Citation Guide: Theses/Dissertations

Footnote

#. Author’s firstname lastname, “Title” (master’s thesis/PhD diss., Institution, Year published), page number.

#. Alan W. Gomes, “Faustus Socinus’ ‘De Jesu Christo Servatore’, Part III: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Critical Notes" (PhD diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 1990), 22.

#. Sydney Amara Morris, "Values-Based Financial Practices for Unitarian Universalists" (DMin thesis, Meadville Lombard Theological School, 2010), 10.

Shortened footnote

            #. Author’s lastname, “Shortened Title,” page numbers.

            #. Gomes, “Faustus Socinus’ ‘De Jesu Christo Servatore,’" 22.

            #. Morris, "Values-Based Financial Practices," 10.

Bibliography

Author’s lastname, firstname.  “Title.”  Master’s thesis/PhD diss., Institution, Year published.

Gomes, Alan W.  “Faustus Socinus’ ‘De Jesu Christo Servatore’, Part III: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Critical Notes."  PhD diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 1990.

Morris, Sydney Amara.  "Values-Based Financial Practices for Unitarian Universalists."  DMin thesis, Meadville Lombard Theological School, 2010.

A bibliographic citation is meant to give the reader all of the information she needs to find and access the source being cited.  When citing a thesis or dissertation obtained online, that means including the web address, otherwise known as the URL or Uniform Resource Locator.  Citing websites can be tricky.  While many works on the internet are freely open to anyone, many others are only available to verified users with a login or users who pay to get access to something behind a paywall.  If you are citing a source that requires a login or is behind a paywall, you MUST use what is variously called a stable URL or permalink. While a stable URL/permalink will not necessarily give every reader access to the article or content, they will at least be directed to a page that shows that the article is indeed there.  If you instead put a non-stable URL, like the URL from the top browser bar, then a reader who types in or click on that link will not be directed to that article.

One specific type of stable URL is a DOI (Digital Object Identifier), a URL which is permanently linked to that object.  Anyone making online content can register their content with the DOI organization.  DOIs all begin https://www.doi.org or https://doi.org

Many article databases note a stable URL or include a tool for finding one.  On JSTOR, a stable URL and DOI can be found on the left side of the page when you click on an article.  On EBSCO Academic Search Complete, there is an option for obtaining a permalink at the bottom of the right-hand column; look for the chain-link icon.   Click on it and the permalink will appear above the article title.