Finding Dissertations

© October 2012

I Theses at HKU

(A) Where to find? p.2

(B) How to find? p.3

Exercise 1: Search Hub Collection, HKU theses online p.4-6

Theses at other local universities


Exercise 2: Search Dissertation & Theses Collection (DTC) p.7

Theses Worldwide


(B) How to search? p.9

(C) Try it out p.10

Exercise 3-5: Search Proquest dissertations and theses p.12-15

(C) Other Theses Databases

(I) Digital dissertation consortium p.16

(II) British Library Ethos p.17-20

(III) Chinese Theses Databases p.21

II

III

The University of Hong Kong Libraries

Finding Dissertations

HKU I Theses at ...

Dissertations The University of Hong Kong Libraries 2

Database Title: Hub Collection, HKU theses online

Description: Search for over 19,000 titles of theses and dissertations submitted for higher

degrees to the University of Hong Kong since 1941. As of 2006, it also includes some theses done by the HKU School of Professional & Continuing Education (SPACE). A majority of these titles in this collection carry fulltext.

Access: Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk Electronic Resources OR HKUL Digital Initiatives > Browse by Format > Hong Kong University Theses Online > E-theses Collection > Hub Collection, HKU theses online

Where to find? A

Number of theses under your Degree = _________

Number of theses under your Department = _________

Search Hints:

1. Boolean (AND, OR, NOT): Must be entered in all caps.

E.g. (Internet OR Web) AND commerce

2. Phrase searching: Enter words in double quotation.

E.g. “United Nations”

3. Truncation: *

E.g. Autis* finds autistic, autism, etc.

HKU I Theses at ...


● Examine the

subjects

Topic: Indoor air quality of office buildings.

Devise search statement

Search HKUTO

Display record

Evaluate record

Refine search

Concept 1 Indoor air quality

Concept 2 Office buildings

Related Terms

Indoor air quality Office*

● Enter search statement

How to find? B

● Click thesis title to

display full record

1

2

3

4

● Any relevant subjects?

5

6

● Specify connecting boolean

● Click Search

“indoor air quality”

office buildings OR office*

● Limit year : 2001—2012

Subject search = (Indoor air pollution) AND Office buildings

HKU I Theses at ...


Topic: Conservation of heritage buildings


Search HKUTO

Concept 1:

_____________________

Concept 2:

___________________

Related Terms

Criteria for historic monuments sought

Olga Wong. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong: Aug 1, 2007. pg. 1

High Court Judge Johnson Lam Man-hon yesterday described the current Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance as

"primitive" when he was examining whether the Queen's Pier judicial review application should go ahead. "The judge has

a point," said Lee Ho-yin, director of the architectural conservation programme of the University of Hong Kong. "Up to

now, we still do not know what makes a historic building become a monument." "We desperately need a

policy to articulate the new approach to heritage conservation," said board member Laurence Li Lu-jen, noting

that policy should provide tools for protecting historic buildings. He said the board's slow progress was due

to the government's restructuring.

Weak preservation rules put heritage buildings at risk

Jack Aubry. The Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ont.: Feb 14, 2007. pg. A.5

"The loss of heritage buildings and sites means that future generations will no longer have access to

significant aspects of our history. It is, therefore, important that the federal government strengthen its

conservation regime for built heritage. It also needs to set priorities to decide which heritage

buildings and sites should be preserved," she said.

Exercise 1: Search HKU theses online

1

2

3

● Enter the search statement

● Click Search

● Limit to Year 2008


4 Display results

For the following two theses, display the full record and note down the subject terms.

(Note: The 1st record has been done for you.) 1. Mei Ho House: a study of the application of public private partnership in revitalizing a government-owned historic building in Hong Kong 2. Site interpretation of the Lei Yue Mun Fort

Evaluate results

Based on the Subject and Abstract description, indicate the relevance of each record for your topic: 1. Mei Ho House: a study of the application of public private partnership in revitalizing ...

Relevant? □ Yes □ No

2. Site interpretation of the Lei Yue Men Fort

Relevant? □ Yes □ No

Refine your search

If you would like to find similar theses on preservation of historic Buildings, what would be your

search statement?

5

● Enter search terms ● Specify Boolean (AND/ OR/ NOT)

6

● Select search field

How about if Conservation of Hong Kong Heritage? (Subject = )

Mei Ho House : a study of the application of public private partnership in revitalising a government-owned historic building in Hong Kong

Other local universities II Theses at


Database Title: Dissertations and Theses Collection (DTC)

Description: An online union collection of Hong Kong & Macau postgraduate theses in 8 universities.

Access: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/lib/electronic/libdbs/dol.html

or, Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk > Electronic Resources > Browse by Format > E-Theses Collection > Dissertations and theses collections

Where to find? A

Other local universities II Theses at


Exercise 2: Search DTC

Topic ______________________________________

Devise your search statement

Search statement : _____________________________________

Analyze results

Get Full Text

What if the full text is not available online? Which HKUL service will be able to help you? (A) Book recommendation online (B) HKALL (C) JULAC Card

Institution No. of theses Full text available online?

Chinese University of HK (CUHK)

City University of HK (CityU)

HK Baptist University (HKBU)

HK Polytechnic University (PolyU)

HK University of Science & Technology (HKUST)

Lingnan University (LU)

University of HK (HKU)

University of Macau (UM)

2

1

3

4

Concept 1

Concept 2

Related Terms

Worldwide III Theses


Access: Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk > Electronic Resources > Browse by Format > E-Theses Collection

Where to find? A

Examples: British Library Ethos Digital dissertation consortium Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) Proquest Digital Dissertations > Proquest Dissertations & Theses



How to search ? B

Step 2: Devise search statement

Step 6: Get the articles

Step 5: Modify

Step 3: Search

Step 4: Evaluate

Step 7: Write up your assignment

Step 1: Define the topic & Select databases

Search Strategy

Boolean operators AND Combine terms covering different subjects

E.g. Family abuse and statistics

OR Combine similar terms

E.g. Advertising or marketing

Truncation Find variant forms of a root word. E.g. Communicat* finds communicate, communicates, communication ... (Note: Symbols vary for different databases)

Database Title: Proquest Dissertations & Theses Description: Covers citations to doctoral dissertations and master's theses submitted to UMI

from graduate schools and universities worldwide since 1743.

Select Database



Select database


Search Proquest

Try it out C

2

1

3

Concept 1 E-commerce

Concept 2 Security

Related Terms E-commerce Internet commerce Online commerce

Security Safety

Topic: Theses about E-commerce security

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A & I

Enter search statement

Advanced search to

maximize search features

LIMIT search options

Select Field



Evaluate the results

Locate the theses

Modify the search

Citation/Abstract: Available for most theses records.

Preview: Free preview of the first

24 pages for theses produced after 1997.

Check HKUL holdings through WebBridge

> Match title in Dragon

Order a copy: Online ordering is available but out of your own pocket.

4

5

6



Topic: Gender studies in Hong Kong (Limit the results to theses produced in 2000)


Search Proquest

Evaluate the results

Below is one of the theses retrieved. Is this relevant to our topic?

Exercise 3

According to the abstract, the variation in degree

of success of the women's movement is analyzed through examination of four historical cases that include: (a) the abolition of the mui tsai system (b) the abolition of concubinage (c) the campaign for female inheritance rights in

the New Territories, and (d) __________________________________

Click on Preview. In Chapter 7, Section III,

the author compared Hong Kong to another “British colony”, which is ___________________________

gender ____ women’s movement ____ Hong Kong

C. Specify date as 2000

B. Enter your search

2

1

3

4

Concept 1: Gender studies

Concept 2: Hong Kong

Related Terms

Gender Women’s movement

Hong Kong

A. Search Statement



Locate the thesis

(a) (b) Is this thesis available in HKUL? (Hint: Click on WebBridge to check HKUL holdings ) If available, is it available in print or electronic format? □ Print Format Location: Call number: □ Electronic Format Name of the database:

What have you

learnt?

5

Click WebBridge to check HKUL holdings



Exercise 4: Is this thesis available in HKUL?

1. Is this thesis available in HKUL? (Hint: Click on WebBridge to check HKUL holdings in Dragon.) □ Yes □ No 2. If no, is it held in another local library? (Hint: Click on the HKALL button.) □ The Chinese University of Hong Kong □ City University of Hong Kong □ Hong Kong Baptist University □ Hong Kong Institute of Education □ The Hong Kong Polytechnic University □ Hong Kong University of Science & Technology □ Lingnan University

What have you

learnt?




1. Is this thesis available in HKUL?

□ Yes □ No

2. If no, is it held in another local library?

□ Yes □ No

3. If this title is neither available in HKUL nor in any local library, how can I get a copy of this thesis?

□ Order a copy online □ Place an interlibrary loan request (HKUL Homepage > e-Forms > ILLIAD)

Exercise 5: Is this thesis available in HKUL?

What have you

learnt?




(I) Digital dissertation consortium

Description: Digital dissertation consortium is a subset of ProQuest dissertations and

theses. It contains over 140,000 dissertations in full text.

Access: Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk > Electronic Resources > Browse by Format > E-Theses Collection > Digital dissertation consortium

Complete the

search template

Click on PDF to retrieve

the full text

Other Theses Databases C



(II) British Library EThos

Description: Ethos: Electronic Theses Online Service is the British Library site providing full-text access to over 250,000 UK University theses.

Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/Home.do or,

Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk > Electronic Resources > Browse by Format > E-Theses Collection > British Library EThos

Note: User must register and accept the provider’s terms and conditions before theses

can be downloaded. Some of the theses may not be available for immediate download and some need to order.

1. Search (A) Basic Search (B) Advanced Search

(a) Complete the search template

(b) To retrieve full text theses, tick this checkbox

(a) Complete the search template

(b) To retrieve full text theses, tick this checkbox



(b) Login to download full text.

(Note: First-time users need to register.)

2. Login

(a) Click on your desired record



(b) Select the delivery option, e.g. Download. And then, click on Add to Basket button

3. Get Full Text

(c) In the shopping basket, check if everything is in order. If so, click on the Confirm

(a) Click on Choose Download & Delivery options



(f) Tick the checkbox against the selected title and then click on the Download button.

(d) In the Order Confirmation, read the copyright statement. If you agree with the statement, tick the checkbox to agree and then click on the Create Order button.

(e) Click on the Download button



(III) Chinese Theses Databases

Access: Libraries Homepage at http://lib.hku.hk > Electronic Resources > Browse by Format > E-Theses Collection

1. 中國博士學位論文全文數據庫

China Doctor Dissertations Full-text Database

Description: Provides full text access to over 110,000 doctoral theses from 300 China

academic institutions from 1999 onwards.

2. 中國優秀碩士學位論文全文數據庫

China Master Theses Full-text Database

Description: Provides full text access to over 870,000 master theses from 500 China

academic institutions from 1999 onwards

3. 臺灣博碩士論文知識加值系統

National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertation in Taiwan Description: Access to over 690,000 dissertations published in Taiwan since 1956, all with

abstracts in both Chinese and English. Some titles with full text access.

Summary


Match the two columns.

Type of Material Theses Database

HKU Theses 1. A. Digital Dissertation Consortium

Overseas Theses (Index and abstract only)

2. B. Hub Collection, HKU Theses Online

Full text theses from Proquest

3. C. Proquest Dissertations & Theses

Theses in UK 4. D. China Doctor Dissertations Full-text

Database and China Master Theses Full-text Database

Theses in China 5. E. Dissertations and Theses Collection

(DTC)

Theses in Taiwan 6. F. British Library Ethos

Theses in local academic libraries

7. G. National Digital Library of Theses and

Dissertations in Taiwan

Finding Dissertations

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