional sources.

The Library also has some print sources and bibliographies which you may use to locate dissertations. Locate these sources by searching the Library Catalog using the subject term Dissertations, Academic in either the subject keyword search or the Begins with subject search option. If you are looking for dissertations from a specific country, you can add the country into your search terms (i.e. Dissertations, Academic -- Mexico ).

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• Updated: Nov 10, 2023 11:23 AM
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How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Thesis and Dissertation Guide

• Starting your Dissertation/Thesis
• Dissertation/Thesis Resources
• Books That May Help
• Literature Reviews
• Annotated Bibliography
• We Don't Have It? / Interlibrary Loan
• Online Learning Study Tips
• Search Strategy
• Advanced Search Techniques
• Kemp Library Video Tutorials
• Find Articles / Journals / Databases
• What are...
• Database Video Tutorials
• Peer Reviewed
• How to confirm and cite peer review
• Primary/Secondary Sources
• Other Types of Sources (i.e. Newspapers)
• Legal Research Resources
• Evidence Based Practice/Appraisal Resources
• Google Scholar
• Website Evaluation
• Internet Searching
• Apps You Didn't Know You Needed
• Who is citing me?
• Questions After Hours
• ESU Thesis Submission
• ESU Dissertation Submission

This page goes over what an academic search is, different levels of search strategy (how to form a specific search, how to structure that for your assignment, etc.), how to create an effective search in a database/search engine/anywhere, why search terms matter, how to effectively review your search results, and the structure of a journal article. This page also provides a tracking sheet that can be used to help remember all the different steps and directions you go in your research. 

Search Strategy (visual)

The Search Strategy Process

What are the parts of an article?

Search strategy and tips.

• Getting Started
• Keeping Track of Your Search
• Sample Search
• Why are search terms important?
• Adding Concepts
• Reviewing Results
• Is this Article Right for Me?
• Conceive : what’s the assignment? What will your topic be?
• Organize : what are you looking for? Historical information, current information, statistical data, peer reviewed article?
• Keywords : break your topic down into keywords or concepts.  Once you have keywords, find synonyms for those words and phrases. How can you combine them?
• Start Broad : start your searching with one or two keywords (broad topic) and narrow your search as you go with additional terms, altering what years of publication you’re looking for, only looking at peer reviewed articles, etc.
• If you’re not finding anything exact, find something close and try those keywords and subjects
• Reassess : if you’re not getting the results you’re looking for, you may need to change your searches, broaden or narrow your topic, or change your topic.  Ask for help if you’re not sure what your best option is.
• Restart: research is a cyclical process, you may need to start from scratch or just from an earlier step like choosing new keywords.
• Research Tracking Sheet

Keep track of your search and your results. Remember research is a  process   and you may try many things before you find what works best for your topic. If you think of it like troubleshooting a problem on your computer that might help. 

Keep track of your search terms and jot down other words you find while perusing the articles that result from your searches.

The " search history " option under the search box can also help with that.

Email, print, or save articles that might be useful for your research, even if you're not sure that you're going to use them.

This sample topic is used to demonstrate how to pull out keywords and critically assess your topic. 

If your topic is: 

What is the influence of Spanish literary custom on Medieval lyric poetry?

 1. Identify keywords or phrases:       

     Spain(ish)      literature      culture      Medieval      lyric poetry

 2. Explore synonyms for your keywords/phrases:

     Medieval: Middle Ages, Dark Ages, Gothic 

     Culture: customs, tradition, practices

3. Use these terms in your search. Combine the synonyms with the word "or".

For example:   Medieval OR Middle Ages OR Dark Ages OR Gothic

4. Make use of the  Subject Headings  option on the left of your screen to find appropriate subject headings for your topic and use them in a search

Note : some of your initial keywords may be similar like   literature  and  lyric poetry .  Other keywords you could use for either of these terms:   literary, poems, lyric poems, prose  or because we are disucssing Spanish literary customs from a specific time period, you can use non-English terms such as " kharjas " or " Mester de Juglaria ". You could also look at specific famous poems such as  Cantar de Mio Cid  or  Mester de Clerecia . 

Use unique, specific terms.  If you're researching a subject with a unique vocabulary, don't be afraid to use those terms.  It's the difference between searching " ocelot " (8,490,000 results in Google) and " Leopardus pardalis " (387,000 results in Google). That's over an 8 million result difference. 

By using specific and/or unique terms, you are likely to find more relevant information. It is also likely to be of a higher quality, as most people don't use professional vocabulary casually. 

Remember to search in the advanced search mode

Enter your 1st keyword(s)/phrase(s) in the first line (using our sample search from two tabs ago,  Medieval or Middle Ages ).

Your second concept in our example is culture . Enter that key phrase and any synonyms in the second line of the search box. Your search results should then include both concepts somewhere in the record.

You can add as many concepts as you like - all databases and the library catalog will allow you to add more than the default 3 fields when you're in advanced search.

Below you see an example of combining 2 concepts with multiple keywords in a database.

Once you have collected some articles, take a closer look at them.

• Read and review what you have. Do you have enough information to support your topic?
• If you don't like what you have or you don't have enough good information, go back to your search. Try some new keywords or a different database.
• Explore some of the subject headings from the articles that you do want to use.
• If some of your articles have citations you might want to look at some of the sources listed there.
• If you're stuck -- ask a librarian for help.

Reading these sections of an article/book will help you determine if the item you're looking at is relevant to your research. The title, abstract and discussion/conclusion are usually all you really need to read from an article to see if you can use it. 

• Abstract : This is a summary of the article/item and will give you a good idea if it will be of use. This is the only part that will be in the item record and in the article. 
• Introduction : This will tell you the history of the topic and the goal(s) of what you’re reading.
• Literature Review : Summary of similar or previous research on the topic. *May not be included.
• Methodology : How did they approach the topic/their research? *May not be included.
• Results : Lists and discusses what the research discovered. *May not be included. 
• Discussion/Conclusion : The results of what they found and their implications.
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• Last Updated: Apr 29, 2024 12:07 PM
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Some dissertations and theses are automatically added to the Digital Conservancy, while others are added manually.

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Dissertations are automatically added to the Digital Conservancy as part of the submission process, which is administered by The Graduate School.  For information or questions regarding submission policies and procedures, contact Graduate Student Services and Progress office (GSSP) for the most up-to-date information on this process.

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Master’s Plan A theses are automatically added to the Digital Conservancy as part of the submission process, which is administered by The Graduate School.  For information or questions regarding submission policies and procedures, contact Graduate Student Services and Progress office (GSSP) for the most up-to-date information on this process.

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Plan B/C theses, capstones, and other projects may be added to the Digital Conservancy, but deposit is not required. If you are a student and would like to add your Plan B paper, please follow thee email instructions on this page.  In your email, please be sure to include the project type, the name of your degree, and the college/school where your degree is conferred.

Some graduate programs have collections of their master's projects in the Digital Conservancy.  These collections are a wonderful resource for current and former students, and highlight the role of graduate education and research in the school.  If you are a program administrator, or would like to start a collection for a program’s Plan B projects, please contact us to get started.

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Email your deposit

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• Read and complete the online Deposit Agreement  
• Email [email protected] your file(s)
• In your email, include the following information:
• Author name(s)
• Title of your deposit
• Date created (YYYY-MM-DD)
• Abstract of no more than 500 words (optional)
• Any subject keywords you want associated with your deposit
• The collection where your item should be uploaded.  If you're not sure, provide a quick description of your item, your campus, and any associated program, event, department, research group, etc. (e.g., UROP-Duluth Campus, Plan B thesis, Extension report, etc.)
• Faculty advisor name, if applicable
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Breaking boundaries: UCSB grad students win prestigious Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship

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Recognized for their “bold and innovative approaches” to research, three UC Santa Barbara graduate students have been awarded the 2024 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship. Doctoral students Yuri Fraccaroli , Salma Shash and Tinghao Zhou are among 45 awardees selected from a nationwide pool of more than 700 Ph.D. students in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.

“We are extremely proud of these three international students for winning such a prestigious and competitive fellowship,” said Interim Graduate Dean Leila J. Rupp. “It is notable that all are involved in research that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries and allows them to bring their personal experiences into their projects. Together, they show the global reach, interdisciplinarity and emphasis on social justice that is a hallmark of our campus.”

Fraccaroli, a first-generation doctoral student from Brazil, is pursuing research in the feminist studies department based on their work as an educator, artist and researcher with Acervo Bajubá, an LGBT+ community archive in São Paulo. They will use the funding and support from the award to expand the scope of their winning dissertation, “Archivo vivo! An Ethnography of the Archive: Latin American Sex and Gender Community Archives.” 

“I have an outline of chapters, I know the sites I'm working at, I know the communities I'm going to be talking to,” Fraccaroli said. “It’s also research that is a result of five years around this life commitment that I have with community archives in Latin America, especially in South America, and in Brazil with Acervo Bajubá , where my work comes from. Instead of seeing these archives as objects, I consider them as epistemological projects. That’s the key intervention of my project.” 

Part of the support and resources provided by the fellowship include an external advisor. “The first stage of my research is going to be probably at the University of Leeds with Patricio Simonetto, who is a queer historian who has a very outstanding career,” they said. “At this moment, I want to expand my theoretical knowledge from Brazil to the region. The idea of the project is to get a regional and global perspective on this phenomenon, this rise of community archives that has been happening in the last decade.”

A Ph.D. candidate in film and media studies, Zhou won the award for his dissertation, “At the Ends of Media: E-Waste Pollution, Secondhand Extraction, and Environmental Politics in Guiyu, China,” “I'm looking at a specific e-waste processing site in China, which has been perceived as one of the largest e-waste recycling hubs in the world for the past 20 or 30 years,” he said. “I think this award is instrumental for my research because it allows graduate students like myself to go to the places that I want to visit and to talk to the people I want to reach outside of America. I think this funding gives me an opportunity to gain access to those trainings and spaces, which I think is really important for my project.”

Zhou’s personal experiences also fueled his dissertation goals. He grew up in South China, in an area known for its manufacturing, industry and international trade, not far from a town with many recycling workshops and centers.  “It was famous for collecting old TV sets, air conditioners and refrigerators – all of these old consumer electronics,” he recalled. “When I was in my childhood home, I always got that smell of recycling. I had to close my door or close my windows sometimes. The smell is a memory I associate with these old recycling industries, and that actually became a kind of central methodology of my project — to use this sensory ethnography to understand how the local people live and work in and around e-waste recycling sites.”

He hopes his research and the funding provided for interviews with local officials, environmental scientists and activists will shed light on the impact of e-waste recycling processes on the local communities. “I was thinking of how the chemical and physical components of those devices could even impact the metabolism of the workers’  bodies,” Zhou said. “Looking at this site pushes me to think about how the global media economy and output of e-waste tangibly shape the local ecologies, politics and people. The other part of the project is also looking at how the central government negotiates or reacts to this global media economy in its development of environmental science and technology.”

The award arrived at a crucial time in Shash’s graduate research career. “I had no guaranteed funding for next year, and this fellowship will allow me to focus on research and writing without teaching duties or other work responsibilities,” she said. “It also gives you some motivation to know that other people think your research is important or worth funding.”

Shash’s winning research project, “Villagers, Criminals, and Policemen: Policing and Justice in Rural Egypt, 1854-1914,”  stems from political changes in her home country of Egypt. “I have been interested in understanding police brutality, coercion and criminal justice since the 2011 revolution in Egypt,” she said. “I wrote my master's thesis in 2015 at SOAS, the University of London, on police brutality after the revolution. I have since been convinced that unpacking the genealogy and history of the Egyptian police is essential to `reforming’ (or transforming) it today. When I started my archival work in 2022, I shifted to a more complex understanding of policing in Egypt through rural experiences, where political economy and, specifically, land are intimately linked to police power. At the core of my research is a commitment to seeking and understanding justice.”

A doctoral candidate in the history department, Shash’s research goals have been enhanced by her mentors, the presence of the Center for Middle East Studies, and the interdisciplinary nature of research at UC Santa Barbara. In addition to Professor Sherene Seikaly as her graduate advisor, Shash has received key mentorship from other Middle East historians like Professor Adam Sabra as well historians outside her field, including Professor Utathya Chattopadhyaya, who teaches South Asian history, and Professor Dwight Reynolds from the religious studies department. “I would ideally like to continue pursuing a career in academia, teaching and doing research, while remaining active with and grounded in my local community,” said Shash, who continues to build on her “commitment to justice and faith that knowledge production and teaching are spaces for activism and vehicles for change.”

The ACLS launched the fellowship program in 2023, with the support of the Mellon Foundation, to advance a vision for doctoral education that prioritizes openness to new methods and sources, underrepresented voices and perspectives and scholarly experimentation. The awards are designed to accelerate change in the norms of humanistic scholarship by recognizing those who take risks in the modes, methods and subjects of their research.

Each fellow receives an award of up to $50,000, consisting of a $40,000 stipend for the

fellowship year; up to $8,000 for project-related research, training, professional development and travel expenses; and a $2,000 stipend to support external mentorship that offers new perspectives on the fellow’s project and expands their advising network. With fellows pursuing their research across the country and beyond, the ACLS will also provide opportunities for virtual networking and scholarly programming throughout the fellows’ award terms.

Marge Pamintuan Perko

Marketing & Communications Director

Graduate Division

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About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

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Conor Lanning Successfully Defends His Masters Thesis

Conor Lanning (PhD Cultural Anthropology in Progress) successfully defends his masters thesis titled, "Bodies (and their) Enaction: Bottom Surgery, Semiotic Ideologies, and the Subversion of Medical Authority in the Discourse of the Online Forum."  His committee members were Professors Kathryn Goldfarb (advisor), Donna Goldstein and Alison Cool.

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Mathematics > Dynamical Systems

Title: an algorithmic classification of generalized pseudo-anosov homeomorphisms via geometric markov partitions.

Abstract: This thesis provides a classification of generalized pseudo-Anosov homeomorphisms up to topological conjugacy using an algorithmic approach. A Markov partition of a generalized pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism is a decomposition of the surface into a finite number of rectangles with disjoint interiors, such that their images intersect with any other rectangle in the Markov partition along a finite number of horizontal sub-rectangles. Every generalized pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism has a Markov partition, and, by using the surface's orientation, we can endow any Markov partition with a geometrization. The geometric type of a geometric Markov partition was defined by Bonatti and Langevin in their book, "Diffeomorphismes de Smale des surfaces", to classify saddle-type basic pieces for structurally stable diffeomorphisms on surfaces. A geometric type is an abstract combinatorial object that generalizes the incidence matrix of a Markov partition. It takes into account not only the number of times the image of a rectangle intersects with any other rectangle in the family but also the order and change of orientation induced by the homeomorphisms. This thesis employs the geometric type of a geometric Markov partition to classify conjugacy classes of pseudo-Anosov homeomorphisms. The classification is provided by the three main results in this manuscript: I) The geometric type is a complete invariant of conjugation. II) A criterion is provided for determining whether an abstract geometric type is realized by a geometric Markov partition of a pseudo-Anosov homeomorphism. III) An algorithm is described for determining whether two geometric types in the pseudo-Anosov class are realized by generalized pseudo-Anosov homeomorphisms that are topologically conjugated or not.

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PhD Alumnus Dimitrios Kranas Receives 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in STEM

The LSU Alumni Association 2024 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering and Technology has been awarded to Dimitrios Kranas from Thessaloniki, Greece, who joined LSU and the Hearne Institute of Theoretical Physics under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Physics Ivan Agullo in 2018.

His dissertation, “ Entanglement in the Hawking Effect: From Astrophysical to Optical Black Holes ,” opens a promising window for the observability of the quantum origin of the Hawking effect in the lab using different input quantum states of light.

“In essence, Dr. Kranas' dissertation stands out as the most exemplary PhD thesis produced under my guidance,” said Agullo. “Dr. Kranas' dissertation is exceptional, incorporating innovative, multi-disciplinary work that bridges gravity, quantum information, optics, and condensed matter. His research connects theoretical developments with experiments in analog gravity systems, yielding a powerful set of tools applicable to diverse collaborations, including experimental groups. It is a rare accomplishment for a graduate student's theoretical work to reach such heights.”

2017 BS alumnus from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Kranas received his PhD in physics from the LSU College of Science in August 2023 and now works as a postdoctoral researcher at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.

“It was in the lively ambiance of the enchanting city of Thessaloniki in northern Greece I first developed a passion for solving riddles and understanding the mysteries of nature,” Kranas said. “This led me to pursue a degree in physics and delve deeper into theoretical physics.”

Kranas investigates the confluence of field theory, general relativity and quantum information.

“At the heart of theoretical physics lies the tantalizing challenge of reconciling Einstein’s theory of relativity with the enigmatic realm of quantum mechanics,” Kranas said. “My scholarly pursuits are centered on unraveling this intricate connection, with a specific focus on investigating the quantum properties of matter in the presence of gravitational influences, such as particle creation in the vicinity of black holes and during the cosmic expansion.”

Each year, the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School recognize two LSU doctoral students whose research and writing demonstrate superior scholarship. Read more about the 2024 recipients here .

Mimi LaValle

LSU Physics & Astronomy

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