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Theses and Dissertations: UK PhD Theses

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Using UK PhD Theses in EThOS

Obtaining Theses

  • Thesis and Dissertation databases can be accessed via this BU Library webpage.
  • If a thesis is not available full text online then it may be possible to obtain via the Inter-Library Loan service. The clarity of your request is enhanced if you attach a printout of the source details e.g. a record from one of the databases.

EThOS

  • Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) is the British Library service which provides full text open access to digital copies of UK PhD theses. The EThOS database contains records of over 250,000 UK theses, with the added functionality of being able to request access to digital copies of selected theses that have not already been digitised.
  • Personal registration on EThOS is required to be able to download theses. Bournemouth University is an Open Access Sponsor of EThOS, so all BU theses are indexed.
  • Theses which are already available to download have a pdf attached to the record. For those theses that do not have a pdf attached, you should select the record to check Availability of Full Text – there are 3 possible scenarios:
  1. The home institution will pay the digitisation cost and access will be free.
  2. The home institution will digitise the thesis, but you will be charged.  In these cases you should consult your supervisor as to how important the thesis is to your research and consider requesting payment via the Inter-Library Request Service.
  3. The thesis is not available via EThOS service. Please contact the current institution's library directly if you wish to view the thesis.

Doing a thesis at BU

This guide is to help with searching for theses from other institutions.

If you are doing a thesis at BU and want guidance to help with writing and completing your research see our PGR Guide