Lindell Library: Music Therapy: Find Theses/Dissertations

Finding Theses and Dissertations

Searching for masters theses or doctoral dissertations is a bit like going on a scavenger hunt: you'll need to plan a strategy, search multiple places, and be prepared to revise your strategy if your initial search comes up short. Several of the core databases for music therapy are good places to start, but don't stop there. Open Dissertations, Google Scholar and other tools can also be good sources for theses and dissertations.

Before searching any of the databases below, think carefully about your search topic and try to identify multiple synonyms for key search terms. For example, if you're looking for information on treating children with autism, you'll want to think of various terms for both "children" and "autism". For example, children might also be described as child, youth, adolescent(s), or teenager(s). Autism might also be described as autism spectrum disorder, asd, asperger's, or asperger's syndrome. For help with keyword searching, check out our helpful video here.

A word of caution: most theses and dissertations are only available from the institution at which they were written but you can borrow it through Lindell Library's Interlibrary Loan service. For more information, watch Order Books and Articles Using Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

If you need additional help with your research, please schedule a research consultation with Mary Hollerich: holleric@augsburg.edu or 612-330-1603.

APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Enter your keywords in the search boxes as you would for any other search, then scroll down to the "Document Type" box and select "Dissertations", before finally clicking on the "Search" button.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Enter your keywords in the search boxes, then scroll down to the "Publication Type" box and select "Doctoral Dissertation" and/or "Masters Thesis". When you're done, click on the "Search" button.
ERIC This link opens in a new window
Enter your keywords in the search boxes, then scroll down to the "Publication Type" box and select "Dissertations/Theses (All)". You also have the option to limit your search to "Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations", "Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses" or "Dissertations/Theses - Practicum Papers". When you're done, click on the "Search" button.

Google Scholar
Google Scholar indexes millions of items, most of which are NOT theses or dissertations. When entering your search terms, include the word(s) "thesis" and/or "dissertation" in your search string. For more tips, watch our video Using Google Scholar.
Idun
Idun is Augsburg's own repository of theses written by Augsburg graduate students, but you can use it to search for theses and dissertations written at hundreds of universities. Enter your search terms in the search box, then select "across all repositories" in the box below it. When you get your search results, scroll down to "PUBLICATION TYPE" and select "Theses/Dissertations". You can also use the "Advanced" search option to further narrow your search results.
OpenDissertations
Includes theses and dissertations from hundreds of universities around the world.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new window
Enter your keywords in the search boxes, then scroll down to the "Document Type" box and select "All Dissertations". You also have the option to limit your search to "Doctoral dissertation" or "Nondoctoral dissertation". When you're done, click on the "Search" button.