Dissertations and theses are valuable academic sources, but they have different formats depending on where you found them — a database like ProQuest, a national repository like EThOS, a university's own institutional repository, or an unpublished copy. This guide covers all four scenarios across five citation styles.
Where You Found It Matters
ProQuest Dissertations
US-focused commercial database. Include the ProQuest accession number and URL when citing dissertations retrieved from ProQuest.
EThOS
UK's national thesis service (British Library). Include EThOS ID or URL. UK doctoral theses deposited here by law from 2013.
Institutional Repository
Many universities have their own open-access repository (e.g., White Rose, UCL Discovery). Include the repository name and URL.
Unpublished Dissertation
A thesis given to you directly, not available online. Treat like an unpublished manuscript — include institution and year.
Dissertation vs thesis: In the US, a "dissertation" is for a doctoral degree; a "thesis" is for a master's. In the UK, both terms are used interchangeably. In your citations, use whatever label is on the actual document.
APA 7th Edition
Source details (used for all examples below)
Author: Amina Wanjiku
Year: 2022
Title: Digital Health Literacy Among University Students in East Africa
Degree: Doctoral dissertation Institution: University of Nairobi
APA 7 — ProQuest
Wanjiku, A. (2022). Digital health literacy among university students in East Africa [Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/docview/XXXXXXXXX
APA 7 — Institutional Repository
Wanjiku, A. (2022). Digital health literacy among university students in East Africa [Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi]. UoN Digital Repository. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/...
APA 7 — Unpublished
Wanjiku, A. (2022). Digital health literacy among university students in East Africa [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Nairobi.
No URL for unpublished; use [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] or [Unpublished master's thesis]
MLA 9th Edition
MLA 9 — Database
Wanjiku, Amina. "Digital Health Literacy Among University Students in East Africa." Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi, 2022. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, www.proquest.com/docview/XXXXXXXXX.
Database name in italics as container; use "Doctoral dissertation" label before institution name
MLA 9 — Unpublished
Wanjiku, Amina. "Digital Health Literacy Among University Students in East Africa." Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi, 2022.
Harvard
Harvard — Online
Wanjiku, A. (2022) Digital health literacy among university students in East Africa. PhD thesis, University of Nairobi. Available at: https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/... (Accessed: 12 March 2024).
Use "PhD thesis" or "MSc dissertation" — match the label on the actual document
Chicago Author-Date
Chicago AD
Wanjiku, Amina. 2022. "Digital Health Literacy Among University Students in East Africa." PhD diss., University of Nairobi. https://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/...
Use "PhD diss." for doctoral, "MA thesis" for master's; dissertation title in quotes (not italics)
UK EThOS Citations
EThOS is the UK's national theses database. When citing a thesis you accessed via EThOS, include the EThOS identifier in APA and Harvard formats:
APA 7 — EThOS
Osei, D. K. (2021). Machine learning approaches to early disease detection in resource-limited settings [Doctoral dissertation, University of Leeds]. EThOS. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.XXXXXXX
Harvard — EThOS
Osei, D.K. (2021) Machine learning approaches to early disease detection in resource-limited settings. PhD thesis, University of Leeds. Available at: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.XXXXXXX (Accessed: 5 April 2024).
4 Common Dissertation Citation Mistakes
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Not identifying the degree type — APA requires [Doctoral dissertation] or [Master's thesis] in square brackets. This label is what distinguishes a dissertation from a book.
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Omitting the institution — Always name the awarding university. "University of Nairobi" is part of the citation in every style.
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Treating the database as the publisher — ProQuest or EThOS is a repository, not a publisher. The awarding institution is the equivalent of the publisher.
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Using the same format for published and unpublished dissertations — An unpublished dissertation has no URL and uses [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] or equivalent to signal it's not publicly available.
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