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Navigating Research: Searching and Accessing Theses

When conducting research, theses collection is valuable because it:

  • Contributes Original Research: It provides new insights, data, or perspectives that advance knowledge in a particular field.
  • Addresses Research Gaps: It often explores areas that have not been extensively studied, filling gaps in existing literature.
  • Includes Comprehensive Analysis: It offers detailed analysis and interpretation of data, contributing to a deeper understanding of the topic.
  • Supports Future Research: It serves as a valuable resource for other researchers, providing a foundation for further studies.
  • Includes Comprehensive Literature Reviews: Theses typically include thorough literature reviews, which can help you understand the current state of research in a particular area and identify gaps that your research could address.
  • Includes Detailed Methodologies: The methodologies described in theses are often detailed and well documented, offering valuable guidance for designing your own research projects.
  • Covers Specialised Topics: Theses often cover niche or emerging topics that may not yet be widely covered in journals or books, giving you access to cutting-edge research.
  • Represents Academic Rigor: The rigorous academic standards required for theses ensure that the research is of high quality, making them reliable sources of information.

 

Find ECU Theses on Research Online

How to find thesis using the search box

The search box offers two options:

  • Search the ECU repository only or
  • Search the Digital Commons: Access content from over 550 institutional repositories worldwide by selecting "Across All Repositories"

Note: Additionally, searching Google and Google Scholar will also find outputs in Research Online

Browse the ECU Theses Collections on Research Online by:

Type:

There are two theses collections: PhDs & Masters and Honours.

Theses are listed by year, then alphabetically by the author's last name

Topic:

  • Enter your keywords in the search box.
  • Use the refine panel on the results page to limit by Publication Type "thesis."
Author:
  • Scroll down the author list and click on the author's name.
  • On the results page, use the refine panel on the left to limit by Publication Type "thesis."
School:                                                                       
  • Click on the Advanced Search button.        

 

 

  • Enter the current School's name in the search box.

 

  • Click on the green "+" sign to add another search line.
  • In the second search box, select "Document Type" from the drop-down menu.
  • Type in "thesis."
  • Click on "Search."

 

Accessing the Full Text of ECU Theses on Research Online

Most ECU theses are now available in full text.

Some authors have restricted the full text of their theses to current ECU staff and students.

Note: Some authors have totally restricted access to their theses.

You will need to create an account in Research Online to access theses of this type. Please follow instruction below:

Use Create account option to proceed.

 

Find theses from Other Institutions

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

It is the world's most comprehensive collection of multidisciplinary dissertations and theses, featuring 6 million records from more than 70 countries and over 4,100 institutions, of which 3.6 million are full-text titles. More than 300,000 new full text dissertations is added each year and has metadata from 1606-current and full text from 1997-current, with select older titles.

Research Online@ECU

  • To search for ECU theses on a topic
  • use the Search Box and type in your search keywords
  • To search for theses across >550 institutions using this platform
  • Change the location> click on the downward pointing arrow to change location to be searched
  • from "in this collection"
  • to "across all repositories"
  • limit results (using side panel) to theses/dissertations

Trove (National Library of Australia)

Trove (National Library of Australia) can be used to find all Australian theses.

  • click on Explore & enter your search terms
  • on the right hand side of the search box, click on All categories and select "Research & Reports"
  • in the results list, look for the "Refine list" panel
  • under "format" click on MORE & the format "THESIS" will display
  • select "THESIS" to view the list of Australian theses on your selected topic

Australian Education Research Theses Database

The Australian Education Research Theses database contains more than 20,000 entries of doctoral and masters research theses in the field of education that have been accepted by Australian universities. Entries date back to the early 20th century. Links to the full text are provided for more than 8000 theses and the database is updated regularly with recent theses.

BASE

BASE academic search engine provides access to the repositories of 8,000 institutions. 60% of the full-text documents are open access.

Ebsco Open Dissertations                                                       

Includes the content from American Doctoral Dissertations in addition to theses and dissertations from around the world. Coverage from 1955.

EThOS e-theses online service (British Library)                         

The datasets in this collection comprise snapshots in time of metadata descriptions of hundreds of thousands of PhD theses awarded by UK Higher Education institutions aggregated by the British Library's EThOS service. The data is estimated to cover around 98% of all PhDs ever awarded by UK Higher Education institutions, dating back to 1787.

New Zealand Theses

This is a database of New Zealand’s most comprehensive selection of research papers and related resources - the site includes peer-reviewed and other research
Tip: Search by topic than refine your results by thesis type

Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)

An index of over 7.3 million electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). To the extent possible, the index is limited to records of graduate-level theses that are freely available online.

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  • Last Updated: May 30, 2025 11:45 AM
  • URL: https://ecu.au.libguides.com/scholarly_communication_navigating_research
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