Dissertations & Theses
There are a couple of options for access to dissertations and theses at Polk Library, depending upon the institution which awarded the degree. Dissertations and theses NOT produced by students at UW-Oshkosh may be accessed through the database Dissertations & Theses. Let's take a brief look at how to access and use the Dissertations & Theses database.
Accessing and using Dissertations & Theses
From the homepage of the library website, select "Dissertations & Theses Full Text" from the dropdown menu (highlighted in red) under the "Articles & Journals" tab, or click on this link to be taken directly to the database:
You will now be presented with the main search screen, which operates similarly to many of the other databases to which Polk Library has access. You may enter in your search terms or phrases (highlighted in red), and limit in the dropdown menu by author, institution, subject, and more (highlighted in green):
Once presented with the results screen, you may either access the article in PDF full text if available (highlighted in red), or view the abstract or citation (highlighted in green):
Accessing UW Oshkosh-produced theses:
To find theses produced at UW Oshkosh, you'll need to use the "Advanced Search" of the catalog. From the homepage of the library website, click on the "Books & Video" tab, then click on "Advanced" in the lower right (highlighted in red):
On the next screen, select "Thesis, UW Oshkosh" from the location dropdown menu (highlighted in red), and then enter in your search terms as you normally would in the search boxes at the top. It often helps to use a term which describes the academic department for which the thesis was written, such as nursing, biology, education, psychology, etc.
From the list of results, click one you are interested in, and then click on the link to see the Notes area of the info for that item. This tells you when the thesis was written and for what degree.
There are typically 2 copies of all theses - one in the Archives (that you can't check out) and one in the Main Collection (that you can check out). Note the call number and location in the library. There may also be an electronic version of the thesis stored in the digital repository Minds@UW. If you wish to view it electronically, click on the link in the record to access it from your browser (highlighted in red):
