Online Dissertation Resources
We have a range of online resources to help plan, write and finish your dissertation. Although this is aimed primarily at 3rd Year Undergraduates and Postgraduate Taught students, it contains information that can be useful to Postgraduate Research Students.
- Sage Research Methods (Library Database)Provides a range of useful tools including a Project Planner, which breaks down each stage of your research from defining your topic, reviewing the literature to summarising and writing up.
- Components of a Dissertation (document)A useful guide to the central components of a dissertation.
By the end you should be able to:
--Understand the core elements that should be in your dissertation
--Understand the structure and progression of a strong dissertation - Dissertation Workshop - HandoutsIncludes a planning template and outline
Other Resources
- Reading Strategies (PDF document)An interactive document on reading at university.
- Start to Finish DissertationsOnline Webinar from Manchester
- A to Z of Literature Reviews - University of Manchester20 minute tutorial
- AppendicesA short example of how to use and cite appendices in your dissertations, essays or projects
Dissertations
Check out these recordings to help you through your Dissertation writing process, from start to finish.
- Starting Your Dissertation (Video) 46 minutesThis webinar recording will help you with the early stages of planning, researching and writing your dissertation.
By the end you should be able to:
--Understand the challenges and opportunities of writing a dissertation
--Move towards refining your subject and title
--Know what steps to take to progress with your dissertation - Writing Your Dissertation (Video) 52 minutesThis webinar recording will help guide you through the middle stages of writing your dissertation.
By the end you should be able to:
--Identify the key parts of a high quality dissertation
--Understand how to structure your dissertation effectively
--Know how to increase the fluency and strength of your argument across an extended piece of writing - Finishing Your Dissertation (Video) 59 minutesThis webinar recording aims to guide you through the final stages of writing your dissertation.
By the end you should be able to:
--Identify key features that should be included in your dissertation
--Know how to ensure your dissertation has a strong and cohesive structure
--Proofread your work. - Using Word to Format Long Documents (Video) 1 hour and 22 minutesA video tutorial on how to format long documents such as Essays and Dissertations using Word.
By the end you should be able to:
--Create a Table of Contents
--Know how to insert page numbers
--Be familiar with how to use the various auto-formatting and styles functions to manage longer documents
Useful links to online dissertations and theses
Useful links to online dissertations and theses
A selection of external sources that would be of particular use to 3rd Year Undergraduate students and Postgraduate students.
Please note that the Library does not hold Undergraduate or Masters Dissertations. For information on print and online doctoral theses please see below information on University of Roehampton Thesis Collection
- EThOS This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
National thesis service provided by the British Library which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK's doctoral theses. NOTE: EthOS is currently unavailable due to ongoing issues following a serious cyber security incident at the BL (January 2024).
- Open Dissertations This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
EBSCO Open Dissertations is an online thesis and dissertation database with access to over 800,000 electronic theses and dissertations worldwide.
- DART-Europe E-theses PortalFree access to nearly 800,000 open access research theses from 615 universities in 28 European countries.
- Open Access Theses and DissertationsOATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 5,153,410 theses and dissertations.
University of Roehampton Theses & Masters Dissertations
The university holds a selection of theses and master dissertations awarded by the University of Roehampton.
2013 onwards, Digital Theses
Roehampton Research Explorer - Student Theses
Theses subject to an embargo are not accessible digitally or in hard copy until the embargo period elapses. Embargoes may be applied to protect the rights of the author whilst they explore opportunities for publication, or where sensitive information is held within the thesis.
Please note that there is a short delay in recently submitted theses appearing on our repository. If you cannot find the thesis you are looking for, please contact the Research Office.
2004-2013, Print Theses & Masters Dissertations
The University holds a print Theses Collection (including some Masters dissertations) on the 2nd Floor of the Library. The holdings are not complete as the criteria for inclusion was set by academic departments, and threshold varied between department. Not all student work would be made available to view. The selected works were intended to provide examples of work for students. Some examples were kept in-house, used for teaching purposes, and not available within the library. Library print holdings were usually kept for up to 10 years and reviewed for relevance.
To search for print theses and masters dissertations use UR Library Search to search for a title or topic and filter by Format > Book > Theses, Dissertation.
1985-2004, Roehampton Institute of Higher Education (RIHE)
Dissertations and theses published between 1985-2004 were awarded by the University of Surrey. The holdings are not complete as the criteria for inclusion was set by academic departments, and threshold varied between department. Not all student work would be made available to view. The selected works were intended to provide examples of work for students.
To search for digitised copies of RHIE theses go to the University of Surrey’s Open Research repository.
Using a thesis held in the Roehampton repository in your own work
Using a thesis held in the Roehampton repository in your own work
You may re-use material from a thesis in the same way you would any other source, i.e. by providing a full citation to the thesis in question, and by not re-using material in a way that may breach the rights of the author.
If you feel your own copyright has been affected by content held in the University of Roehampton repository, please refer to our take down policy and contact us immediately.
- Government Guidance on exceptions to copyrightDetails of the exceptions to copyright that allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright owner.
Academic Writing Style Guides
- Academic Style Guides Resource ListSee the style guides available in the Library for a variety of disciplines