Dissertations and Theses

This guide will help you find dissertations and theses from Saybrook University and other institutions worldwide. Specialty dissertation databases are excellent places to find them; however, they can also be located in several databases and through OneSearch. This guide also has resources for writing and submitting a dissertation or thesis as well as using them as a research tool.

A dissertation is the final large research paper, based on original research, for many disciplines to complete a PhD degree. The thesis is the same idea but for a master's degree.

Are dissertations scholarly works?

Dissertations are often considered scholarly sources because they:

• Are closely supervised by a committee
• Are directed at an academic audience
• Are extensively researched
• Follow research methodology
• Are cited in other scholarly work

Note that dissertations are NOT peer-reviewed sources. They do not go through the peer-review process. For more information about scholarly and peer-reviewed literature, refer to the Evaluating Information Resources guide.

Why use a dissertation or thesis as a research tool?

Dissertations and theses can be a valuable source of information for research. Benefits include:

• Just like journal articles, conference proceedings, and other forms of literature, they present original research. Recently completed works can provide "sneak previews" of ideas and findings that have yet to reach the public via other publication formats.
• They may be the only publicly-available work by authors who do not otherwise publish for general audiences or through commercial publishers.
• They provide inspiration for the formatting and presentation of ideas, graphs, charts, and other components of a document.
• They provide insight into the early work of a particular person and have value for historical and biographical purposes.
• They spark ideas on how to apply particular research methodology to a topic.

The Academic Commons provides dissertation support and services. 

Dissertation Services 

The Dissertation Services office supports doctoral students and dissertation faculty with administrative functions around the dissertation process, including filing petitions to form committees and the documentation of dissertation milestones.  

Institutional Review Board 

The Saybrook Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensures that all Saybrook faculty, staff, and students research is designed ethically to protect human participants. Following our federal-wide assurance (FWA# 00014486), the Saybrook IRB committee reviews research to ensure compliance with the requirements of the federal Health and Humans Services (HHS) Protection of Human Subjects regulations (45 CFR 46), state, and local regulations.

Writing Services

The Writing Services department provides students direct access to individualized writing support through our writing coaches, ​dissertation finalization, and online resources for APA and other writing support.