ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: Sample Searches

Please note that the links below will only work if you are authenticated to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. If you are unable to access your account, please contact your local librarian.

Basic Search

 - You want to run a proximity search within the full text of a graduate work focusing on privacy and social networks.

• Type in the search box privacy NEAR/3 “social networks”

• Click Search

NOTE: NEAR/n is the proximity search operator, which looks for documents that contain two search terms, in any order, within a specified number of words apart. Replace 'n' with a number. In the example, 3 means within 3 words.

Advanced Search

 - You want to find graduate works on mortgages and interest rates.

• Type in the first search box mortgages AND "interest rates" and select Index terms (keywords) - DISKW from the field code drop-down menu 
• Click Search

NOTE: Index terms (keywords) - DISKW are natural language words or phrases added by the author or ProQuest editorial team so you can find relevant records more easily when you search.

 - You want to set up a monthly alert to receive links to graduate works about romance literature published in Italian when they are added to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.

• In the Search options area, click the Look up Subject name link located next to the Subject names field.  Find the term romance literature and click the Add to Search button
  
• In the Language limiter box, select Italian
• Click Search
• On the search results page, click Create Alert
• Enter the required information, review alert options and click the Create alert button

NOTE: Alternatively, on the search results page, click Create RSS feed if you prefer the alert be added to your RSS reader.

 - You want to find graduate works about global warming or climate change granted by Harvard University.

• From the field code drop-down menu, select School name/code
• Click the Look up Schools link, locate Harvard University and click the Add to Search button
• Type “global warming” OR “climate change” in the second row of search boxes and select All fields (no full text) - ALL from the field code drop-down menu

NOTE: Put quotation marks around phrases like “global warming” and “climate change” in order to search for these words as exact phrases. By selecting All fields (no full text) - ALL, you are narrowing your search to all record data, but not the full text.

• Click Search

NOTE: Alternatively, click the Browse link to look for graduate works by Subject or School Location.

 - You want to find graduate works with video files that give information on physiology.

• Type physiolog* in the search box and select All fields (no full text) - ALL from the field code drop-down menu

NOTE: The asterisk (*) is the truncation character and is used to find word variations such as physiology or physiological.

• Type video in the second search box and select Supplemental files types - SPTYPE from the field code drop-down menu
• Click Search

NOTE: Supplemental file content is only available in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text.