Literary Research Guide/H

This section includes bibliographies, indexes, and abstracts of dissertations on more than one national literature. Those devoted to a single literature, period, or topic appear in appropriate sections.

H455
Reynolds, Michael M. A Guide to Theses and Dissertations: An International Bibliography of Bibliographies. Rev. and enl. ed. Phoenix: Oryx, 1985. 263 pp. Z5053.A1 R49 011′.7.

A bibliography of bibliographies, abstracts, and indexes (through mid-1984) of dissertations and theses. Reynolds includes separately published works as well as periodical contributions but excludes general lists of theses and dissertations accepted by a single institution. The entries are generally organized by date of publication within 19 classified divisions; of most interest to language and literature scholars are the universal and national divisions (with the latter classified by country), which list the general indexes, abstracts, and bibliographies; area studies (with a section for Anglo-American studies); special and racial groups; fine arts (with a section on theater); and language and literature, with sections for general lists, African languages and literature, Anglo-American language and literature (subdivided by country), Arabic literature, Austronesian linguistics, Chinese linguistics, children’s literature, classical studies, comparative literature, folklore, Germanic languages and literature, Hebrew literature, Indian languages and literature, Japanese language and literature, languages and linguistics, Philippine literature, Romance languages and literature, science fiction, Slavic and East European languages and literature, speech, and individual authors. The annotations clearly describe scope, organization, and content. Three indexes: institutions; names and journal titles; subjects. Although the introduction is unduly murky, Guide to Theses and Dissertations is the essential, time-saving source for identifying both the well-known and the obscure indexes, bibliographies, and abstracts that must be searched for theses and dissertations relevant to a topic.

H465
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text. ProQuest. ProQuest, 2013. 23 Aug. 2013. &lt;http://search.proquest.com/&gt;. Updated monthly. (Title varies. The database is also available without full-text access.)

Dissertation Abstracts Online. Dialog-ProQuest. Updated monthly.

Available in print form as the following:


 * Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI). Ann Arbor: ProQuest, 1938– . Monthly. Former titles: Dissertation Abstracts (DA) (1952–69); Microfilm Abstracts (1938–51). Z5053.D57 011′.7.
 * Pt. A: The Humanities and Social Sciences. 1966– . Monthly.
 * Pt. B: The Sciences and Engineering. 1966– . Monthly.
 * Pt. C: Worldwide. 1976–2008. Quarterly.
 * Masters Abstracts International (MAI). 1962– . 6/yr. (Former title: Masters Abstracts (1962–85).
 * American Doctoral Dissertations [1933– ] (ADD). Ann Arbor: ProQuest, 1934– . Annual. Former titles: Index to American Doctoral Dissertations [1955–63] (1957–64); Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities [1933–55] (DDAU).
 * Comprehensive Dissertation Index, 1861–1972 (CDI). 37 vols. Ann Arbor: UMI-ProQuest, 1973. Annual supplements through 2012, with cumulations for 1973–82 and 1983–87. Z5053.X47 013′.379.

A database of doctoral dissertations and master’s theses accepted by North American and some foreign institutions since 1637. The database now cites dissertations from most United States and Canadian institutions (and, since 1988, many British ones), but coverage in the early years is considerably less thorough, and some universities still do not submit abstracts or dissertations for reproduction. Coverage of dissertations outside North America is superficial. A list of participating institutions is printed at the beginning of each issue of DAI (some lists cite the year an institution began submitting dissertations).

Because of the massive number of records and the inadequacies of the indexing and organization of the print versions, the electronic versions offer the best access; however, since these do not include abstracts before July 1980 for dissertations and before 1988 for theses or include records from DAI pt. C before vol. 49 (1988), researchers will frequently find themselves digging through stacks of the print versions. In addition, effective searching of the electronic versions requires a familiarity with the scope, organization, and editorial principles of DAI.

In DAI abstracts are now organized in classified subject divisions. Currently, the language and literature division is in two parts: (1) language, with sections for general studies, ancient languages, linguistics, modern languages, and rhetoric and composition; (2) literature, with sections for general, classical, comparative, medieval, modern, African, American, Asian, Canadian, Caribbean, English, Germanic, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Romance, and Slavic and East European literatures. Theater and cinema appear as sections in the communication and the arts division; folklore, in the social sciences division; and women’s studies, once in the social sciences division, is now a separate division. Since placement is determined by the dissertation author, subject classification is frequently inconsistent or imprecise. Within each section, abstracts are now listed alphabetically by author.

An entry consists of title, UMI order number, author, degree, institution, date of degree, number of pages, sometimes the dissertation adviser, and an abstract written by the author. Abstracts sometimes include untranslated HTML codes; copyediting is negligent; and in some volumes, many titles have keywords added parenthetically to facilitate electronic searches—e.g., “Working Fictions: Narratives of Women and Labor in Early Modern England (William Shakespeare, Mary, Lady Wroth, Thomas Heywood, Aemilia Lanyer)” (these parenthetical keywords are now stripped out of database records). Entries in pt. C add an English translation of a foreign language title and ISBN for a published dissertation or information on location or availability of a reference copy if the work is unavailable from UMI. In recent years, UMI’s rigorous enforcement of a 350-word limit results in some abstracts being cut off in mid-sentence or shortened by UMI.

Since vol. 30 (1969), each issue of DAI has keyword title and dissertation author indexes, with the latter cumulated at the end of a volume. Earlier issues and volumes have a dissertation author index, and vols. 22–29 (1961–69) are indexed by subject. Dissertation Abstracts International Retrospective Index, Volumes I–XXIX, 9 vols. (Ann Arbor: Xerox, 1970), is superseded by the electronic versions. The keyword access to abstracts is particularly welcome because of the sometimes imprecise subject classification of DAI and the recent trend toward uninformative, imprecise dissertation titles in the humanities.

Researchers without access to one of the electronic versions should consult Comprehensive Dissertation Index, a keyword index to dissertations in the Dissertation Abstracts Database. Entries are now organized by broad subject divisions, then alphabetically by keyword, and then alphabetically by author. An entry cites title, author, degree, date, institution, number of pages, source of entry, and UMI order number. Indexed by dissertation author in each cumulation and annual issue. Users must bear in mind the following:


 * 1) The subject organization has changed during the course of publication (e.g., in the 1861–1972 cumulation, theater is a subdivision of communications and the arts, and folklore a subdivision of social sciences; in the 1973–82 cumulation and subsequent issues, theater and folklore studies are incorporated into the language and literature division).
 * 2) Because of the sources, there are duplicate and misclassified entries as well as numerous errors.
 * 3) Cumulations and annual issues correct earlier entries and offer some retrospective coverage (e.g., Canadian Theses and its predecessors are first indexed in the 1973–82 cumulation).
 * 4) Because CDI is an index of keywords, users must check for variant spellings of names or terms, must keep in mind that many titles do not lend themselves to keyword indexing, and, if possible, should search for narrow rather than broad terms (e.g., in 1861–1972, “novel” and related terms occupy 37 columns). Foreign language titles are only indexed by their English-language translations.

ProQuest’s database is available as ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and the less-widely used Dissertation Abstracts Online. Both allow users to narrow a search by combining or excluding keywords and to limit it by such fields as degree date, adviser, language, or institution. ProQuest’s search interface (I519) has a customized search form for dissertations and theses; users should note that it automatically searches other databases along with ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Basic Search allows keyword searches of all record fields. Advanced Search allows users to limit searches of Boolean combinations of record fields in a pull-down menu by full text, date, degree-granting institution, manuscript type (doctoral dissertations or master’s theses), subject, adviser, index term, and language. Advanced Search includes three subscreens: Look Up Citation, Command Line, and Find Similar (i.e., search for related content). Browse allows searches of lists of subject and of location (countries and states [in the United States]). Results can be sorted by date (ascending or descending) or relevance (although there is no explanation about how the latter is established) and narrowed by nested menus. Searches can be saved as alerts (however, the monthly lists frequently duplicate records from earlier lists), used to create an RSS feed, or stored in a user’s My Research account. Searchers should avoid using the Literature &amp; Language customized search form: it is designed for searching published documents. Inexperienced searchers should begin with ProQuest’s quick reference guide (http://www.proquest.com/assets/downloads/products/pqdt_db_guide.pdf). Users should note that ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text can be cross-searched with ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: UK and Ireland (H475).

A typical record consists of citation (title, author, degree, institution, date, number of pages, and publication number), along with fields for author’s name (the form of which sometimes does not match that in the citation), adviser, committee members, date of degree, date of publication, degree, institution, location of institution, index terms, DAI citation, type of document, subjects, publication number, document URL, ProQuest document number, ISBN, and abstract. (Users should note that titles of dissertations are frequently not in title case; that an italicized title-within-a-title is enclosed within double quotation marks; and that, as of the middle of 66.10 [2006], page numbers are rarely cited because the database is now updated before DAI or MAI page numbers are assigned.) For many dissertations after 1997, searchers can view a 24-page preview, order a copy, or—if their institutional subscription allows—read the entire document as a PDF file. Records can be marked for printing, e-mailing, saving to My Research, or exporting (in a variety of forms). Records printed or e-mailed can be formatted in several citation styles, including MLA and Chicago; however, citations formatted in MLA style require substantial editing. Although allowing for sophisticated searching of the database and offering extensive output options, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses offers no description of the scope of the database or editorial principles underlying the records.

Copies of many dissertations deposited with UMI can be purchased directly through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses or UMI’s Dissertation Express Web site (http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/disexpress.shtml). Some dissertations are restricted, and others must be ordered from the degree-granting institution. For information on how to obtain British and Irish dissertations and theses, see Index to Theses (H475). D. H. Borchardt and J. D. Thawley, comps., Guide to the Availability of Theses (München: Saur, 1981; 443 pp.; IFLA Pubs. 17), and G. G. Allen and K. Deubert, comps., Guide to the Availability of Theses, II: Non-university Institutions, IFLA Publications 29 (1984; 124 pp.), outline policies governing the borrowing or copying of theses and dissertations accepted by 750 institutions in 85 countries.

Although frequently imprecise in subject classification and incomplete in coverage, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database offers an invaluable service in making available abstracts of so many dissertations. For the genesis and publishing history of DAI (along with a selective bibliography of studies and reviews), see Mary W. George, “Controlling the Beasties: Dissertation Abstracts International,” Distinguished Classics of Reference Publishing, ed. James Rettig (Phoenix: Oryx, 1992) 66–76.

North American dissertations not abstracted in DAI are listed in American Doctoral Dissertations and A List of American Doctoral Dissertations Printed in [1912–38] (Washington: GPO, 1913–40). Entries from both are incorporated into ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.

Masters Abstracts International is similar in organization to DAI but abstracts a relatively small percentage of the annual output of master’s theses even in the United States. Each volume has cumulative author and subject indexes, and titles can be searched by keyword through ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

H470
Canadian Theses / Thèses canadiennes, [1961–96]. Ottawa: Natl. Lib. of Canada, 1963–97. 2/yr., with cumulative index. Microfiche only since 1980–1981 (1984–97). 1947–1960. 2 vols. 1973. Z5055.C2 O883 013′.375′0971.

A bibliography of theses and dissertations accepted by Canadian institutions since 1947 or microfilmed by the National Library since 1981 and, beginning with the 1980–1981 volumes, foreign theses and dissertations by Canadians or related to Canada. Beginning with 1980–1981 entries are listed in processing order in two parts: works accepted by Canadian institutions; those by Canadians or about the country accepted by foreign institutions. Entries cite author, title, degree, institution, and date. Access to the parts is provided by four indexes (which cumulate with each issue): author and title; title keywords; Dewey Decimal Classification; ISBN. Before 1980–1981, entries are organized by Dewey Decimal Classification.

This work continues Canadian Graduate Theses in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 1921–1946 / Thèses des gradués canadiens dans les humanités et les sciences sociales (Ottawa: Cloutier, 1951; 194 pp.). Together, the two sources provide the fullest coverage of theses and dissertations accepted by Canadian institutions through 1996; however, researchers will find those on literature easier to identify in Antoine Naaman and Léo A. Brodeur, Répertoire des thèses littéraires canadiennes de 1921 à 1976, Collection “Bibliographies” 3 (Sherbrooke: Naaman, 1978; 453 pp.), a subject list that includes a few works in progress as of March 1976 and some written by Canadians at foreign universities. Canadian theses and dissertations on Canadian literature are covered by Gabel, Canadian Literature (R4660); several on British or American literature are listed in McNamee, Dissertations in English and American Literature (H490). Many Canadian dissertations—especially those received by the National Library of Canada since February 1991—are listed in American Doctoral Dissertations (H465a) and abstracted in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (H465). Theses/Thèses Canada (http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/thesescanada/index-e.html) allows users to search theses and dissertations in the Library and Archives Canada collection, to borrow copies, and to view a limited number in electronic form. For other bibliographies of Canadian dissertations and theses, see Denis Robitaille and Joan Waiser, Theses in Canada: A Bibliographic Guide / Thèses au Canada: Guide bibliographique (Ottawa: Natl. Lib. of Canada, 1986; 72 pp.).

H475
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: UK and Ireland. ProQuest. ProQuest, 2013. 23 Aug. 2013. &lt;http://search.proquest.com/&gt;. Updated regularly.

Index to Theses. Expert Information, 16 Oct. 2012. &lt;http://www.theses.com&gt;. Updated regularly.

Databases of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral theses accepted since 1716 by academic institutions in the British Isles. Records are taken from two publications:


 * Index to Theses with Abstracts on CD Accepted for Higher Degrees by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Expert Information, 1953– . 8 issues and 2 CD-ROMs/yr. Frequency and title vary. A list of theses accepted since 1950. Currently, entries are listed alphabetically by author within classified subject divisions, including one for arts and humanities, with subdivisions for theater, cinema, broadcasting, and press; linguistics; and literature. The last has sections for general, classical, English (divided by period), American, Celtic, Romance (divided by language), Germanic (divided by language), Slavonic, and other languages. The organization has changed over the years. An entry includes title, author, institution, degree, date, and—since vol. 35 (1986)—an abstract (sometimes edited for length) for most PhD and DPhil theses. Since vol. 59 (2009), abstracts appear on the CD-ROM that accompanies the first and fifth issue of each volume; the microfilm abstracts for 1970–85 are available as PDF files through the database. Variations in institutional policies mean that the date can refer to submission, acceptance, or award of degree. Indexed by authors in each issue; the subject index was discontinued with vol. 48 (1999). Many theses can be downloaded from EThOS: Electronic Theses Online Service (http://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do).
 * Retrospective Index to Theses of Great Britain and Ireland, 1716–1950. Ed. Roger R. Bilboul. 5 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 1975–77. Addenda. 1977. 26 pp. Entries citing author, title, degree, date, and institution appear in two parts: (1) a subject index, which is based largely but not exclusively on title keywords, offers liberal cross-references, and provides several multiple entries; and (2) an author list. Since Retrospective Index is compiled from information supplied by institutions, there are inconsistencies and errors.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: UK and Ireland uses ProQuest’s customized search form for dissertations and theses (see H465 for a description and discussion of the record structure). Because of the ability to sort records by date, set alerts, download records, and cross-search ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text (H465), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: UK and Ireland offers the best access to the database.

The online Index to Theses offers four ways of searching the database:


 * Quick Search: keyword search of (presumably) all searchable record fields
 * Simple Search: keyword search of title, author, abstract; pull-down menu searches of university, classification scheme used by Index to Theses with Abstracts, and year (as designated in the Index to Theses with Abstracts record); fields must be combined by the Boolean “and” or “or”
 * Standard Search: combination keyword and pull-down menu searches of title, author, degree, classification, year, university, and any field; fields must be combined by “and” or “or”
 * Advanced Search: command line searches of title, author, university name, university identification code, classification, year, degree, and abstract; Help screen links (Search Tips and Various Examples) appear on only this page

Records are returned in no discernible order, although it is possible to limit the results of a search to records added or modified between two dates (for the search syntax, click the Various Examples link on the Advanced Search page). Full records include a link to full text. Unfortunately, the site does not allow users to mark records for printing, exporting, or downloading; indeed, the only way to extract a record is through a Web browser’s print or copy functions. Awkward to navigate (Simple Search and Standard Search should be combined into a single screen) and time-consuming to use if a researcher needs to examine and copy a large number of records, the online Index to Theses is no longer the preferred resource for identifying British and Irish theses.

Since 1988, many British doctoral dissertations are abstracted in ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text (H465) and available through UMI. The best general source for copies, however, remains EThOS: Electronic Theses Online Service (see above).

H480
Union List of Higher Degree Theses in Australian University Libraries: Cumulative Edition to 1965. Hobart: U of Tasmania Lib., 1967. 568 pp. Supplement, [1966–89]. 1971–91. Irregular. Since the supplement for 1974, the main title omits University. Z5055.A698 U5 011′.7.

A union list of master’s theses and doctoral dissertations accepted by Australian universities and held by at least one Australian university library. Works are organized alphabetically by author within extensively classified subject divisions (including, in the later supplements, folklore, language, literature, and theater). Two indexes: authors; subject headings (the supplements have an additional one for title keywords). Although the subject classification is sometimes imprecise because it is based largely on titles and although coverage is not exhaustive, Union List offers the fullest record of theses and dissertations accepted by Australian universities. The National Library of Australia’s plan to assume publication of the Union List was never realized.

The prefatory matter of the last supplement discusses the availability of theses in Australian university libraries. For additional information, see How to Locate Australian Theses: A Guide to Theses in Progress or Completed at Australian Universities and the University of Papua New Guinea (Canberra: Lib., Australian Nat. U, 1979; 41 pp.). Recent Australian theses can be searched through Trove (R4462); see A Guide to Trove/Help on Finding Australian Theses. Most searches will return records for books and non-Australian theses.

The best resource for identifying Australian theses accepted after 1985 is Libraries Australia (http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/apps/kss).

H485
Gabel, Gernot U., and Gisela R. Gabel. Catalogue of Austrian and Swiss Dissertations (1875–1995) on English and American Literature. Hürth: Gemini, 1997. 222 pp. Z2011.G24 [PR83] 016.8209.

A bibliography of doctoral-level theses compiled from the standard national dissertation bibliographies (and university lists in the case of Austria) of the two countries. The earlier versions—Dissertations in English and American Literature: Theses Accepted by Austrian, French, and Swiss Universities, 1875–1970 (Hamburg: Gabel, 1977; 198 pp.) and Dissertations in English and American Literature: A Bibliography of Theses Accepted by Austrian, French, and Swiss Universities: Supplement, 1971–1975, and Additions (Köln: Gemini, 1982; 56 pp.)—include French dissertations. Dissertations are listed chronologically in nine classified divisions: general literary history and criticism, Old and Middle English literature, then by century for English literature, American literature to 1900, and twentieth-century American literature. The period divisions have sections for general studies or individual authors. Two indexes: scholars; literary authors and anonymous works. A time-saving compilation that offers the single fullest list of dissertations on English and American literature accepted by universities in the two countries.

H490
McNamee, Lawrence F. Dissertations in English and American Literature: Theses Accepted by American, British, and German Universities, 1865–1964. New York: Bowker, 1968. 1,124 pp. Supplement One, 1964–1968. 1969. 450 pp. Supplement Two: Theses Accepted by American, British, British Commonwealth, and German Universities, 1969–1973. 1974. 690 pp. Z5053.M32 016.82.

A subject bibliography of dissertations written in English departments of institutions in the United States, Great Britain, East and West Germany, Canada (beginning in the first supplement and including retrospective coverage), Australia (beginning in the first supplement), and New Zealand (in the second supplement). Derived from lists supplied or checked by the institutions, the 25,953 entries are organized by date of acceptance in 35 classified divisions: Anglo-Saxon; English language and linguistics; Chaucer; Middle English; Renaissance; Shakespeare; seventeenth century; Milton; eighteenth century; Romantic period; Victorian period; twentieth century; drama and theater; English novel; poetry; comparative literature; literary criticism, rhetoric, and genre studies; creative dissertations; teaching of English; Empire literature; magazines, newspapers, and publishing; religion and literature; colonial American; National period; post–Civil War period; twentieth-century American literature; American novel and fiction; American drama and theater; literary criticism in the United States; language in the United States; regional literature; African American literature; American poetry; American literary relationships; miscellaneous topics in American literature. Most divisions are extensively classified by subjects, groups, genres, movements, or individual authors. An entry consists of author, title, date of acceptance, a code number that identifies the institution, and, in the 1969–73 supplement, number of pages. Two indexes in each volume: a cross-index of literary authors in the titles of multiple-author studies; dissertation writers. McNamee must be used with due regard for its numerous limitations and deficiencies:


 * 1) The work falls far short of the complete list it claims to be. Restricted to studies written in English departments, it ignores numerous dissertations on English and American literature produced in history, comparative literature, and (especially) theater or drama departments. And there are many omissions of dissertations accepted by English departments.
 * 2) Dissertations are frequently difficult to locate because titles determine placement in divisions and classified sections, many of which are insufficiently exclusive. Particularly vexing are the numerous classified sections that are frequently imprecise in heading, inconsistent across divisions, and organized in no discernible manner (e.g., related topics are rarely grouped together). Because a dissertation is listed in only one section and multiple-author studies are placed under the first author mentioned, users searching for dissertations on specific writers must be certain to check the cross-index of authors, which is unhelpfully keyed to the numbered sections rather than to pages. The vagueness and inconsistencies in subject classifications and inadequate indexing mean that researchers must exercise considerable ingenuity to locate dissertations.
 * 3) There are numerous typographical errors, and the combination of uppercase computer print and poor layout makes for inefficient scanning.

Because of these serious limitations and deficiencies, McNamee is now principally useful for identifying the occasional dissertation overlooked in a search of the more thorough and easily accessible ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Full Text (H465), ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: UK and Ireland (H475), and the other bibliographies and abstracts in this section.

H495
Mummendey, Richard. Language and Literature of the Anglo-Saxon Nations as Presented in German Doctoral Dissertations, 1885–1950 / Die Sprache und Literatur der Angelsachsen im Spiegel der deutschen Universitätsschriften, 1885–1950. Bonn: Bouvier; Charlottesville: Bibliog. Soc. of the U of Virginia, 1954. 200 pp. Z2011.M8 016.82.

A classified list of doctoral dissertations on the English language and literature in English accepted by German universities between 1885 and 1950, by the University of Strassburg up to 1918, and by Austrian universities from 1938 to 1945. The approximately 3,000 entries are organized in three divisions: linguistics, with dissertations listed by year of acceptance within sections for general studies, phonetics, orthography, morphology, etymology, syntax, dialect and slang, stylistics, and prosody; literature, with sections for Great Britain (including subsections for genres, motifs and topics, influences, and individual periods), the Commonwealth, and the United States (including subsections for general studies and individual periods); theater. In the literature and theater divisions, dissertations are organized alphabetically by a title keyword, which is set in spaced type. An entry cites author, title, number of pages, publication information for dissertations published in a series or periodical, an indication of manuscript (“HS”) or typescript (“MS”) for those not printed, institution, and year of acceptance. Indexed by dissertation authors and title keywords.

The subject indexing by title keyword is frequently imprecise or misleading (and the spaced type is not immediately recognizable), but the poor subject indexing is a minor deficiency in comparison to the frequent errors in citations and numerous omissions. (In Guide to Doctoral Dissertations in Victorian Literature &#91;M2510&#93;, Richard Altick reports that he discovered about 130 dissertations overlooked by Mummendey.) While useful for compiling a preliminary list of German dissertations on a topic, Mummendey must be supplemented by a laborious search through Jahresverzeichnis der Hochschulschriften der DDR, der BRD und Westberlins, [1885–1987] (Leipzig: VEB Bibliographisches Institut, 1887–90; title varies). Die Deutsche Bibliothek receives a deposit copy of German dissertations, which can be identified through the library’s OPAC (https://portal.dnb.de; in Erweiterte Suche click the Standorte/Kataloge tab, then select Hochschulschriften).