apa 6 referencing phd thesis

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Dissertation or thesis available from a database service:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of publication).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Retrieved from Name of database.  (Accession or Order No.)

For an unpublished dissertation or thesis:

Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (year of creation).  Title of dissertation or thesis (Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis).  Name of Institution, Location.

See Ch 7 pp. 207-208 APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title
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Citation guides

All you need to know about citations

How to cite a PhD thesis in APA

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To cite a PhD thesis in a reference entry in APA style 6th edition include the following elements:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to seven authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For eight or more authors include the first six names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Year of publication: Give the year in brackets followed by a full stop.
• Title of the PhD thesis: Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
• URL: Give the full URL where the document can be retrieved from.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 6th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (PhD thesis). Retrieved from URL

If the thesis is available from a database, archive or any online platform use the following template:

• Author(s) of the thesis: Give the last name and initials (e. g. Watson, J. D.) of up to 20 authors with the last name preceded by an ampersand (&). For 21 or more authors include the first 19 names followed by an ellipsis (…) and add the last author's name.
• Publication number: Give the identification number of the thesis, if available.
• Name of the degree awarding institution: Give the name of the institution.
• Name of Platform: Give the name of the database, archive or any platform that holds the thesis.
• URL: If the thesis was found on a database, omit this element.

Here is the basic format for a reference list entry of a PhD thesis in APA style 7th edition:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis ( Publication number ) [PhD thesis, Name of the degree awarding institution ]. Name of Platform . URL

If the thesis has not been published or is available from a database use the following template:

• Location: Give the location of the institution. If outside the United States also include the country name.

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis (Unpublished PhD thesis). Name of the degree awarding institution , Location .

If the thesis is not published, use the following template:

Author(s) of the thesis . ( Year of publication ). Title of the PhD thesis [Unpublished PhD thesis]. Name of the degree awarding institution .

APA reference list examples

Take a look at our reference list examples that demonstrate the APA style guidelines for a PhD thesis citation in action:

A PhD thesis found in an online platform

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PhD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles ( PhD thesis ). Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

Confait, M. F . ( 2018 ). Maximising the contributions of PHD graduates to national development: The case of the Seychelles [ PhD thesis , Edith Cowan University ]. Edith Cowan Online Repository . Retrieved from https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2060

An unpublished PhD thesis

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains ( Unpublished PhD thesis ). University of Oxford , London, UK .

Bowkett, D . ( 2015 ). Investigating the ligandability of plant homeodomains [ Unpublished PhD thesis ]. University of Oxford .

This citation style guide is based on the official Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ( 6 th edition).

More useful guides

• APA Referencing: Theses
• How do I reference a PhD dissertation or MA thesis in APA style?
• APA Citation Style: Theses and Dissertations

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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APA 6th Referencing Style Guide

• APA referencing style
• In-text citation
• Reference list
• TV, film & video
• Tables, figures & images
• Conferences

Thesis, dissertation or exegesis?

Theses and dissertations from online sources, theses and dissertations in hardcopy format.

• Personal communications
• Lecture notes
• Social media
• Computer software & mobile applications
• Legislation & cases
• Standards & patents
• Specific health examples
• Exhibition catalogue

Terminology

Thesis and dissertation can mean different things, depending on which institution the work is from.  For study purposes and for your APA reference you need to know the level of the work.

• Always check the title page, or subsequent pages, to determine exactly what the work is
• Use the information there for your APA reference

At Auckland University of Technology (and other NZ universities)

Thesis is either for a doctoral or a master's degree.

Dissertation is either for a master's or a bachelor's degree with honours.

Exegesis is the written component of a practice-based thesis where the major output is a creative work;  e.g. a film, artwork, novel.

In some other parts of the world such as North America, a dissertation may be for a doctoral degree and a thesis for a master's degree.  

See Section 7.05  in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition .

Reference format for a thesis from a commercial database:

Reference format for a thesis from an institutional repository:

A Doctoral dissertation (USA) from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database

Reference list entry:

• Include the name of the database and the order number of the document
• Use this style for theses retrieved from a commercial database

Thesis from a NZ institutional repository :

• Include the full URL for the thesis/dissertation and the full name of the degree-granting institution/university
• Also include the location of the university, if outside the United States.

In-text citations guide  

Reference format for unpublished thesis/dissertation:

• Give the correct full name of the university, not its abbreviation or brand name.

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APA Style (6th ed.)

• Position of the citation
• Secondary Referencing
• Date of Publication
• Page numbers
• Citing Sources Multiple Times
• Citing from Web pages
• Paraphrasing and Summarising
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• Examples of References in APA (6th ed.) style

Examples of References in APA style (6th edition)

• Examples of References in APA style
• APA Reference Examples A-Z
• Comparison of 6th and 7th editions of APA
• Setting the Bibliographic Style
• Inserting In-text Citations
• How to create a Reference List
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• Evaluate Sources
• Write the Reference
• Write the Annotation
• Examples of Annotations
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Dictionary or Encyclopaedia

Thesis or dissertation.

• Reports and Datasets
• Conferences
• Images, figures and tables

Exhibitions

• Audiovisual and Digital Media
• Lecture Notes and Presentations

• Author/Editor (Surname, Initials) ,
• (Year of publication).
• Title (in italics) .
• Edition (other than first edition) .
• Place of publication: Publisher.

An e-book retrieved from an academic database that does not have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is referenced as though it were the print version, as above. (A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works).

Books with a URL or a DOI can be referenced like this:

• Author/editor (Surname, Initials)
• (Year of publication)
• Title of book (in italics)
• (Edition) (if not the 1st edition)
• DOI or Retrieved from URL

Book Chapter

• Author of chapter/section (Surname, Initials)
• ‘Title of chapter/section’.
• ‘In:’ followed by author/editor of book, (in direct order)
• Title of book (in italics) .
• (Page reference).
• Place of publication: Publisher,

Journal article (print)

• Author(s) (Surname, Initials)
• Title of article
• Title of journal (in italics, first letter of each word should be capitalised, except for words such as and, of, the)        
• Issue information (volume, issue, pages) (volume in italics)

Journal article (online)

• Title of article.
• Title of journal (in italics, first letter of each word should be capitalised, except for words such as and, of, the)
• Issue information (date, volume, issue no., pages) (volume in italics)
• Retrieved from: URL

Journal article (database without DOI)

Journal articles retrieved from databases without a DOI can be referenced like a print journal, as above.

Journal article (with DOI)

• Issue information (date, volume , issue no., pages) (volume in italics)

Journal article (more than 7 authors)

List the first six authors followed by three spaced ellipsis points (...) and then the last author's name.

Journal article (pre-publication)

“Pre-print”, “In press” and “advanced online publication” usually refer to articles that have been accepted for publication, but may not yet have been assigned to a publication volume/issue. These articles can be cited using the year of online publication and the DOI.

• Issue information (date, volume, issue no., pages) (if any available)
• Advance online publication.

arXiv is a collection facility for scientific 'e-prints'. Some of them have been published and some have not. APA recommends updating your references when you're close to finishing your assignment. If you've cited a preprint that has since been published, cite the published journal article.

In the example below, you will see that the title is in italics. This is because it hasn't yet been accepted in a journal and is, therefore, considered a stand-alone work.

Journal Article (with article numbers, not page numbers)

If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the word “Article” and then the article number instead of the page range.

• Journal Title  (in italics)
• Volume ,  (in italics)
• Article number 

Magazine Article

• (Year of publication, Month day)
• Title of magazine (in italics, first letter of each word should be capitalised, except for words such as and, of, the)      

• Author (Surname, Initials or Organisation name)
• (Year)  (Month Day, if applicable).
• Title of webpage   (in italics)

If no date can be established, use n.d. to indicate no date in the citation and the reference.

• Author of message
• (Year, Month Day).
• Title of message
• [Blog post]

• Author (surname followed by initials) and/or [screen name]
• (Year, Month day) tweet posted
• full text of tweet (If a tweet is longer than 40 words, write the first 40 words)

• Author and/or [given name]
• (Year, month day)
• Title of page   or post
• [Facebook status update].
• For individual authors, provide their full first name in square brackets after their initial as this is their social media identity information.
• For the title, provide the name of the page or the content or caption of the post (up to the first 40 words).

LinkedIn Profile

• Author (name associated with the account)
• Title of page ( Use the page title in the reference (e.g., “Home,” “About,” “Jobs”).)
• [LinkedIn page].
• Retrieved date from: URL ( Provide a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and is not archived)

• Author and/or [screen name]
• (Year posted, month day)
• Content of the post (up to the first 20 words)
• [Photograph]
• Retrieved from URL

• Author and/or [Username]
• Content of the post up to the first 20 words. Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. Do not italicize emojis.
• [Video]  description of the audiovisuals

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world. It is not a scholarly source, so your lecturer may not be happy for you to use it as a source in your assignments. Scholarly assignments should generally rely on peer-reviewed and other scholarly work vetted by experts in the field. However, it may be a good starting point for you in your research to find citations to original source materials that you do want to use.

Wikipedia is a constantly changing site, so cite an archived version of the page, if you can (select 'view history' and then the date of the version you used). If it doesn't have a permanent link to an archived version of the page, include a URL for the entry and the retrieval date. The retrieval date is always required because the source material may change over time. 'n.d.' is an abbreviation of 'no date' and it is used as Wikipedia is constantly changing.

• Title of wiki (in italics)
• Retrieved date, from URL

Newspaper article (print)

• Author (Surname, Initials) 
• (Year of publication, Month day).
• Title of article 
• Title of newspaper (in italics) .
• Page reference.

Newspaper article (online)

• Author of entry (if there is one) (Surname, initials)
• Title of entry.
• ‘In:’ Editor (initial and surname) (Ed.)
• Title of dictionary or encyclopaedia  (in italics) .
• (Edition, page numbers of entry)

• Author (Surname, Initials)
• (Year of submission).
• Title of thesis (in italics) .
• (Type of thesis or dissertation)  e.g. Unpublished Master's thesis
• Degree awarding body, location (if unpublished)
• Name of database or archive, URL  (if published)

• Title of data (version)   (in italics)
• [Type of work]  (i.e. dataset)

Government Publication

• Name of Government Department
• Title (in italics)
• (Report Series and number) (if available)
• Place of publication: Publisher (if in print)
• URL (if online)

Company Report

• Title of report . (in italics)
• Place of Publication: Publisher or URL 

• Name of authority or organisation.
• Number and title of standard (in italics) .
• Place of publication: Publisher (if in print) .
• URL (if accessed online)

Conference Paper (in edited book)

• Title of the contribution paper
• In: Name of editor or conference chair (Initial, Last name (Ed (s).)
• Title of conference proceedings (in Italics)
• (Page numbers)
• Place of publication: Publisher

Conference Paper (Journal)

• Author of paper
• Title of paper
• Title of Journal (in italics)
• Issue information (volume, issue, date)

Conference Paper or Poster Presentation 

• (Year, month of conference).
• Paper or Poster presented at Title of conference: Subtitle of conference

Images, illustrations, photos (print)

If you are citing an illustration, figure, diagram or table, start with the source in which it appeared. In your in-text citation, give the page number and any caption number that will help to identify the illustration, using the terminology in the book or article (for example, illus./fig./diagram/logo/table). The reference list entry will be for the whole article or book.

In-text citation:

Reference List:

In the reference list, you list the book in which the image is found:

When you include an image or photo in your text, as well as citing the source, you will also need to include a caption and list it in a Table of Figures ( click here for more information ). Images you created yourself don't have to be cited, but should still be included in the list of figures.

Image, illustration, photo or table (online)

• Creator  (Surname, initial(s))
• [Internet handle] (if appropriate)
• Title of image, figure, illustration or table 
• [Type of image]. (image, chart, diagram, graph, illustration or photograph)

Photographs (Online Collection)

• Photographer
• Title of photograph/video (or collection) 
• [Type of image].  

If you viewed an image in person rather than online (e.g. in a museum or gallery), the source information is different. You will need to include the name and location of the institution where you viewed the image.

• (Year of creation)  (if available)
• Title of the work (in italics)
• [Format description]  (in square brackets)
• City, Country: Institution or collection that houses the work

If you haven't seen the artwork in person and saw it online, use the website in the location part of your reference.

• Originator (Name of organisation)
• Sheet number, scale.
• Publisher (if different from author)
• URL (if viewed online)

It can often be hard to find accurate information about images accessed online.  However, if you do need to cite an image with no author, date or title listed, there are ways around this.  For untitled images, include a description of the image, in square brackets, where the title would usually go. If there is no publication date, add “n.d.” in place of the date, and add the date that you accessed the image.

• Curator(s) (Surname, Initial(s)) .
• (Year or years ran).
• Exhibition Title [Exhibition].
• Museum name,
• City, Country.
• URL of exhibition website (if available)

When the curator is unknown, move the title of the exhibition to the author position of the reference.

Exhibition Catalogue

• Artist (Surname, Initial) (or Gallery/Institution).
• [Exhibition catalogue].
• City of publication, Country/State: Publisher.

• Director(s) (Surname, Initial) (Director) &
• Producer(s) (Surname, Initial) (Producer)
• (Year of original release).
• [Description]. (e.g. Film)
• Country of origin: studio.

Film (from Streaming Service)

• (Year) (in round brackets)

Online Video

• Creator (Surname, Initial). [Screen name].
• (Year, Month day).
• Title of video [Video file]

TV Programme

• Producer(s) & Director(s)
• (Year, Month day)
• Title (in italics) [Television broadcast].
• Place of broadcast: Name of broadcaster.

Episode of a TV Series

• Writer (surname and initial(s)) & Director (surname and initial(s))
• (Date of broadcast or copyright)
• Title of episode [Television series episode]
• Producer (initials and surname)
• Series title (in italics)
• Place of publication: Production company

Radio Programme (Online)

Presenter (Surname, Initial) (Host).

• ( Year, Month Day of broadcast).

Title of programme [Description i.e. Radio broadcast ].

Place of production: Broadcast channel.

Retrieved from URL (if heard online)

• Name of primary contributor (Host or Producer)
• Title of podcast (in italics)

Lecture Notes

Notes you took during a lecture or class handouts that are not posted online are not retrievable by someone else, so do not belong in your reference list. Instead, you treat them like personal communication and just refer to them in your text.

Lecture Notes or Powerpoint Slides (online)

• Lecturer (Surname, Initial(s))
• Course/Module and T it le of lecture [Lecture notes or PowerPoint slides]. (in italics)

Recorded Lectures/Talks

• Author (Surname, Initial(s))
• (Year, Month).
• Title of lecture [file format].

Online Course or Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

• Instructor(s)  (Surname, Initial(s))
• (Year of course creation  if known ).
• Title of course [format].
• Site that holds the course

Open Educational Resource

• Author  (Surname, Initial(s))
• (Year added with Month day).
• Retrieved date from URL

Music on CD or Vinyl

• Writer ( Surname, Initial ).
• Title of song
• [Recorded by Artist (Initial, Surname or Band name, if different from writer) ].
• Title of album (in italics)
• [Medium of recording].
• Location: Record Label.

Music Streaming

• Name of artist.
• Title of album/track (in italics)
• [Description; Name of streaming service].
• Record Label

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APA 6 Style Guide

Thesis/Dissertation – APA Reference List

Capitalization.

• The document title is in sentence case – Only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. Always capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon or a dash.
• The title of the thesis or dissertation is in title case – Each word in the name is capitalized, except for articles (a, an, the), prepositions (against, between, in, of, to), conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet), and the infinitive 'to'.

Thesis/Dissertation – Unpublished/Print version

For papers written in United States list City and State. For countries outside United States list City and Country.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis  (Unpublished doctoral dissertation [OR] Unpublished master's thesis). Academic Institution , City , State [OR] Country .

• Considine, M. (1986). Australian insurance politics in the 1970s: Two case studies . (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
• Kassover,A. (1987). Treatment of abusive males: Voluntary vs. court-mandated referrals (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 

Thesis/Dissertation – From a commercial database (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database)

Author , A ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Name of database . ( Accession or Order Number )

Cooley, T. (2009).  Design, development, and implementation of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): The Hartford Job Corps Academy case study (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 3344745)

Thesis/Dissertation – Institutional Database (i.e. University website)

For U.S. thesis do not include university or locations. Include the university and location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis). Retrieved from http:// url.com

• Adams, R. J. (1973). Building a foundation for evaluation of instruction in higher education and continuing education (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/
• Barua, S. (2010). Drought assessment and forecasting using a nonlinear aggregated drought index  (Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia). Retrieved from http://vuir.vu.edu.au/1598

Thesis/Dissertation – Web

For U.S. thesis do not include locations. Include the location (City and Country) for a non-U.S. online thesis.

Author , A . A . ( Year ). Title of dissertation/thesis (Doctoral dissertation/Master's thesis, Institution issuing degree). Retrieved from http:// www.url.com

• Bruckman, A. (1997). MOOSE Crossing: Construction, community, and learning in a networked virtual world for kids (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Retrieved from http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/thesis

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Many students come to Walden having used APA 6 in their previous education programs.

These comparison tables offer highlights of some changes between APA 6 and APA 7, which students may find helpful in transitioning to APA 7. Note that these are not comprehensive tables of all changes between the two editions, but the table highlights the most common changes students will use in their writing at Walden.

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Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis References

This page contains a reference example for an unpublished dissertation or thesis.

Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.

• Parenthetical citation : (Harris, 2014)
• Narrative citation : Harris (2014)
• When a dissertation or thesis is unpublished, include the description “[Unpublished doctoral dissertation]” or “[Unpublished master’s thesis]” in square brackets after the dissertation or thesis title.
• In the source element of the reference, provide the name of the institution that awarded the degree.
• The same format can be adapted for other unpublished theses, including undergraduate theses, by changing the wording of the bracketed description as appropriate.
• If you find the dissertation or thesis in a database or in a repository or archive, follow the published dissertation or thesis reference examples .

Unpublished dissertation or thesis references are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 10.6 and the Concise Guide Section 10.5

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APA 6th Edition Citation Style

Dissertation / thesis (database).

• APA 6th Edition Guide
• Annual Report
• Article, Journal
• Article, Journal (with DOI)
• Article, Journal (without DOI)
• Book, Chapter in edited work
• Book, Electronic
• Dissertation / Thesis
• Email/Interviews
• Events, Live
• Newspaper Article
• Newspaper Article (Database)
• Newspaper Article (Website)
• Podcast, Audio
• Reference Work
• Reference Work (Database)
• Website Document
• Video, Online
• No Author / No Date

Document Example:

Proper Bibliographic Reference Format:

• Bibliographic references are double-spaced and indented half an inch after the first line.
• Use italics and "sentence-style" capitalization for dissertation / thesis titles.
• Identify the work as a doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title.
• If the paper was retrieved through a library database, give the accession or order number at the end of the reference. This can be located within the first pages of the thesis text.

Rashed, D.H. (2008). A case study of international ESL learners’ perceptions of technology use in English language learning (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 1456443)

In-Text Citations:

Citations are placed in the context of discussion using the author’s last name and date of publication.

(Rashed, 2008)

Alternatively, you can integrate the citation into the sentence by means of narrative.

Rashed (2008) examines ESL students’ perceptions of technology use in the classroom.

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• Social media
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Thesis - from website

Thesis - from database.

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Is referencing another PhD dissertation or Master's thesis a reasonable practice in a Master's thesis?

Not much literature can be found on what I'm working on and it's all by the people I work with. Am I able to reference their work/text in my thesis or I should just stick to referencing material published in journals and conferences, however remote they might be and just get away with whatever's not published and not back them up?

• research-process

• Also see this question Can you cite other master's theses when writing your own? –  gman Commented May 22, 2015 at 10:21
• 3 Why would you think it wouldn't be okay? If the information is available there, why not use it? –  curiousdannii Commented May 22, 2015 at 13:52
• 3 If you use someone's previous work, you must cite it. No exceptions. It is completely irrelevant whether that previous work appears in a journal, conference proceedings, PhD dissertation, technical report, arXiv preprint, working paper, lecture notes, newspaper article, TED talk, StackExchange comment, or cocktail napkin. –  JeffE Commented May 22, 2015 at 14:42
• 1 I cited three PhD dissertations and two Masters dissertations as part of my Masters dissertation. Reference it like you'd reference any other publication. In fact, I also cited a lecturer's powerpoint slides. Actually, now that I think about it, I cited my own previous work at one point too. Every source is valid so long as you reference it. That's not to say that every source necessarily carries weight, of course. You have to evaluate the source. But from a citation point of view, it's all good. –  Jonathon Cowley-Thom Commented May 22, 2015 at 15:01

5 Answers 5

Yes, you are able to reference their work in your text, as long as you make clear in the bibliography what type of document (master thesis, PhD thesis, Institution) it is.

However, i would not consider it to be ideal if your work critically depends on such references in the sense that a central assumption or starting point in your thesis breaks down if the reference provides false or incomplete results. Particularly in the case of master theses / dissertations it is not generally clear whether and to which extent they are peer-reviewed and what their overall trustworthiness is. With (accepted!) PhD theses things are better, as these normally go through a review process. Furthermore, for PhD theses i would expect that their main points have been published somewhere (conference or journal) and then you clearly should prefer these publications.

• 3 +1. I have cited MSc theses in journal papers and that was not a problem either. As you say it was not something the paper critically depended on ; in my case it was to raise a point in the Discussion section. –  user8458 Commented May 22, 2015 at 6:30
• 6 There's a reasonable argument to be made that it's unwise to depend critically on anything you can't verify - including things in peer-reviewed papers, which have been known to be wrong. Ultimately, peer review is just as much a human activity as anything else, and is prone to error - the best that can be said of a peer-reviewed paper is that it has been checked by somebody of unknown experience for an unknown amount of time. In many cases, people put a lot of effort into peer review, but that's not always the case, and even when it is, errors creep in. You're well-advised to check yourself. –  Stuart Golodetz Commented May 22, 2015 at 8:12

This is really an addendum to the two previous answers, but nevertheless it is still answer-worthy IMO .

It is mostly true that with PhD theses, the crux of the stuff is generally published in journals etc. so that those count as more reliable sources (I dare say primary sources). However, it is not necessarily true that this will always be so. For instance, I am aware that at least in Theoretical Physics, University of Bielefeld is an example of an institution where it is not mandatory to have the stuff written in the thesis published. Theses are judged for what they contain and whether or not that represents an original contribution to the subject. I am using this only as an example, the general statement is - it is possible for a PhD thesis to contain original stuff which is otherwise unpublished. And at any rate, it is possible to have stuff written more elaborately than in the published papers (mine is an example). (Occasionally, this might also be because some letters journals have stringent limits on word counts and/or pages, so people shrink stuff there and feed out many more details in the thesis).

Thus, there is no harm in citing a PhD thesis, provided you mention that it is what it is.

• 1 "not mandatory to have the stuff written in the thesis published" - in particular, all the stuff. In fact, at my university it is mandatory to publish some parts of your research before writing your doctoral thesis, but at the same time, it is also mandatory that the doctoral thesis contains more than just the sum of all previous publications. –  O. R. Mapper Commented May 22, 2015 at 8:03

If others have completed theses or dissertations related to the topic you are studying, I would definitely cite them. While writing my MA thesis, there were very few peer-reviewed publications available in the particular region I was working in but there were a number of recently completed theses and dissertations. Some of these were excellent and provided great data to support my own arguments, while others were of lower quality and were not cited. As long as you're critical of the content and argument of these documents you should be fine.

As with most referencing questions, you have to consider what you're depending on them for. If it's a matter of "further details on the previous experiment", a thesis is likely to go into much more depth than a paper and is the best you're likely to get. If it's "so-and-so proved that..." you should really be looking for something peer-reviewed. Most cases will fall in between, and then you need to use your judgement and be clear what you're citing.

you shouldn't quote a master's Thesis because they are typically not published. only published work should be cited in a research work. If it hasn't been published no one is responsible for the Content

• And if they are published? Your whole argument builds on this (false IMHO) assumption. –  Mayou36 Commented Jul 2, 2019 at 7:06

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Q. How do I reference a PhD dissertation or MA thesis in APA style?

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Answered By: Theresa Bell (she/her/hers) Last Updated: Nov 04, 2021     Views: 65632

APA Style (7th ed.)

Unpublished print dissertations/theses retrieved from university

Author, A. (year). Title of dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation OR master's thesis]. Name of Institution.

• In-text citation: (Author, year, p. X)
• See pages 333-334 in the APA Style manual for information and examples.

Published dissertation/thesis retrieved from online database

Dissertation

Author, A. (year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, Name of Institution Granting Award]. Database Name.

Myers, S. (2018). In British Columbia's nature programs where hearts are rooted: A multiple case study of nature education in early childhood education [Doctoral dissertation, Royal Roads University]. Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global.

• In-text citation: (Myers, 2018, p. 45)

Author, A. (year). Title of thesis [Master's thesis, Name of Institution Granting Award]. Database Name.

Dawson, N. M. (2019). ła w eyasens gayułas: Ancestral teachings to reclaim the roles of Kwakwaka'wakw women in governance and leadership [Master's thesis, Royal Roads University]. Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global.

• In-text citation: (Dawson, 2019, p. 60)

Published dissertation/thesis retrieved from university archive or personal website

Author, A. (year). Title of thesis [Master's thesis, Name of Institution Granting Award]. URL of university archive or personal website

M a nuel, R. (2017). Like semaphore in the dark: There must be a better way to communicate [Master's thesis, Royal Roads University]. VIURRSpace. https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/17238/Manuel_royalroads_1313O_10623.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

• In-text citation: (Manuel, 2017, p. 39)

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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