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Grey Literature in Nursing: Theses & Dissertations

What are theses and dissertations?

Theses are created by students pursuing a master's degree.
Dissertations are written by doctoral students.
  • Professional doctorates (e.g., DNP or EdD) tend to focus on the application of nursing scholarship.
  • Traditional doctorate (e.g., PhD) often focuses on theoretical.

What is the value of a thesis or dissertation?

  • Emphasize public policy, theoretical approaches to nursing scholarship, and evidence-based nursing in the creation of procedures and guidelines.
  • Provide material with practical value offering timely, real-world applications of nursing practice, policy, or advocacy.
  • Evaluated by a committee of experts in the field, similar to, but a bit different from, the peer-review process used in publishing.

Find Theses & Dissertations

We NEVER want to see you pay for information you need for your assignments!

If you cannot access a thesis or dissertation for free, follow these directions:

  • Copy the title of the thesis/dissertation
  • Paste it into the search box for the library catalog (using the WorldCat link below) and click search
  • You should see a message that says "Do you want to expand your search to Libraries Worldwide?"; click on the link to "Libraries Worldwide."
  • You should see at least one result; click on the link to the title, then click on the button to "Request It on Interlibrary Loan"
  • Login to your library account and submit the request.

If you have trouble with this process, please contact me using the Help page within this guide.