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Chicago A: Notes and Bibliography Style:  Theses

UON Library guide to Chicago A: Notes and Bibliography Style 17th edition

Theses and dissertations

 

General rules:

The exact format of references to theses and dissertations is dependent upon whether the thesis/dissertation is published or unpublished, and how it is available (via a database, freely available on the internet, or in print). 

The elements common to all references to a thesis/dissertation are:

Author Name

  • Use full author name as the first element in the reference.

Thesis Title

  • Capitalise the thesis title in headline style in quotation marks—not in italics.

Thesis Type

  • The type of thesis (master’s thesis, or PhD diss.) is included after the title of the thesis.

Academic Institution

  • The academic institution is included after the thesis type.

Date

  • The Date of thesis is included after the academic institution.

DOI or URL or Database Name

  • If the document was consulted online, include the DOI if available, or a URL.
  • For theses retrieved from a commercial database, include the database name instead of URL, and, in parentheses, any identification number supplied by the database, e.g. ProQuest (AAT 3300426). 

Abstract

  • To cite an abstract of a thesis, simply add the word “abstract” after the title, e.g.

1. Melanie Subacus, “Duae Patriae: Cicero and Political Cosmopolitanism in Rome,” abstract (PhD diss., New York University, 2015).

Theses and dissertations in databases

 

The following is the general format of a reference to a thesis retrieved from a library database. 

See the general rules for theses for more details. 

 

Footnote: Format and example

Note Number. Author's First and Last Names, "Thesis Title: Subtitle" (Type of Thesis, University,  Year of thesis), page(s) cited, Database Name (Access No).

1. Mihwa Choi, “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008), ProQuest (AAT 3300426).

 

Shortened / Subsequent Footnote

Note Number.  Author's Last Names, "Shortened Thesis Title,"  page(s) cited.

2. Choi, “Contesting Imaginaires,"  15.

 

Bibliography

Author's Last Names, First Name. "Thesis Title: Subtitle." Type of Thesis, University, Date of Thesis. Database Name (Access No).

Choi, Mihwa. “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008. ProQuest (AAT 3300426).

Open online theses and dissertations

 

The following is the general format of a reference to a thesis freely available on the internet. 

See the general rules for theses for more details. 

 

Footnote: Format and example

Note Number. Author's First and Last Names, "Thesis Title: Subtitle" (Type of Thesis, University,  Year of thesis), page(s) cited, DOI or URL.

1. Ilya Vedrashko, “Advertising in Computer Games” (master’s thesis, MIT, 2006), 59, http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39144.

 

Shortened / Subsequent Footnote

Note Number.  Author's Last Names, "Shortened Thesis Title,"  page(s) cited.

2. Vedrashko, “Advertising in Computer Games,”  15.

 

Bibliography

Author's Last Names, First Name. "Thesis Title: Subtitle." Type of Thesis, University, Date of Thesis. DOI or URL.

Vedrashko, Ilya. “Advertising in Computer Games.” Master’s thesis, MIT, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39144.

Theses and dissertations - in print

 

The following is the general format of a reference to an unpublished thesis in print. 

See the general rules for theses for more details. 

 

Footnote: Format and example

Note Number. Author's First and Last Names, "Thesis Title: Subtitle" (Type of Thesis, University,  Year of thesis), page(s) cited.

1. Cynthia Lillian Rutz, “King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2013), 99–100.

 

Shortened / Subsequent Footnote

Note Number.  Author's Last Names, "Shortened Thesis Title,"  page(s) cited.

2. Rutz, “King Lear,” 158.

 

Bibliography

Author's Last Names, First Name. "Thesis Title: Subtitle." Type of Thesis, University, Date of Thesis. 

Rutz, Cynthia Lillian. “King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2013.