are dissertations peer reviewed

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FAQ: Can I use a dissertation as a scholarly source for my research?

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Last Updated: Oct 16, 2023 Views: 16543

When you use the Multi-Search, you may see dissertations and theses in your search results, even when you apply the “Peer Reviewed (Scholarly)” limiter to your search. This is because even though dissertations are not peer-reviewed (published in peer-reviewed journals), they are often considered scholarly because they were written for an academic audience. For more information on the difference between scholarly and peer-reviewed sources, see the FAQ: What’s the difference between a scholarly and peer reviewed journal?

Dissertations and theses have value as research material, and they are an important form of scholarly communication. Here are a few reasons why:

• They may reveal emerging trends and voices in a field of study.
• Because of their length, they frequently offer more substantial coverage of a topic than a traditional journal article can.
• They might be the only research or literature on an uncommon or niche topic.
• They often have up-to-date and thorough literature reviews.
• They almost always have extensive bibliographies of important sources in the field of study.
• In the sciences, they may have additional datasets, graphs, and field data that is sometimes excluded from future article publications by the author.

If your assignment requires you to use articles from peer-reviewed journals, then a dissertation is not a good fit as one of your sources. However, you can certainly comb through the References or Bibliography at the end of the dissertation to see if any of the sources they used might qualify for your research. You can then use the instructions in this FAQ to see if we have the full text for those articles in our library:  How do I find a specific article in the library?

If your assignment calls for scholarly sources, a dissertation may be a great contribution to your resources. Remember that all sources should be evaluated to determine not just if they are scholarly, but whether they are relevant and current enough to be used in your research. You should check with your professor if you have any questions or concerns about your ability to use dissertations as sources for your research assignment.

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Everything You Need To Know

• What is Peer Reviewed?
• Characteristics of Peer Review
• Finding Peer Review
• Making sure it's peer reviewed
• What is Popular?
• What are Trade Publications?

Very simply an article is peer reviewed if it has been read and scrutinized by scholars or other researchers in the field prior to publication. Think of it as quality control for research and publication.

The article and the journal where it is published also meet certain research and publishing standards for that particular discipline.

Other terms for  peer reviewed  are  refereed  or  juried .

Official Definitions:

The Oxford English Dictionary (2019) defines peer review as "To subject to, or evaluate by, peer review; to referee (a paper)" and peer reviewed as "That is, or has been, subject to peer review; (of a journal) that incorporates a system of peer review."

Bibliography

"peer review, v."  OED Online , Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/237423. Accessed 29 October 2019.

"peer-reviewed, adj."  OED Online , Oxford University Press, September 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/263622. Accessed 29 October 2019.

Here are some general characteristics that usually apply to peer reviewed journals and their articles:

• Introduction & literature review
• Theory or background
• Methods (how I did my research)
• Conclusion and/or discussion
• Tone or language of the article will reflect the subject discipline for which it is written. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader
• Most scholarly articles report on original research or experimentation
• May be accompanied by supporting charts and diagrams, but there may be few pictures
• Journal will have little or no advertisement

Is it peer reviewed? How do you know? We have a few ways to sort your results, or identify if your specific result is peer reviewed .

1. Sort your results: Most of our databases have a feature that allows you to limit or refine your search results to only those that are peer-reviewed. Look for that option on the search screen.  Pro tip: some database providers have a more lenient definition of peer reviewed , if you're not sure check with a librarian or your professor.

2. I'm not sure if this article or journal is peer reviewed :

You can look up the journal by title or ISSN number in Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. Once you locate the journal, Ulrich's will tell you, by having an image of a referee shirt or not,  if a journal is peer reviewed or not.   Below, you can see that of the six results, the first and fifth result are not peer reviewed and the second, third, fourth, and sixth are peer reviewed.

• If you want to see if a particular journal is peer reviewed, go to  Ulrich's Periodical Directory  (you can get there from the Database A to Z list as well).  
• Do a search by Journal Title (here we used "Journal of Anthropology") to see if a journal is peer reviewed.  There will be an image of a referee jersey next to the title if it is peer reviewed. 
• In the below example, the search for "Journal of Anthropology"  UNLV  is not a peer reviewed journal, but  The Australian Journal of Anthropology  is (both electronic and print).

Popular magazines are those that are published with the general reader in mind. The articles generally assume no prior knowledge on the part of the reader and are written by journalists or editors. The goal may be to inform, entertain or persuade the reader.

Popular Magazines may have lots of pictures and they will have advertisements.

Some examples:

• Consumer Reports
• Mademoiselle
• Runners World
• Sports Illustrated

Trade publications are often written by and for professionals within a field or industry. The publication may cover emerging trends, current news and new products. The articles may be "how to" in nature or give practical advise for practitioners in a field. They are usually not academic in nature and are not peer reviewed . The publication will often contain advertisements and photos.   They can look academic, so be sure to review sources carefully.

What is Peer Review? Visual

The Process of Peer Review

Scholarly (and Peer Reviewed) VS Popular

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Adapting a Dissertation or Thesis Into a Journal Article

Dissertations or theses are typically required of graduate students. Undergraduate students completing advanced research projects may also write senior theses or similar types of papers. Once completed, the dissertation or thesis is often submitted (with modifications) as a manuscript for publication in a scholarly journal. Thus, the dissertation or thesis often provides the foundation for a new researcher’s body of published work.

Writers will first want to determine whether the work in their dissertation or thesis merits publication. If it does, we then provide guidance on how to adapt a dissertation or thesis for submission to a journal.

Adapting a dissertation or thesis into a journal article is covered in the seventh edition APA Style Publication Manual in Section 12.1

Deciding to submit a dissertation or thesis for publication

When deciding whether to publish the work in your dissertation or thesis, first consider whether the findings tell a compelling story or answer important questions. Whereas dissertations and theses may present existing knowledge in conjunction with new work, published research should make a novel contribution to the literature. For example, some of your original research questions might be suitable for publication, and others may have been sufficiently addressed in the literature already. Likewise, some of your results may warrant additional experiments or analyses that could help answer the research questions more fully, and you may want to conduct these analyses before seeking publication.

You may also want to consider such factors as whether the current sample size provides sufficient power to adequately inform the analyses and whether additional analyses might clarify ambiguous findings. Consultation with colleagues can help evaluate the potential of the manuscript for publication as well as the selection of an appropriate journal to which to submit it. For information on selecting and prioritizing a journal (and tips for avoiding predatory or deceptive journals), see Sections 12.2 to 12.4 of the Publication Manual .

Adapting a dissertation or thesis for publication

Once a decision is made to convert your dissertation or thesis into a manuscript for submission to a journal, you will want to focus attention on adapting it for publication. By attending to brevity and focus, writing style, relevant literature review and data analyses, and appropriate interpretation of the results or findings, you can enhance the fit of your manuscript for journal publication. Editors and reviewers readily recognize an article that has been hastily converted; careful attention when reformatting the dissertation or thesis is likely to increase the manuscript’s potential for serious consideration and eventual publication.

There are several steps writers seeking to prepare their dissertation or thesis for publication can take beforehand:

• Look at articles in the field and in relevant journals to see what structure and focus are appropriate for their work and how they are formatted.
• Request and consider the input of advisors, colleagues, or other coauthors who contributed to the research on which the dissertation or thesis is based.
• Review an article submitted to a journal alongside their advisor (with permission from the journal editor) or serve as a reviewer for a student competition to gain firsthand insight into how authors are evaluated when undergoing peer review.

The original research reported in a dissertation and thesis can then be reformatted for journal submission following one of two general strategies: the multiple-paper strategy or the conversion strategy.

Multiple-paper strategy

The quickest strategy for converting (or “flipping”) a dissertation or thesis into one or more publishable articles is to use a multiple-paper format when initially writing the dissertation or thesis. This involves structuring the dissertation or thesis used to fulfill the requirements for a degree as a series of shorter papers that are already formatted for journal submission (or close to it). These papers are usually each the length of a journal article, conceptually similar, and come from the same overarching project—but can stand alone as independent research reports. Consult your university’s editorial office to confirm that this is an approved format for your dissertation or thesis and to obtain the specific guidelines.

Conversion strategy

A second strategy is to reformat and convert a dissertation or thesis into a journal article after completing your dissertation or thesis defense to fit the scope and style of a journal article. This often requires adjustments to the following elements:

• Length: Brevity is an important consideration for a manuscript to be considered for journal publication, particularly in the introduction and Discussion sections. Making a dissertation or thesis publication-ready often involves reducing a document of over 100 pages to one third of its original length. Shorten the overall paper by eliminating text within sections and/or eliminating entire sections. If the work examined several research questions, you may consider separating distinct research questions into individual papers; narrow the focus to a specific topic for each paper.
• Abstract: The abstract may need to be condensed to meet the length requirements of the journal. Journal abstract requirements are usually more limited than college or university requirements. For instance, most APA journals limit the abstract length to 250 words.
• Introduction section: One of the major challenges in reformatting a dissertation or thesis is paring down its comprehensive literature review to a more succinct one suitable for the introduction of a journal article. Limit the introductory text to material relating to the immediate context of your research questions and hypotheses. Eliminate extraneous content or sections that do not directly contribute to readers’ knowledge or understanding of the specific research question(s) or topic(s) under investigation. End with a clear description of the questions, aims, or hypotheses that informed your research.
• Method section: Provide enough information to allow readers to understand how the data were collected and evaluated. Refer readers to previous works that informed the current study’s methods or to supplemental materials instead of providing full details of every step taken or the rationale behind them.
• Results section: Be selective in choosing analyses for inclusion in the Results section and report only the most relevant ones. Although an unbiased approach is important to avoid omitting study data, reporting every analysis that may have been run for the dissertation or thesis often is not feasible, appropriate, or useful in the limited space of a journal article. Instead, ensure that the results directly contribute to answering your original research questions or hypotheses and exclude more ancillary analyses (or include them as supplemental materials). Be clear in identifying your primary, secondary, and any exploratory analyses.
• Discussion section: Adjust the discussion according to the analyses and results you report. Check that your interpretation and application of the findings are appropriate and do not extrapolate beyond the data. A strong Discussion section notes area of consensus with and divergence from previous work, taking into account sample size and composition, effect size, limitations of measurement, and other specific considerations of the study.
• References: Include only the most pertinent references (i.e., theoretically important or recent), especially in the introduction and literature review, rather than providing an exhaustive list. Ensure that the works you cite contribute to readers’ knowledge of the specific topic and to understanding and contextualizing your research. Citation of reviews and meta-analyses can guide interested readers to the broader literature while providing an economical way of referencing prior studies.
• Tables and figures: Make sure that tables or figures are essential and do not reproduce content provided in the text.

Is a Dissertation Peer Reviewed? [2024 Guide]

Most prospective doctoral students know they will have to complete a dissertation, but many of them wonder, “Is a dissertation peer reviewed?”

A dissertation is a lengthy paper that a PhD student writes after conducting extensive research. It allows you to explore an area of interest in great depth. Before graduating, a doctoral student defends their paper in front of a committee of faculty members.

Editorial Listing ShortCode:

Knowing whether a dissertation is a peer reviewed scholarly paper is a point of interest for any student planning to pursue a doctorate.

Is a Dissertation Peer Reviewed?

No, dissertations are not peer reviewed because they do not go through a peer review process.

Most PhD students write a final academic paper in the form of a dissertation before they graduate with their doctoral degree. In doing so, they work with a project supervisor and committee, but they aren’t required to submit their articles for peer review.

The peer review process is designed to prevent the publication of poorly written or poorly researched material. During peer review, a group of experts examine an article and evaluate it in terms of different criteria, such as:

• Originality
• Significance to the field
• Validity and accuracy

These same factors are important in a doctoral dissertation, but they are measured by a dissertation supervisor and other faculty members rather than a group of peers.

Dissertations are also different from peer reviewed academic sources because they aren’t always published in journals or as books. Unless the dissertation author decides to pursue publication, it may only appear in a library’s database or archive. So, are dissertations peer reviewed? The answer to this question is always “no,” but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t valuable and high-quality documents.

Although dissertations, capstone projects, and theses are not peer reviewed, they are often categorized as scholarly writing alongside peer reviewed articles. This is because they are written for academic audiences, rely on reputable sources, and often include original research.

What Is Peer Review?

Peer review is a process that helps ensure published academic, professional, or scientific writing is high quality.

Effective peer reviews rely on feedback from trustworthy and experienced figures within the same field or closely related fields. For example, when someone submits an article to a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, a group of individuals with expertise in the subject reads the article and determines whether the content is appropriate for publication.

If peer reviewers feel that the writer is making unfounded assertions, misinterpreting evidence, or presenting disproven views, the article generally isn’t published.

Is a Dissertation a Scholarly Source?

In some cases, a dissertation would qualify as a scholarly source. When completing a dissertation project, a PhD student works under the supervision of advisors and a committee. The writer also conducts in-depth research and explains their results in academic language.

No matter how well-written a dissertation may be, though, it’s still student work and isn’t peer-reviewed. For this reason, some instructors and academics do not consider dissertations to be scholarly sources and discourage students from citing them in their own papers.

Are Dissertations Published?

A dissertation isn’t automatically published when a student completes their PhD. Instead, the dissertation committee, supervisor, and university library receive copies of the finished product.

If you feel that your dissertation makes significant contributions to your field, you can independently pursue publication following your defense. Depending on the length and subject matter, you may be able to publish your dissertation in its entirety as a book. Some graduates of PhD programs also publish dissertation chapters as articles in academic journals.

PhD Dissertations

Although there are online doctoral programs in education without dissertation , for most PhD students, a dissertation is an essential requirement for graduation. It requires months or years of research, planning, writing, and revising.

One process that doctoral students don’t have to worry about is peer review. Although dissertations are academic papers that meet very high standards, they are not reviewed by a panel of independent experts. They also aren’t always published in journals.

Despite these differences, dissertations are carefully researched and thoughtfully written. They allow you to graduate from a doctoral program and give you the opportunity to become an expert in the subject you find most engaging.

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Evaluating Resources: Peer Review

What is peer review.

The term peer review can be confusing, since in some of your courses you may be asked to review the work of your peers. When we talk about peer-reviewed journal articles, this has nothing to do with your peers!

Peer-reviewed journals, also called refereed journals, are journals that use a specific scholarly review process to try to ensure the accuracy and reliability of published articles. When an article is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication, the journal sends the article to other scholars/experts in that field and has them review the article for accuracy and reliability.

Find out more about peer review with our Peer Review Guide:

• Peer Review Guide

Types of peer review

Single blind.

In this process, the names of the reviewers are not known to the author(s). The reviewers do know the name of the author(s).

Double blind

Here, neither reviewers or authors know each other's names.

In the open review process, both reviewers and authors know each other's names.

What about editorial review?

Journals also use an editorial review process. This is not the same as peer review. In an editorial review process an article is evaluated for style guidelines and for clarity. Reviewers here do not look at technical accuracy or errors in data or methodology, but instead look at grammar, style, and whether an article is well written.

What is the difference between scholarly and peer review?

Not all scholarly journals are peer reviewed, but all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly.

• Things that are written for a scholarly or academic audience are considered scholarly writing.
• Peer-reviewed journals are a part of the larger category of scholarly writing.
• Scholarly writing includes many resources that are not peer reviewed, such as books, textbooks, and dissertations.

Scholarly writing does not come with a label that says scholarly . You will need to evaluate the resource to see if it is

• aimed at a scholarly audience
• reporting research, theories or other types of information important to scholars
• documenting and citing sources used to help authenticate the research done

The standard peer review process only applies to journals. While scholarly writing has certainly been edited and reviewed, peer review is a specific process only used by peer-reviewed journals. Books and dissertations may be scholarly, but are not considered peer reviewed.

Check out Select the Right Source for help with what kinds of resources are appropriate for discussion posts, assignments, projects, and more:

• Select the Right Source

How do I locate or verify peer-reviewed articles?

The peer review process is initiated by the journal publisher before an article is even published. Nowhere in the article will it tell you whether or not the article has gone through a peer review process.

You can locate peer-reviewed articles in the Library databases, typically by checking a limiter box.

• Quick Answer: How do I find scholarly, peer reviewed journal articles?

You can verify whether a journal uses a peer review process by using Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

• Quick Answer: How do I verify that my article is peer reviewed?

What about resources that are not peer-reviewed?

Limiting your search to peer review is a way that you can ensure that you're looking at scholarly journal articles, and not popular or trade publications. Because peer-reviewed articles have been vetted by experts in the field, they are viewed as being held to a higher standard, and therefore are considered to be a high quality source. Professors often prefer peer-reviewed articles because they are considered to be of higher quality.

There are times, though, when the information you need may not be available in a peer-reviewed article.

• You may need to find original work on a theory that was first published in a book.
• You may need to find very current statistical data that comes from a government website.
• You may need background information that comes from a scholarly encyclopedia.

You will want to evaluate these resources to make sure that they are the best source for the information you need.

Note: If you are required for an assignment to find information from a peer-reviewed journal, then you will not be able to use non-peer-reviewed sources such as books, dissertations, or government websites. It's always best to clarify any questions over assignments with your professor.

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• What Is Peer Review? | Types & Examples

What Is Peer Review? | Types & Examples

Published on December 17, 2021 by Tegan George . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Peer review, sometimes referred to as refereeing , is the process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Using strict criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decides whether to accept each submission for publication.

Peer-reviewed articles are considered a highly credible source due to the stringent process they go through before publication.

There are various types of peer review. The main difference between them is to what extent the authors, reviewers, and editors know each other’s identities. The most common types are:

• Single-blind review
• Double-blind review
• Triple-blind review

Collaborative review

Open review.

Relatedly, peer assessment is a process where your peers provide you with feedback on something you’ve written, based on a set of criteria or benchmarks from an instructor. They then give constructive feedback, compliments, or guidance to help you improve your draft.

Table of contents

What is the purpose of peer review, types of peer review, the peer review process, providing feedback to your peers, peer review example, advantages of peer review, criticisms of peer review, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about peer reviews.

Many academic fields use peer review, largely to determine whether a manuscript is suitable for publication. Peer review enhances the credibility of the manuscript. For this reason, academic journals are among the most credible sources you can refer to.

However, peer review is also common in non-academic settings. The United Nations, the European Union, and many individual nations use peer review to evaluate grant applications. It is also widely used in medical and health-related fields as a teaching or quality-of-care measure.

Peer assessment is often used in the classroom as a pedagogical tool. Both receiving feedback and providing it are thought to enhance the learning process, helping students think critically and collaboratively.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Depending on the journal, there are several types of peer review.

Single-blind peer review

The most common type of peer review is single-blind (or single anonymized) review . Here, the names of the reviewers are not known by the author.

While this gives the reviewers the ability to give feedback without the possibility of interference from the author, there has been substantial criticism of this method in the last few years. Many argue that single-blind reviewing can lead to poaching or intellectual theft or that anonymized comments cause reviewers to be too harsh.

Double-blind peer review

In double-blind (or double anonymized) review , both the author and the reviewers are anonymous.

Arguments for double-blind review highlight that this mitigates any risk of prejudice on the side of the reviewer, while protecting the nature of the process. In theory, it also leads to manuscripts being published on merit rather than on the reputation of the author.

Triple-blind peer review

While triple-blind (or triple anonymized) review —where the identities of the author, reviewers, and editors are all anonymized—does exist, it is difficult to carry out in practice.

Proponents of adopting triple-blind review for journal submissions argue that it minimizes potential conflicts of interest and biases. However, ensuring anonymity is logistically challenging, and current editing software is not always able to fully anonymize everyone involved in the process.

In collaborative review , authors and reviewers interact with each other directly throughout the process. However, the identity of the reviewer is not known to the author. This gives all parties the opportunity to resolve any inconsistencies or contradictions in real time, and provides them a rich forum for discussion. It can mitigate the need for multiple rounds of editing and minimize back-and-forth.

Collaborative review can be time- and resource-intensive for the journal, however. For these collaborations to occur, there has to be a set system in place, often a technological platform, with staff monitoring and fixing any bugs or glitches.

Lastly, in open review , all parties know each other’s identities throughout the process. Often, open review can also include feedback from a larger audience, such as an online forum, or reviewer feedback included as part of the final published product.

While many argue that greater transparency prevents plagiarism or unnecessary harshness, there is also concern about the quality of future scholarship if reviewers feel they have to censor their comments.

In general, the peer review process includes the following steps:

• First, the author submits the manuscript to the editor.
• Reject the manuscript and send it back to the author, or
• Send it onward to the selected peer reviewer(s)
• Next, the peer review process occurs. The reviewer provides feedback, addressing any major or minor issues with the manuscript, and gives their advice regarding what edits should be made.
• Lastly, the edited manuscript is sent back to the author. They input the edits and resubmit it to the editor for publication.

In an effort to be transparent, many journals are now disclosing who reviewed each article in the published product. There are also increasing opportunities for collaboration and feedback, with some journals allowing open communication between reviewers and authors.

It can seem daunting at first to conduct a peer review or peer assessment. If you’re not sure where to start, there are several best practices you can use.

Summarize the argument in your own words

Summarizing the main argument helps the author see how their argument is interpreted by readers, and gives you a jumping-off point for providing feedback. If you’re having trouble doing this, it’s a sign that the argument needs to be clearer, more concise, or worded differently.

If the author sees that you’ve interpreted their argument differently than they intended, they have an opportunity to address any misunderstandings when they get the manuscript back.

Separate your feedback into major and minor issues

It can be challenging to keep feedback organized. One strategy is to start out with any major issues and then flow into the more minor points. It’s often helpful to keep your feedback in a numbered list, so the author has concrete points to refer back to.

Major issues typically consist of any problems with the style, flow, or key points of the manuscript. Minor issues include spelling errors, citation errors, or other smaller, easy-to-apply feedback.

Tip: Try not to focus too much on the minor issues. If the manuscript has a lot of typos, consider making a note that the author should address spelling and grammar issues, rather than going through and fixing each one.

The best feedback you can provide is anything that helps them strengthen their argument or resolve major stylistic issues.

Give the type of feedback that you would like to receive

No one likes being criticized, and it can be difficult to give honest feedback without sounding overly harsh or critical. One strategy you can use here is the “compliment sandwich,” where you “sandwich” your constructive criticism between two compliments.

Be sure you are giving concrete, actionable feedback that will help the author submit a successful final draft. While you shouldn’t tell them exactly what they should do, your feedback should help them resolve any issues they may have overlooked.

As a rule of thumb, your feedback should be:

• Easy to understand
• Constructive

Below is a brief annotated research example. You can view examples of peer feedback by hovering over the highlighted sections.

Influence of phone use on sleep

Studies show that teens from the US are getting less sleep than they were a decade ago (Johnson, 2019) . On average, teens only slept for 6 hours a night in 2021, compared to 8 hours a night in 2011. Johnson mentions several potential causes, such as increased anxiety, changed diets, and increased phone use.

The current study focuses on the effect phone use before bedtime has on the number of hours of sleep teens are getting.

For this study, a sample of 300 teens was recruited using social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. The first week, all teens were allowed to use their phone the way they normally would, in order to obtain a baseline.

The sample was then divided into 3 groups:

• Group 1 was not allowed to use their phone before bedtime.
• Group 2 used their phone for 1 hour before bedtime.
• Group 3 used their phone for 3 hours before bedtime.

All participants were asked to go to sleep around 10 p.m. to control for variation in bedtime . In the morning, their Fitbit showed the number of hours they’d slept. They kept track of these numbers themselves for 1 week.

Two independent t tests were used in order to compare Group 1 and Group 2, and Group 1 and Group 3. The first t test showed no significant difference ( p > .05) between the number of hours for Group 1 ( M = 7.8, SD = 0.6) and Group 2 ( M = 7.0, SD = 0.8). The second t test showed a significant difference ( p < .01) between the average difference for Group 1 ( M = 7.8, SD = 0.6) and Group 3 ( M = 6.1, SD = 1.5).

This shows that teens sleep fewer hours a night if they use their phone for over an hour before bedtime, compared to teens who use their phone for 0 to 1 hours.

Peer review is an established and hallowed process in academia, dating back hundreds of years. It provides various fields of study with metrics, expectations, and guidance to ensure published work is consistent with predetermined standards.

• Protects the quality of published research

Peer review can stop obviously problematic, falsified, or otherwise untrustworthy research from being published. Any content that raises red flags for reviewers can be closely examined in the review stage, preventing plagiarized or duplicated research from being published.

• Gives you access to feedback from experts in your field

Peer review represents an excellent opportunity to get feedback from renowned experts in your field and to improve your writing through their feedback and guidance. Experts with knowledge about your subject matter can give you feedback on both style and content, and they may also suggest avenues for further research that you hadn’t yet considered.

• Helps you identify any weaknesses in your argument

Peer review acts as a first defense, helping you ensure your argument is clear and that there are no gaps, vague terms, or unanswered questions for readers who weren’t involved in the research process. This way, you’ll end up with a more robust, more cohesive article.

While peer review is a widely accepted metric for credibility, it’s not without its drawbacks.

• Reviewer bias

The more transparent double-blind system is not yet very common, which can lead to bias in reviewing. A common criticism is that an excellent paper by a new researcher may be declined, while an objectively lower-quality submission by an established researcher would be accepted.

• Delays in publication

The thoroughness of the peer review process can lead to significant delays in publishing time. Research that was current at the time of submission may not be as current by the time it’s published. There is also high risk of publication bias , where journals are more likely to publish studies with positive findings than studies with negative findings.

• Risk of human error

By its very nature, peer review carries a risk of human error. In particular, falsification often cannot be detected, given that reviewers would have to replicate entire experiments to ensure the validity of results.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Measures of central tendency
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Thematic analysis
• Discourse analysis
• Cohort study
• Ethnography

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Conformity bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Availability heuristic
• Attrition bias
• Social desirability bias

Peer review is a process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Utilizing rigorous criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether to accept each submission for publication. For this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use in a research project– provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well-regarded.

In general, the peer review process follows the following steps: 

• Reject the manuscript and send it back to author, or 
• Send it onward to the selected peer reviewer(s) 
• Next, the peer review process occurs. The reviewer provides feedback, addressing any major or minor issues with the manuscript, and gives their advice regarding what edits should be made. 
• Lastly, the edited manuscript is sent back to the author. They input the edits, and resubmit it to the editor for publication.

Peer review can stop obviously problematic, falsified, or otherwise untrustworthy research from being published. It also represents an excellent opportunity to get feedback from renowned experts in your field. It acts as a first defense, helping you ensure your argument is clear and that there are no gaps, vague terms, or unanswered questions for readers who weren’t involved in the research process.

Peer-reviewed articles are considered a highly credible source due to this stringent process they go through before publication.

Many academic fields use peer review , largely to determine whether a manuscript is suitable for publication. Peer review enhances the credibility of the published manuscript.

However, peer review is also common in non-academic settings. The United Nations, the European Union, and many individual nations use peer review to evaluate grant applications. It is also widely used in medical and health-related fields as a teaching or quality-of-care measure. 

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Content: Global student dissertations and literature reviews.

Purpose: Use for foundational research, to locate test instruments and data, and more. 

Special Features: Search by advisor (chair), degree, degree level, or department. Includes a read-aloud feature

The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database (PQDT) is the world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. It is the database of record for graduate research, with over 2.3 million dissertations and theses included from around the world.

Content: National University & NCU student dissertations and literature reviews.

Special Features: Search by advisor (chair), degree, degree level, or department. Includes a read-aloud feature.

When writing a dissertation, the goal of creating original, scholarly research is to add to the body of knowledge. Your first step, therefore, should be to make sure that your proposed study is unique.

You can accomplish this by searching for dissertations similar to your proposed topic in the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database.

PQDT is the largest single repository of graduate dissertations and theses, with over 3.8 million works from universities worldwide. Use advanced search techniques covered in Searching 101 like subject searching, truncation, and Boolean operators to make your search more precise. You may also read about these search techniques by referring to the Preparing to Search section of our Research Process Guide.

For example, if you are studying the perceptions of elementary school teachers on the inclusive classroom, you could setup the search as shown below:

Researching similar dissertations is not only a way to ensure that you will be contributing original research to the field, but also a great way to see examples of how other students conducted a literature review and used a particular research methodology. Additionally, you can potentially identify a particular test instrument or theoretical framework appropriate for your study, as well as discover scholarly research articles that you may not have come across in your own research.

For additional guidance on using ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, see the following:

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Quick Tutorial Video This short video will demonstrate how to use the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses database to find full-text dissertations, narrow search results, and locate dissertations by particular Dissertation Chair.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses LibGuide A guide to all aspects of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global including content, searching, and viewing results on the ProQuest platform.

Open Access Dissertation Repositories

• American Doctoral Dissertations Digitized index of nearly 100,000 dissertations from 1933 to 1955.
• Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertacoes Available only in Portuguese.
• Bielefeld Academic Search Engine Search engine especially for academic web resources.
• Digital Commons Network Brings together free, full-text scholarly articles from hundreds of universities and colleges worldwide.
• Dissonline Since July 1998 the German National Library has collected online dissertations and post-doctoral theses. Available only in German.
• EBSCO Open Dissertations A free database with records for more than 1.2 million electronic theses and dissertations from around the world.
• Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) Access to the full text of electronically over 350,000 doctoral theses from the United Kingdom.
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) Find dissertations/theses using the Publication Type filter during a search.
• Latin America Cybertesis Portal for accessing full text electronic dissertations and theses from several Latin American countries. Available only in Spanish
• Memoire Online Full text dissertations completed at African and French universities. Available only in French
• National ETD Portal Includes South African dissertations and theses.
• Naval Postgraduate School Thesis and Dissertation Collection Includes publicly accessible NPS Theses, Dissertations, MBA Professional Reports, Joint Applied Projects and other NPS degree-earning written works. Note: This collection is also available in the Homeland Security Digital Library database.
• Nzresearch.org.nz Gathers information about documents stored in research repositories from around New Zealand, and assembles them in one database. Includes doctoral and masters theses.
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations Index of over 1.6 million electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). To the extent possible, the index is limited to records of graduate-level theses that are freely available online.
• ProQuest Dissertation & Theses Open With PQDT Open, you can read the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge.
• Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) Thousands of journal articles, conference papers, and thesis and dissertations distributed by several Portuguese repositories. Available only in Portuguese
• Theses.fr Available only in French.
• Theses Canada Acquires and preserves a comprehensive collection of electronic and microfiche Canadian theses.
• Trove Explore collections from Australian libraries, universities, museums, galleries, and archives. Includes search filters for locating theses.

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Interdisciplinary Work

If your field is interdisciplinary--e.g. gender studies or ecocriticism--don't forget to explore other disciplinary databases. You can view all our databases sorted by subject here:  https://lib.wvu.edu/databases/

MLA International Bibliography

Search mla international bibliography.

• MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window Literature, language, linguistics, folklore references from the Modern Language Association. Includes references to journal articles, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Although full text is not included in the MLA Bibliography, the Find it @ WVU service provides links to full text from other databases when available.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)

Arts and humanities citation index has access to 8,700 of the most prestigious, high impact literature journals in the world.

• This database does not contain the full-text of articles. To see if we have access to the full-text use the FIND IT @ WVU button.
• Use the TIMES CITED sort option to see which articles have been referenced the most amount of times.
• Arts & Humanities Citation Index This link opens in a new window Articles from high impact research journals in each field of the humanities, with option for cited reference searching to trace scholarship. (Part of Web of Science)

Project MUSE

ProjectMuse has full-text scholarly articles from many journals in the humanities.

• Choose the Advanced Search link
• Click on Journals/ Articles from the side menu
• Narrow results by date
• Project Muse This link opens in a new window Project MUSE provides searchable, full text access to hundreds of academic journals and books. It covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and many others.

​JSTOR has full-text scholarly articles from journals in many disciplines.

• For best results, use the Advanced Search
• To retrieve only articles, not reviews, make sure you click on the box next to Articles.

JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, primary sources, and high-quality images. It has an archive of more than 1,000 scholarly, interdisciplinary journals, with full coverage for all but the most current 3-5 years. Images are contributed by universities, museums, and community and private collections. JSTOR is full-text searchable, offers search term highlighting, and is interlinked by millions of citations and references.

Academic Search Complete

Search academic search complete.

• Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Offers a good starting point for research on nearly any topic, covering most areas of academic study and containing full text for 5,500 periodicals, including 4,600 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals.

Literature Resource Center

* Choose the  Advanced Search  link

* Enter search terms and click  Peer-Reviewed Journals  under More Options

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ENGRG 1050: Engineering Seminar (Fall 2023): Popular vs. Peer-Reviewed

• Getting Started
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Popular & Trade vs. Peer-Reviewed Journals

(Note: The discussion below pertains to  journals  only. There are other categories of research literature including technical reports , case studies , conference proceedings  and others. These are generally  not  peer-reviewed but can still be more-scholarly sources than can popular or trade sources.) 

What is the difference between these 2 publications?

They both come out once every month. They're both in English. Both published in the United States. Both of them are "factual".They both have pictures. They even cover some of the same topics.

The difference is that one-- Oceanography --is peer-reviewed, whereas National Geographic is a popular-press title. 

Peer review is scientists' and other scholars' best effort to publish truthful, reliable information. Each article has been submitted for publication, but then reviewed by other scholars in the same field to ensure that it is sound science. Among other things, peer-review checks to make sure that:

• a scientist's methodology is fully described (how he or she got their results) and that there aren't obvious errors of statistical calculation. More specifically, can the research be replicated by another researcher using the same methodology, equipment, etc.?
• that the data supports the conclusions (in other words, that the findings, even if accurate, really mean what the researcher says they mean)

It isn't a perfect system: Scientists make errors (or commit fraud) as often as any other human being and sometimes bad articles slip through. But in general, peer-review ensures that many trained eyes have seen an article before it appears in print.

Peer-reviewed journals are generally considered "primary source" material: When a new scientific discovery is made, a peer-reviewed journal is often--but not always--the first place it appears.

Popular and trade publications are not peer-reviewed, they are simply edited. That does not mean they are any less potentially truthful or informative--most popular and trade publications take pride in careful fact-checking. But when the topic is scientific research, the information is generally "secondary" : It has already appeared elsewhere (usually in a peer-reviewed journal) and has now been "digested" for a broader audience.

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How to search for Harvard dissertations

• DASH , Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard, is the university's central, open-access repository for the scholarly output of faculty and the broader research community at Harvard.  Most Ph.D. dissertations submitted from  March 2012 forward  are available online in DASH.
• Check HOLLIS, the Library Catalog, and refine your results by using the   Advanced Search   and limiting Resource  Type   to Dissertations
• Search the database  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Don't hesitate to  Ask a Librarian  for assistance.

How to search for Non-Harvard dissertations

Library Database:

• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global

Free Resources:

• Many  universities  provide full-text access to their dissertations via a digital repository.  If you know the title of a particular dissertation or thesis, try doing a Google search.  

Related Sites

• Formatting Your Dissertation - GSAS
• Ph.D. Dissertation Submission  - FAS
• Empowering Students Before you Sign that Contract!  - Copyright at Harvard Library

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Verify Peer Review

Check whether a journal is peer reviewed with  Ulrich's Periodicals Directory .

Search for the  title of the journal (not article)  in the search box:

If the journal has a referee shirt, then it is peer-reviewed.  Double-check each journal title - your instructor will be checking also!

All three journal titles are the exact same publication.  Note that the only difference is that they are in different formats (print, online, and microform).

Check The Journal's Website

Journal websites will typically discuss editorial processes, including peer review.

This information is often listed in the following areas:

• editorial policies
• instructions for authors
• submission guidelines

A simple Google search for the journal will usually locate the journal's website.

Examples of Editorial Policies:

• APA's review policy for authors
• Management Science Journal's Submission Guidelines
• Journal of the American Medical Association Instruction for Authors

Are Dissertataions Peer-Reviewed?

No. While dissertations are closely supervised by a dissertation committee made up of scholars, they are still considered student work.

Dissertations are often included in scholarly writing, although they are used sparingly. If you are unsure if you can use a dissertation in your annotated bibliography, talk with your instructor.

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Whether you're thinking about pursuing an advanced degree in education or are already in such a program, one thing you will need to be prepared for...

Writing a winning thesis or dissertation: guidance for an education graduate student.

Posted on July 31, 2024 on Graduate School , Seahawk Nation

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Whether you’re thinking about pursuing an advanced degree in education or are already in such a program, one thing you will need to be prepared for is writing a thesis or dissertation. In most graduate-level education programs, a thesis or dissertation is the culmination of years of challenging work, serving as your own independent research that marks the final step before earning your graduate degree.

If writing a dissertation or thesis sounds like a daunting task, it does not have to be. With a little preparation and some best practices in mind, you can approach writing a thesis or dissertation with confidence.

Understanding the Thesis and Dissertation Process

Before writing a thesis or dissertation, it’s important to understand their general scope and purpose, along with some key differences between a thesis and a dissertation. After all, while there are some similarities between the two, a dissertation and a thesis are not the same thing.

Defining the Scope and Purpose

The primary purpose of a thesis or dissertation in an education graduate program is for students to demonstrate what they have learned in their respective programs while applying their own research, theory, analysis and synthesis. Ultimately, the author of a thesis or dissertation should successfully contribute something new to the existing topic. In dissertations specifically, students may also be required to articulate, discuss and defend their research orally in front of professors or other faculty members. This oral defense is not required for a master’s thesis.

Differences Between Thesis and Dissertation

When it comes to writing a thesis or a dissertation, the terms “dissertation” and “thesis” are sometimes used interchangeably. That said, it is crucial to understand that these are two different things. Generally, a dissertation is primarily focused on filling a gap in existing literature or extending upon current research regarding a specific topic. The goal is to analyze literature to the point of saturation and determine where there is a need for further research. In a dissertation, a doctoral student will then explain where the problem exists given current research and develop a research study to explore or evaluate the problem, thus filling the gap and contributing meaningfully to the field.

On the other hand, a thesis is more of a presentation of information that’s already out there with no obligation to conduct additional research.

Choosing the Right Topic

One of the most important aspects of drafting a great thesis or dissertation begins with choosing the right topic. Here, it is paramount to select a topic that not only interests you but is relevant to your future professional goals and aspirations. After all, there’s a good chance you may use your thesis or dissertation as a basis for future work or further research.

Considering Current Research Trends

In selecting a topic, you will also want to consider current research trends in your field. What is trending in the realm of education and what could you contribute to existing research? There are research gaps or questions that remain unanswered about certain educational topics that could be addressed through your research.

Research and Proposal Development

In most graduate programs, you will need to write and present a research proposal before you can really get started on your thesis or dissertation. Most research proposals are reviewed and approved by a professor or other faculty.

Conducting a Literature Review

A literature review is to discover the research available on your research topic. This review should detail each source you plan to use in your own research with plenty of detail. More specifically, a literature review is a comprehensive summary of the current literature on a given topic that demonstrates the need for additional research to be conducted. Literature reviews comprise a major portion of a proposal, including a summary of each source as it relates to the need for additional research.

Finding Reliable Sources

Quality is vital when it comes to selecting literature for your research or literature review. Ideally, your literature review should include plenty of recent and reputable sources that come from academic journals, books, articles and even other dissertations.

Developing a Research Proposal

Once you have a better understanding for what is already out there, you can craft a research proposal that discusses your specific research topic, the current problem, the purpose behind your research, the methodology you plan to use and the relevant literature that further defends a need for your topic to be investigated.

Methodology Selection

An important part of your research proposal will be your methodology selection, which will explain exactly how you plan to go about your research. For example, will your research be qualitative, quantitative or a mix of both and why? How will the methodology you choose answer your research questions?

Writing and Structuring Your Thesis or Dissertation

After your research proposal is approved, you will have the green light to begin working on your thesis or dissertation. You will receive feedback or thesis guidance from the faculty member who reviewed your proposal. It is important to reflect on the feedback and make revisions as needed.

Creating an Outline

One of the most helpful things you can do as you get started with your dissertation or thesis is to create an outline. This allows you to develop the most critical aspects of your final project that include your thesis, your main points and other key details to ensure that they flow logically.

For reference, an outline for a dissertation will typically include the following:

• Introduction of existing research
• Review of literature
• Conceptual framework
• Methodology
• Results or findings
• Interpretations, conclusions or recommendations for future research

Structuring Arguments

In creating an outline, include designated sections for each of your main points with specific research, statistics, or other data to support it. This will ensure that your arguments are made clearly and that your thought process is clear.

Writing Tips and Strategies

Even if writing is not necessarily your strong suit, you will need to be able to put together a cohesive document for your thesis or dissertation. There are some basic strategies worth keeping in mind to help you get started.

First, it can be helpful to write your introduction and conclusion paragraphs last once you have completed all your research. While it might seem counterintuitive to do it this way, it can help set the tone for the rest of your writing. Likewise, this strategy ensures that you include your main points while preparing your readers for the information to come.

Additionally, meet with your advisor or faculty sponsor regularly to gain valuable feedback and keep your project on track.

Data Collection and Analysis

Whether you are writing a thesis or dissertation, you will need to do a fair amount of your own qualitative or quantitative research. It’s important to understand the various data collection methods available to you, plus the best practices for analyzing and interpreting data.

Choosing Data Collection Methods

There are two main types of data collection:

• Quantitative data  - Refers to hard data that is numerical in nature, such as statistics and percentages.
• Qualitative data  - Refers to information that is non-numerical, such as interviews and focus groups.
• Mixed methods – Refer to a combination of both quantitative and qualitative data.

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Once you have all the data you need to write your thesis or dissertation, the challenging part is often analyzing and interpreting the data to apply to your own research. The most important thing to keep in mind when looking at hard data is how it relates back to your research and specific research questions.

When working with quantitative data, it can also be helpful to look for specific trends and correlations that you can share in your research.

Reviewing and Editing Your Work

Once you have completed the first draft of your thesis or dissertation, the process of reviewing, revising and editing your work before submission is important to ensure that the document is free of errors and that it effectively communicates your main points to the reader.

Peer Review and Feedback

One of the best ways to improve upon the first draft of your dissertation or thesis is through peer review and feedback. By having others read your draft and provide feedback, you can gain some valuable insights into how your arguments are being interpreted. Even if the person you ask to read your draft is not familiar with the subject matter, they can still provide useful feedback on the organization of the information, structure and grammar/spelling.

Proofreading and Final Edits

It may take several rounds of revisions before your dissertation or thesis is approved. Even when you feel like the entire thing is ready to submit, it is important to complete another round of proofreading and editing to be sure that the entire document is polished and in the best shape possible. This includes not just running a basic spell check but taking the time to read your paper word for word.

Formatting Guidelines

In most education programs, you will be instructed to use the  American Psychological Association (APA) style when writing and formatting your thesis or dissertation. It is important to follow all formatting guidelines here, especially as they relate to citations or references.

Preparing for the Defense

In many doctorate programs and some graduate programs, students will also be expected to defend their dissertations in front of other scholars, usually professors or other faculty from the department. This process can be daunting, even for those who know their research well and have crafted thoughtful dissertations.

Crafting Your Presentation

In preparing for a dissertation defense, it is imperative to craft a presentation that covers the basics of your dissertation topic, how you researched it and what your findings were. Following your presentation, you can expect to be asked questions by those in attendance about your topic and other aspects of your research.

Practicing Your Defense

The best way to prepare for a dissertation defense is to practice as much as possible. This way, you will be prepared for the kinds of questions that may be asked, and you will feel a little more confident when completing your defense.

Mock Sessions

Mock defense sessions can be especially helpful for practicing your presentation and answering questions from a real crowd. Do not hesitate to ask your fellow students or even some trusted professors to practice with you to provide feedback or ask questions.

Handling Questions

One of the most difficult aspects of defending a dissertation is often answering questions from the audience. One important tip to keep in mind here is to prepare some answers in advance to some of the questions you think might be asked during your dissertation defense. This way, you will be completely prepared to knock these out of the park.

Ready to Pursue an Advanced Degree?

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into writing a dissertation or thesis as part of your graduate education program. With this dissertation guidance in mind, you will be prepared to craft and even defend your thesis or dissertation with success.

Still looking for the right graduate education program to suit your interests and professional goals? Keiser University is proud to offer a number of advanced degrees in education, including our  Master of Science in Education, Teaching and Learning  program. If you’re interested in earning your doctorate degree, we also offer a  Doctor of Education  and a  Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership .

Learn more about any of the graduate programs offered at Keiser University by  contacting a graduate admissions counselor today, or get started with your online application  for enrollment.

Jessica Kircher

Finding theses and dissertations

Search online in library databases.

You can search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Database to find theses and dissertations from institutions around the world. This database offers full text for most dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full-text coverage for older graduate works. You can do a basic keyword search or search for a specific title, author, or institution.

Search for works for University of Nevada, Reno authors

There is no single search method that will find every thesis and dissertation by a University of Nevada, Reno author. These are your best options:

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If you use the filters to limit by Library Location and select libraries at University of Nevada, Reno (Knowledge Center, Special Collections & Archives, DeLaMare Library), you can limit to physical copies of dissertations or theses only . You can also use the “Held by library” filter under “Availability” to find physical copies.

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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: More Publishing Options

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Publishing Your Dissertation  

This guide from the APA gives an overview of the steps needed to publish a dissertation.

From Dissertation to Journal Article  

T his resource is an article aimed at outlining the process of publishing a dissertation.

From Dissertation to Book

This discussion focuses on advice for graduate students considering publishing a book and offers some do's and don'ts.

How to Turn Your Dissertation, Thesis or Paper into a Publication

This website links to four parts that fully discuss the options available for publishing a dissertation and suggests factors to be considered. ​

There are many options for publishing your dissertation results.  Following is an overview of the options.  A graduate student who has completed his or her dissertation should begin by carefully considering these options.

It is important to understand that the dissertation itself is considerably different than an academic publication and that it will require significant revision and re-writing to produce a publishable product.  A dissertation is a complete and detailed account of the entire research project, including both content and process.  The graduate student includes a great deal of content to establish their knowledge base and build credibility.  The student will also include all aspects of the process including successes, failures, changes to plans, explanations for paths not taken, and so forth.  This information serves to provide evidence of the thought processes and research abilities of the student and justification of the methods. 

In essence, the graduate student is proving his or herself to the committee. Much of this detail is not desired or necessary in an academic publication.  An academic publication will be much narrower in scope and focus and often results from just a portion of the dissertation.  This is why one dissertation could potentially lead to more than one publication.  In an academic publication, the author needs to briefly demonstrate their knowledge and discuss current literature, describe the methods and ensure that they are reasonable, and discuss the findings in a way that proves their contribution to the field. Manuscripts submitted for academic publication are also reviewed by an editor and/or through a peer review process.  The review process provides the author with feedback that helps revise and refine the manuscript, ensuring that it will be a quality publication. Therefore, to share the dissertation with the wider academic community, the researcher will have to be willing to undergo the steps necessary to create a manuscript that can be considered ready for academic publication.

There are a variety of options for publishing the work from a dissertation and each has its pros and cons. Following is a list of common options and a discussion of each.

• ProQuest  - This a commercial, online repository for full text theses and dissertations. Authors are charged a fee and can choose between restricted or open access.  The authors may receive modest royalties if choosing the traditional, restricted publishing. The cons include that some publishers will consider an open access dissertation a prior publication, which will prevent the author from future publications from the dissertation.  Authors also cannot license re-use rights.  Authors should keep in mind that this is a way to make the full dissertation available, but is  not considered an academic publication  and will not be as available to the academic community, nor will it have the same level of credibility.
• Self-Publishing  - This term refers to any method of publishing your dissertation where the publication is not reviewed, edited or selected through a peer review process or by an editor. For example, self-publishing online printing companies, such as Lulu.com, allow students to upload their dissertation and have it turned into bound hard copies or uploaded to the Lulu Marketplace. This allows it to be opened up to the public and the student may receive a portion of any profits from its sale.  Students may also have their dissertations published in Conference Proceedings if they present a paper at that conference.  These are just a few examples of ways to publish a dissertation, but graduate students should keep in mind that these are  not considered academic publications . As with ProQuest, there is also the risk that professional journals may consider your dissertation to have been previously published if you try to submit a manuscript to them at a later date.
• Books  -  If a graduate student decides to pursue academic publication, books and scholarly journals are their primary options . Often times, the more appropriate channel may be discipline specific. For example, a chemist would likely choose to try to publish a journal, whereas a historian may decide that a book is more appropriate.  Other factors may also be important in the decision.  If your topic is time-sensitive, a journal will get your results out faster.  If you are not a natural writer, a book may seem too daunting and may not be the right choice. The advantage of books is that they target a broader audience.  However, they often require additional research and there must be a sufficient amount of original work within the dissertation to warrant a book.
• Scholarly journals  - Journals are the most common choice for academic publication. The focus of a journal is much more limited, however, and therefore the author will need to spend considerable time narrowing down a particular aspect of the dissertation to focus on.  For this reason, some students are able to get more than one publication out of their dissertation if there are several worthy topics or findings. One advantage of journals is that the audience is narrower and more knowledgeable about the topic in general.  Therefore, journals put the information from the dissertation into the hands of people who are genuinely interested in the study.  Journals are also published in a more timely fashion than books, which may be important depending on the topic.  Most scholarly journals also utilize a peer review process and that feedback may be very helpful.

While academic publications will require additional work, it is important to share results with others in the academic community and publications are also important to the careers of the researchers.  

Grand Canyon University, Center for Innovation in Research & Teaching. (n.d.) Dissertation to publication. Retrieved from  https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/publish_dissert/why_wherepublish

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Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist

Debora f.b. leite.

I Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, BR

II Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

III Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

Maria Auxiliadora Soares Padilha

Jose g. cecatti.

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students’ abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students’ necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool.

INTRODUCTION

Writing the literature review (LR) is often viewed as a difficult task that can be a point of writer’s block and procrastination ( 1 ) in postgraduate life. Disagreements on the definitions or classifications of LRs ( 2 ) may confuse students about their purpose and scope, as well as how to perform an LR. Interestingly, at many universities, the LR is still an important element in any academic work, despite the more recent trend of producing scientific articles rather than classical theses.

The LR is not an isolated section of the thesis/dissertation or a copy of the background section of a research proposal. It identifies the state-of-the-art knowledge in a particular field, clarifies information that is already known, elucidates implications of the problem being analyzed, links theory and practice ( 3 - 5 ), highlights gaps in the current literature, and places the dissertation/thesis within the research agenda of that field. Additionally, by writing the LR, postgraduate students will comprehend the structure of the subject and elaborate on their cognitive connections ( 3 ) while analyzing and synthesizing data with increasing maturity.

At the same time, the LR transforms the student and hints at the contents of other chapters for the reader. First, the LR explains the research question; second, it supports the hypothesis, objectives, and methods of the research project; and finally, it facilitates a description of the student’s interpretation of the results and his/her conclusions. For scholars, the LR is an introductory chapter ( 6 ). If it is well written, it demonstrates the student’s understanding of and maturity in a particular topic. A sound and sophisticated LR can indicate a robust dissertation/thesis.

A consensus on the best method to elaborate a dissertation/thesis has not been achieved. The LR can be a distinct chapter or included in different sections; it can be part of the introduction chapter, part of each research topic, or part of each published paper ( 7 ). However, scholars view the LR as an integral part of the main body of an academic work because it is intrinsically connected to other sections ( Figure 1 ) and is frequently present. The structure of the LR depends on the conventions of a particular discipline, the rules of the department, and the student’s and supervisor’s areas of expertise, needs and interests.

Interestingly, many postgraduate students choose to submit their LR to peer-reviewed journals. As LRs are critical evaluations of current knowledge, they are indeed publishable material, even in the form of narrative or systematic reviews. However, systematic reviews have specific patterns 1 ( 8 ) that may not entirely fit with the questions posed in the dissertation/thesis. Additionally, the scope of a systematic review may be too narrow, and the strict criteria for study inclusion may omit important information from the dissertation/thesis. Therefore, this essay discusses the definition of an LR is and methods to develop an LR in the context of an academic dissertation/thesis. Finally, we suggest a checklist to evaluate an LR.

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A THESIS?

Conducting research and writing a dissertation/thesis translates rational thinking and enthusiasm ( 9 ). While a strong body of literature that instructs students on research methodology, data analysis and writing scientific papers exists, little guidance on performing LRs is available. The LR is a unique opportunity to assess and contrast various arguments and theories, not just summarize them. The research results should not be discussed within the LR, but the postgraduate student tends to write a comprehensive LR while reflecting on his or her own findings ( 10 ).

Many people believe that writing an LR is a lonely and linear process. Supervisors or the institutions assume that the Ph.D. student has mastered the relevant techniques and vocabulary associated with his/her subject and conducts a self-reflection about previously published findings. Indeed, while elaborating the LR, the student should aggregate diverse skills, which mainly rely on his/her own commitment to mastering them. Thus, less supervision should be required ( 11 ). However, the parameters described above might not currently be the case for many students ( 11 , 12 ), and the lack of formal and systematic training on writing LRs is an important concern ( 11 ).

An institutional environment devoted to active learning will provide students the opportunity to continuously reflect on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the postgraduate student and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ). Postgraduate students will be interpreting studies by other researchers, and, according to Hart (1998) ( 3 ), the outcomes of the LR in a dissertation/thesis include the following:

• To identify what research has been performed and what topics require further investigation in a particular field of knowledge;
• To determine the context of the problem;
• To recognize the main methodologies and techniques that have been used in the past;
• To place the current research project within the historical, methodological and theoretical context of a particular field;
• To identify significant aspects of the topic;
• To elucidate the implications of the topic;
• To offer an alternative perspective;
• To discern how the studied subject is structured;
• To improve the student’s subject vocabulary in a particular field; and
• To characterize the links between theory and practice.

A sound LR translates the postgraduate student’s expertise in academic and scientific writing: it expresses his/her level of comfort with synthesizing ideas ( 11 ). The LR reveals how well the postgraduate student has proceeded in three domains: an effective literature search, the language domain, and critical writing.

Effective literature search

All students should be trained in gathering appropriate data for specific purposes, and information literacy skills are a cornerstone. These skills are defined as “an individual’s ability to know when they need information, to identify information that can help them address the issue or problem at hand, and to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively” ( 14 ). Librarian support is of vital importance in coaching the appropriate use of Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and other tools for highly efficient literature searches (e.g., quotation marks and truncation), as is the appropriate management of electronic databases.

Language domain

Academic writing must be concise and precise: unnecessary words distract the reader from the essential content ( 15 ). In this context, reading about issues distant from the research topic ( 16 ) may increase students’ general vocabulary and familiarity with grammar. Ultimately, reading diverse materials facilitates and encourages the writing process itself.

Critical writing

Critical judgment includes critical reading, thinking and writing. It supposes a student’s analytical reflection about what he/she has read. The student should delineate the basic elements of the topic, characterize the most relevant claims, identify relationships, and finally contrast those relationships ( 17 ). Each scientific document highlights the perspective of the author, and students will become more confident in judging the supporting evidence and underlying premises of a study and constructing their own counterargument as they read more articles. A paucity of integration or contradictory perspectives indicates lower levels of cognitive complexity ( 12 ).

Thus, while elaborating an LR, the postgraduate student should achieve the highest category of Bloom’s cognitive skills: evaluation ( 12 ). The writer should not only summarize data and understand each topic but also be able to make judgments based on objective criteria, compare resources and findings, identify discrepancies due to methodology, and construct his/her own argument ( 12 ). As a result, the student will be sufficiently confident to show his/her own voice .

Writing a consistent LR is an intense and complex activity that reveals the training and long-lasting academic skills of a writer. It is not a lonely or linear process. However, students are unlikely to be prepared to write an LR if they have not mastered the aforementioned domains ( 10 ). An institutional environment that supports student learning is crucial.

Different institutions employ distinct methods to promote students’ learning processes. First, many universities propose modules to develop behind the scenes activities that enhance self-reflection about general skills (e.g., the skills we have mastered and the skills we need to develop further), behaviors that should be incorporated (e.g., self-criticism about one’s own thoughts), and each student’s role in the advancement of his/her field. Lectures or workshops about LRs themselves are useful because they describe the purposes of the LR and how it fits into the whole picture of a student’s work. These activities may explain what type of discussion an LR must involve, the importance of defining the correct scope, the reasons to include a particular resource, and the main role of critical reading.

Some pedagogic services that promote a continuous improvement in study and academic skills are equally important. Examples include workshops about time management, the accomplishment of personal objectives, active learning, and foreign languages for nonnative speakers. Additionally, opportunities to converse with other students promotes an awareness of others’ experiences and difficulties. Ultimately, the supervisor’s role in providing feedback and setting deadlines is crucial in developing students’ abilities and in strengthening students’ writing quality ( 12 ).

HOW SHOULD A LITERATURE REVIEW BE DEVELOPED?

A consensus on the appropriate method for elaborating an LR is not available, but four main steps are generally accepted: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, and writing ( 6 ). We suggest a fifth step: reflecting on the information that has been written in previous publications ( Figure 2 ).

First step: Defining the main topic

Planning an LR is directly linked to the research main question of the thesis and occurs in parallel to students’ training in the three domains discussed above. The planning stage helps organize ideas, delimit the scope of the LR ( 11 ), and avoid the wasting of time in the process. Planning includes the following steps:

• Reflecting on the scope of the LR: postgraduate students will have assumptions about what material must be addressed and what information is not essential to an LR ( 13 , 18 ). Cooper’s Taxonomy of Literature Reviews 2 systematizes the writing process through six characteristics and nonmutually exclusive categories. The focus refers to the reviewer’s most important points of interest, while the goals concern what students want to achieve with the LR. The perspective assumes answers to the student’s own view of the LR and how he/she presents a particular issue. The coverage defines how comprehensive the student is in presenting the literature, and the organization determines the sequence of arguments. The audience is defined as the group for whom the LR is written.
• Designating sections and subsections: Headings and subheadings should be specific, explanatory and have a coherent sequence throughout the text ( 4 ). They simulate an inverted pyramid, with an increasing level of reflection and depth of argument.
• Identifying keywords: The relevant keywords for each LR section should be listed to guide the literature search. This list should mirror what Hart (1998) ( 3 ) advocates as subject vocabulary . The keywords will also be useful when the student is writing the LR since they guide the reader through the text.
• Delineating the time interval and language of documents to be retrieved in the second step. The most recently published documents should be considered, but relevant texts published before a predefined cutoff year can be included if they are classic documents in that field. Extra care should be employed when translating documents.

Second step: Searching the literature

The ability to gather adequate information from the literature must be addressed in postgraduate programs. Librarian support is important, particularly for accessing difficult texts. This step comprises the following components:

• Searching the literature itself: This process consists of defining which databases (electronic or dissertation/thesis repositories), official documents, and books will be searched and then actively conducting the search. Information literacy skills have a central role in this stage. While searching electronic databases, controlled vocabulary (e.g., Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH, for the PubMed database) or specific standardized syntax rules may need to be applied.

In addition, two other approaches are suggested. First, a review of the reference list of each document might be useful for identifying relevant publications to be included and important opinions to be assessed. This step is also relevant for referencing the original studies and leading authors in that field. Moreover, students can directly contact the experts on a particular topic to consult with them regarding their experience or use them as a source of additional unpublished documents.

Before submitting a dissertation/thesis, the electronic search strategy should be repeated. This process will ensure that the most recently published papers will be considered in the LR.

• Selecting documents for inclusion: Generally, the most recent literature will be included in the form of published peer-reviewed papers. Assess books and unpublished material, such as conference abstracts, academic texts and government reports, are also important to assess since the gray literature also offers valuable information. However, since these materials are not peer-reviewed, we recommend that they are carefully added to the LR.

This task is an important exercise in time management. First, students should read the title and abstract to understand whether that document suits their purposes, addresses the research question, and helps develop the topic of interest. Then, they should scan the full text, determine how it is structured, group it with similar documents, and verify whether other arguments might be considered ( 5 ).

Third step: Analyzing the results

Critical reading and thinking skills are important in this step. This step consists of the following components:

• Reading documents: The student may read various texts in depth according to LR sections and subsections ( defining the main topic ), which is not a passive activity ( 1 ). Some questions should be asked to practice critical analysis skills, as listed below. Is the research question evident and articulated with previous knowledge? What are the authors’ research goals and theoretical orientations, and how do they interact? Are the authors’ claims related to other scholars’ research? Do the authors consider different perspectives? Was the research project designed and conducted properly? Are the results and discussion plausible, and are they consistent with the research objectives and methodology? What are the strengths and limitations of this work? How do the authors support their findings? How does this work contribute to the current research topic? ( 1 , 19 )
• Taking notes: Students who systematically take notes on each document are more readily able to establish similarities or differences with other documents and to highlight personal observations. This approach reinforces the student’s ideas about the next step and helps develop his/her own academic voice ( 1 , 13 ). Voice recognition software ( 16 ), mind maps ( 5 ), flowcharts, tables, spreadsheets, personal comments on the referenced texts, and note-taking apps are all available tools for managing these observations, and the student him/herself should use the tool that best improves his/her learning. Additionally, when a student is considering submitting an LR to a peer-reviewed journal, notes should be taken on the activities performed in all five steps to ensure that they are able to be replicated.

Fourth step: Writing

The recognition of when a student is able and ready to write after a sufficient period of reading and thinking is likely a difficult task. Some students can produce a review in a single long work session. However, as discussed above, writing is not a linear process, and students do not need to write LRs according to a specific sequence of sections. Writing an LR is a time-consuming task, and some scholars believe that a period of at least six months is sufficient ( 6 ). An LR, and academic writing in general, expresses the writer’s proper thoughts, conclusions about others’ work ( 6 , 10 , 13 , 16 ), and decisions about methods to progress in the chosen field of knowledge. Thus, each student is expected to present a different learning and writing trajectory.

In this step, writing methods should be considered; then, editing, citing and correct referencing should complete this stage, at least temporarily. Freewriting techniques may be a good starting point for brainstorming ideas and improving the understanding of the information that has been read ( 1 ). Students should consider the following parameters when creating an agenda for writing the LR: two-hour writing blocks (at minimum), with prespecified tasks that are possible to complete in one section; short (minutes) and long breaks (days or weeks) to allow sufficient time for mental rest and reflection; and short- and long-term goals to motivate the writing itself ( 20 ). With increasing experience, this scheme can vary widely, and it is not a straightforward rule. Importantly, each discipline has a different way of writing ( 1 ), and each department has its own preferred styles for citations and references.

Fifth step: Reflecting on the writing

In this step, the postgraduate student should ask him/herself the same questions as in the analyzing the results step, which can take more time than anticipated. Ambiguities, repeated ideas, and a lack of coherence may not be noted when the student is immersed in the writing task for long periods. The whole effort will likely be a work in progress, and continuous refinements in the written material will occur once the writing process has begun.

LITERATURE REVIEW CHECKLIST

In contrast to review papers, the LR of a dissertation/thesis should not be a standalone piece or work. Instead, it should present the student as a scholar and should maintain the interest of the audience in how that dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.

A checklist for evaluating an LR is convenient for students’ continuous academic development and research transparency: it clearly states the desired achievements for the LR of a dissertation/thesis. Here, we present an LR checklist developed from an LR scoring rubric ( 11 ). For a critical analysis of an LR, we maintain the five categories but offer twelve criteria that are not scaled ( Figure 3 ). The criteria all have the same importance and are not mutually exclusive.

First category: Coverage

1. justified criteria exist for the inclusion and exclusion of literature in the review.

This criterion builds on the main topic and areas covered by the LR ( 18 ). While experts may be confident in retrieving and selecting literature, postgraduate students must convince their audience about the adequacy of their search strategy and their reasons for intentionally selecting what material to cover ( 11 ). References from different fields of knowledge provide distinct perspective, but narrowing the scope of coverage may be important in areas with a large body of existing knowledge.

Second category: Synthesis

2. a critical examination of the state of the field exists.

A critical examination is an assessment of distinct aspects in the field ( 1 ) along with a constructive argument. It is not a negative critique but an expression of the student’s understanding of how other scholars have added to the topic ( 1 ), and the student should analyze and contextualize contradictory statements. A writer’s personal bias (beliefs or political involvement) have been shown to influence the structure and writing of a document; therefore, the cultural and paradigmatic background guide how the theories are revised and presented ( 13 ). However, an honest judgment is important when considering different perspectives.

3. The topic or problem is clearly placed in the context of the broader scholarly literature

The broader scholarly literature should be related to the chosen main topic for the LR ( how to develop the literature review section). The LR can cover the literature from one or more disciplines, depending on its scope, but it should always offer a new perspective. In addition, students should be careful in citing and referencing previous publications. As a rule, original studies and primary references should generally be included. Systematic and narrative reviews present summarized data, and it may be important to cite them, particularly for issues that should be understood but do not require a detailed description. Similarly, quotations highlight the exact statement from another publication. However, excessive referencing may disclose lower levels of analysis and synthesis by the student.

4. The LR is critically placed in the historical context of the field

Situating the LR in its historical context shows the level of comfort of the student in addressing a particular topic. Instead of only presenting statements and theories in a temporal approach, which occasionally follows a linear timeline, the LR should authentically characterize the student’s academic work in the state-of-art techniques in their particular field of knowledge. Thus, the LR should reinforce why the dissertation/thesis represents original work in the chosen research field.

5. Ambiguities in definitions are considered and resolved

Distinct theories on the same topic may exist in different disciplines, and one discipline may consider multiple concepts to explain one topic. These misunderstandings should be addressed and contemplated. The LR should not synthesize all theories or concepts at the same time. Although this approach might demonstrate in-depth reading on a particular topic, it can reveal a student’s inability to comprehend and synthesize his/her research problem.

6. Important variables and phenomena relevant to the topic are articulated

The LR is a unique opportunity to articulate ideas and arguments and to purpose new relationships between them ( 10 , 11 ). More importantly, a sound LR will outline to the audience how these important variables and phenomena will be addressed in the current academic work. Indeed, the LR should build a bidirectional link with the remaining sections and ground the connections between all of the sections ( Figure 1 ).

7. A synthesized new perspective on the literature has been established

The LR is a ‘creative inquiry’ ( 13 ) in which the student elaborates his/her own discourse, builds on previous knowledge in the field, and describes his/her own perspective while interpreting others’ work ( 13 , 17 ). Thus, students should articulate the current knowledge, not accept the results at face value ( 11 , 13 , 17 ), and improve their own cognitive abilities ( 12 ).

Third category: Methodology

8. the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used in the field are identified and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

The LR is expected to distinguish the research that has been completed from investigations that remain to be performed, address the benefits and limitations of the main methods applied to date, and consider the strategies for addressing the expected limitations described above. While placing his/her research within the methodological context of a particular topic, the LR will justify the methodology of the study and substantiate the student’s interpretations.

9. Ideas and theories in the field are related to research methodologies

The audience expects the writer to analyze and synthesize methodological approaches in the field. The findings should be explained according to the strengths and limitations of previous research methods, and students must avoid interpretations that are not supported by the analyzed literature. This criterion translates to the student’s comprehension of the applicability and types of answers provided by different research methodologies, even those using a quantitative or qualitative research approach.

Fourth category: Significance

10. the scholarly significance of the research problem is rationalized.

The LR is an introductory section of a dissertation/thesis and will present the postgraduate student as a scholar in a particular field ( 11 ). Therefore, the LR should discuss how the research problem is currently addressed in the discipline being investigated or in different disciplines, depending on the scope of the LR. The LR explains the academic paradigms in the topic of interest ( 13 ) and methods to advance the field from these starting points. However, an excess number of personal citations—whether referencing the student’s research or studies by his/her research team—may reflect a narrow literature search and a lack of comprehensive synthesis of ideas and arguments.

11. The practical significance of the research problem is rationalized

The practical significance indicates a student’s comprehensive understanding of research terminology (e.g., risk versus associated factor), methodology (e.g., efficacy versus effectiveness) and plausible interpretations in the context of the field. Notably, the academic argument about a topic may not always reflect the debate in real life terms. For example, using a quantitative approach in epidemiology, statistically significant differences between groups do not explain all of the factors involved in a particular problem ( 21 ). Therefore, excessive faith in p -values may reflect lower levels of critical evaluation of the context and implications of a research problem by the student.

Fifth category: Rhetoric

12. the lr was written with a coherent, clear structure that supported the review.

This category strictly relates to the language domain: the text should be coherent and presented in a logical sequence, regardless of which organizational ( 18 ) approach is chosen. The beginning of each section/subsection should state what themes will be addressed, paragraphs should be carefully linked to each other ( 10 ), and the first sentence of each paragraph should generally summarize the content. Additionally, the student’s statements are clear, sound, and linked to other scholars’ works, and precise and concise language that follows standardized writing conventions (e.g., in terms of active/passive voice and verb tenses) is used. Attention to grammar, such as orthography and punctuation, indicates prudence and supports a robust dissertation/thesis. Ultimately, all of these strategies provide fluency and consistency for the text.

Although the scoring rubric was initially proposed for postgraduate programs in education research, we are convinced that this checklist is a valuable tool for all academic areas. It enables the monitoring of students’ learning curves and a concentrated effort on any criteria that are not yet achieved. For institutions, the checklist is a guide to support supervisors’ feedback, improve students’ writing skills, and highlight the learning goals of each program. These criteria do not form a linear sequence, but ideally, all twelve achievements should be perceived in the LR.

CONCLUSIONS

A single correct method to classify, evaluate and guide the elaboration of an LR has not been established. In this essay, we have suggested directions for planning, structuring and critically evaluating an LR. The planning of the scope of an LR and approaches to complete it is a valuable effort, and the five steps represent a rational starting point. An institutional environment devoted to active learning will support students in continuously reflecting on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the writer and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ).

The completion of an LR is a challenging and necessary process for understanding one’s own field of expertise. Knowledge is always transitory, but our responsibility as scholars is to provide a critical contribution to our field, allowing others to think through our work. Good researchers are grounded in sophisticated LRs, which reveal a writer’s training and long-lasting academic skills. We recommend using the LR checklist as a tool for strengthening the skills necessary for critical academic writing.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Leite DFB has initially conceived the idea and has written the first draft of this review. Padilha MAS and Cecatti JG have supervised data interpretation and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read the draft and agreed with this submission. Authors are responsible for all aspects of this academic piece.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to all of the professors of the ‘Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills’ module at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, for suggesting and supporting this article. Funding: DFBL has granted scholarship from Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) to take part of her Ph.D. studies in Ireland (process number 88881.134512/2016-01). There is no participation from sponsors on authors’ decision to write or to submit this manuscript.

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

1 The questions posed in systematic reviews usually follow the ‘PICOS’ acronym: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study design.

2 In 1988, Cooper proposed a taxonomy that aims to facilitate students’ and institutions’ understanding of literature reviews. Six characteristics with specific categories are briefly described: Focus: research outcomes, research methodologies, theories, or practices and applications; Goals: integration (generalization, conflict resolution, and linguistic bridge-building), criticism, or identification of central issues; Perspective: neutral representation or espousal of a position; Coverage: exhaustive, exhaustive with selective citations, representative, central or pivotal; Organization: historical, conceptual, or methodological; and Audience: specialized scholars, general scholars, practitioners or policymakers, or the general public.

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Gray Literature: Beyond Peer Review

• Introduction
• Scientific literature
• International This link opens in a new window
• Federal This link opens in a new window
• Oregon This link opens in a new window
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• Theses & dissertations
• Using Generative AI in Research

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Gray Literature

What is it.

Gray literature is an important source of information that consists of government, academic, and business information that is shared outside of traditional academic publishing channels. It generally isn't peer reviewed.

It includes:

• working papers or pre-prints
• government/NGO publications
• technical/industry reports
• conference proceedings/posters
• presentation slides
• newsletters
• dissertations/theses
• oral presentations

Why use it?

• It provides access to new ideas and perspectives.
• It allows you to broadly explore a topic and understand the less formal conversations happening around it.
• It may help counterbalance publication bias (the increased likelihood of reporting positive results).
• It may be more current than peer reviewed material, since it may not be peer reviewed and authors may be able to update it.
• It may provide a more comprehensive view of emerging research areas.
• Government agencies, non-government organization, and businesses are often important stakeholders in research issues.

"Peer review" refers to the process where researchers submit a paper they have written to a journal. The journal editor then sends the article to the author's peers , other researchers and scholars who are in the same discipline. These reviewers determine if the article should be published based on the quality of the research, including the validity of the data, the conclusions the authors' draw, and the originality of the research. While peer review is important for validating research, it also takes a great deal of time.

Initial Tools

When performing a "what is out there"-style search, Google will return the largest number of results. However, it will also return a lot of misinformation and irrelevant material. For more control over your search results, try the Google Advanced Search or searching with the following terms:

• site:*.edu or site:*.gov This tells Google you only want search results from websites with a .edu (educational) or .gov (government) address. It doesn't guarantee the material is useful, but it can help narrow your results to material that's more conducive to research.
• filetype:pdf This tells Google you're only interested in PDF files. The PDF format is commonly used for articles, handouts, syllabi, and organizational documents.
• "phrases in quotes" This tells Google you want the exact phrase contained within the quotes. It's helpful when searching for specific concepts that include common phrases

For example, the search for [site:*.edu filetype:pdf "social emotional learning] (without the square brackets) will return all of the PDFs that Google has indexed from educational websites that contain the phrase "social emotional learning".

Google Scholar

Google Scholar contains journal and conference papers, theses and dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, abstracts, technical reports and other scholarly literature that's available on the internet. It also contains material from the OSU Libraries database subscriptions if you sign in with your ONID. For more information on Google Scholar, check out OSU's Google Scholar LibGuide

As with Google, using the Advanced Search or using search strings like author: provide more focused results.

Databases dedicated just to gray literature do exist. For example:

• OpenGrey.eu : A directory of grey literature produced in Europe.
• OpenDOAR : A global directory of open access repositories

However, gray lit is often stored among peer-reviewed articles. Many of OSU Libraries' databases contain gray lit.

Most databases provide advanced search tools or a "refine search" option to limit your results to specific formats or document types. For example, some databases allow searches specifically for conference proceedings, dissertations, or government documents. Another way to look for gray lit is to filter out everything marked "peer-reviewed". These are a few databases that contain a mix of gray lit and peer-reviewed articles:

The Theses & Dissertations guide has more information on theses, dissertations, and ScholarsArchive@OSU .

Evaluating Gray Literature

Gray literature is usually not peer reviewed. It may not be appropriate for certain assignments or research activities. Moreover, academic disciplines place different amounts of value on gray literature. When including gray lit in your research, consider these steps: 

• Pay attention to the types of sources referenced in your field. Do your peers mention blog posts? Dissertations? Government reports? If so, that's a good sign you could do it too.
• Is the depth of information appropriate for your research? If you're looking for three peer-reviewed articles, gray lit probably won't help. However, if you're performing a broad exploration of a topic and its ongoing scholarly conversations, gray lit may be just what you need.

Critically evaluating any source is important, but it's especially important with gray literature since you don't have the safety net of peer review. Who created the literature? What are their biases? Are they respected in their field?

For more information on evaluating information, check out the SIFT method or the CRAAP test .

• Next: Scientific literature >>
• Last Updated: Jun 11, 2024 11:53 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/graylit

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The ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT) ™ database is the world's most comprehensive curated collection of multi-disciplinary dissertations and theses from around the world, offering over 5 million citations and 3 million full-text works from thousands of universities.

Within dissertations and theses is a wealth of scholarship, yet it is often overlooked because most go unpublished. Uncover new ideas and innovations with more confidence and efficiency. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global delivers a focused path for researchers by tapping into a global network of connected research.

Dissertation references can be a treasure trove for obscure topics, here students discover shorter works like articles.

Scott Dennis, Librarian Core Electronic Resources, University of Michigan

Connecting Global Scholarship

Disseminating since 1939

Disseminating graduate works since 1939, and is the largest editorially curated repository of dissertations and theses.

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A multi-disciplinary collection of over 5 million citations and 3 million full text works.

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Short Description

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Global provides visibility of cutting-edge research from the world’s premier universities.

ProQuest’s vast collection of >5.5million post graduate dissertations and theses now discoverable on Web of Science

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global with the Web of Science™ enables researchers to seamlessly uncover early career, post-graduate research in the form of more than 5.5 million dissertations and theses from over 4,100 institutions from more than 60 countries, alongside journal articles, conference proceedings, research data, books, preprints and patents.

The integration and introduction of the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index , eliminates the need for researchers to search multiple databases, allowing them to streamline their workflow and focus more on their academic success and research advancements.

To further enhance accessibility, direct full text linking from the Web of Science to the ProQuest platform is available for joint subscribers of the Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.

Navigating ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index

DISCOVER unique scholarship

• Provides credible research on unique, niche, and trending topics, often not published elsewhere
• Provides access to global and diverse perspectives, helping to close diversity gaps in mainstream publishing channels
• Removes friction and obstacles from the research process by making full text available in one location
• Retrieves equitable search results, which places equal value on quality scholarship no matter where it is from

UNCOVER the value of dissertations

• Introduces users to new source types
• Reaches more students, helps more users in a virtual environment
• Addresses user needs immediately when they need it
• Nurtures career aspirations in academia

FOCUS your research path

Citation Connections are the next step in the evolution of the ProQuest Platform, moving the recommender functionality beyond standard keyword lists towards technology that leverages citation data, bibliometrics, and knowledge graph technology. Focus your research path by finding the most relevant and influential works faster.

• Supports researchers to become more efficient and effective.
• Leads researchers of all levels quickly to the most relevant, credible sources.
• Provides a focused path to building comprehensive foundational knowledge in any research area.
• Integrates with other library resources, enhances the value of other ProQuest subscriptions by providing insights into how the research is connected.

Success Story

Progressing STEM Studies with a Critical Primary Research Source

Author, Technologist, and Doctoral Student, Ida Joiner shares her story on leveraging dissertations to engage with current trends, cite a comprehensive foundation and build towards her own research goals.

Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source

Dr. Terri D. Pigott, Ph.D., of the School of Public Health at the College of Education, Georgia State University, on Avoiding Bias by Starting at the Source.

Testimonials

Professor Terri Pigott Ph.D. discusses the expectations she presents to her students on meta-analysis and unbiased research requirements and how the use of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global helps to ensure that comprehensive data sets are included in new research outputs.

Using Dissertations as a Primary Source

Student researcher and published author Ida Joiner discusses how she uses ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global as a core resource that helps her to build towards her own research goals.

Improving Diversity in Curriculum by Uncovering Unheard Voices

Psychology Professors and Research Scientists come together to build a course and write a supplemental text for Psychology curriculum emphasizing the dissertations by women of color prior to 1980, filling research gaps in the early history of psychology.

The Erasure of Drag Contribution in Performance History

Dr. Lady J, Ph.D., documents the historical impact, influence, contributions that drag performers have made to politics, music, film, fashion, and popular culture in her dissertation. Her goal is to document and make this history available for broad educational outreach.

Text and Data Mining Projects

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is one of the most requested data-sets for text and data mining because of its broad historic to present-day coverage and deep and comprehensive data results found in the full-text records.  TDM Studio can be used alongside PQDT to easily and efficiently extract data and analyze it. See the list below for articles and projects published by scholars who used ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global data:

• TDM Studio ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Case Studies
• Mapping Research Trends with ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (Univ. North Carolina)
• Indiana University using Dissertations Data for Research
• ProQuest Dissertation Database Provides Critical Information for Research Projects Across the US
• City University of New York

Trends in the Evolution of Research and Doctoral Education

Bruce A. Weinberg, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Affairs from The Ohio State University shares how text and data mining of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global allows researchers to understand doctoral career trajectory patterns.

Improving Graduate Student Outcomes

Dr. Jearl (Ken) Helvey, Assistant Professor of Education – Doctoral Program at Texas Wesleyan University on how incorporating dissertations into the curriculum improved the doctoral student success at Texas Wesleyan University.

Related Products

Empower researchers to uncover new connections and make new discoveries using TDM Studio, a new solution for text and data mining (TDM). From the initial idea to the final output, TDM Studio puts the power of text and data mining directly in the researcher’s hands.

ProQuest One Academic brings together four core multi-disciplinary products, allowing access to the world’s largest curated collection of journals, ebooks, dissertations, news and video.

Including dissertations and theses in ProQuest means amplifying your research by making it available in a unified repository

• UNC Libraries
• Subject Research
• Anthropology Library Resources

Anthropology Library Resources: Home

Before you start.

• Interlibrary Loan Can't find the article, book, or report you need at our library? You can request it from another library through interlibrary loan.
• Open Access Button Browser extension that searches for open access versions of articles you may find behind pay walls.
• Unpaywall Browser extension that searches for open access versions of articles you may find behind pay walls.

Finding foundational readings

• Oxford Bibliographies Online Provides sophisticated online recommendations to the core scholarship on a subject as determined by experts in the field. Each module constitutes a convenient and comprehensive introduction to the essential body of literature that has shaped research on a topic. At the click of a mouse, you therefore have 24/7 access to expert recommendations that have been rigorously peer-reviewed and vetted to ensure scholarly accuracy and objectivity. Each OBO subject database allows you to identify the core authors, works, ideas, and debates that have shaped the scholarly conversation so you can find the key literature. All the bibliographic essays have been peer-reviewed, and the specific entries are linked to full-text content available through the web or the UNC Library. The "My OBO" feature also allows you to create a personalized list of citations. more... less... Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill student, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users

Finding articles

A few key databases focused on Anthropology and Sociology may be helpful starting points -- but there are also many more resources that can be found on the  E-Research by Discipline  tab or by exploring other  Research Guides  on the library website. 

1. Aggregators

Commercial aggregators (library pays for these).

Most databases the Library pays for are either ProQuest or EBSCO products. They index articles from a variety of journals and provide full text for some of the content. It is possible to search across all ProQuest or EBSCO databases, which is useful when your topic is interdisciplinary, but can sometimes make for a longer and messier list of results.

Go into any ProQuest database, e.g. ProQuest Central --> Change databases (top menu) --> Select all --> Do your search

• can limit results to peer-reviewed articles
• ProQuest product called Summon, which attempts to search across many of the databases UNC pays for.
• Repository of academic journal content.
• Elsevier product focusing on hard sciences and health sciences, but with continually increasing social sciences and humanities content.

Open aggregators (Library pays for some of this content)

You will need to check whether the Library has access to the content you find here. Request anything you can't access through document delivery/interlibrary loan .

GoogleScholar

Self explanatory, but link it to the Library when off campus for full-text access.

• A "a free and open catalog of the world's scholarly research system". May be the largest open aggregator after GoogleScholar.
• Linked data-based aggregator. Digital Science product.

Semantic Scholar

• Open and free aggregator. Allen Institute for AI product.

Aggregator of open access research papers from institutional repositories around the world.

2. Library Databases

E-research by discipline.

• This is where all library databases live.

Anthropology Databases

Newspaper and news media archives, 3. the "big 5" (library pays for most of this content).

Five publishers have bought up a large portion of academic journals. One benefit is that you can search across journals on their websites.

Taylor & Francis

Finding books.

Discover books, journals, films, primary source collections, government documents, and other materials held at UNC and in the Triangle (you can request materials from Duke, NC State and NC Central) as well as a variety of open access publications.

Joint catalog of materials held at North American and some European National Libraries.

WorldCat has a subscription version  FirstSearch , with more robust advanced search options, but a less modern interface. You can request most titles that UNC does not have through  Interlibrary Loan .

Books will also show up in some of the databases and aggregators above.

Finding dissertations and theses

• Carolina Digital Repository Anthropology Dissertations Theses and dissertations defended at UNC-Chapel Hill.
• CORE A searchable collection of open access research papers and datasets. more... less... Access: No restrictions.
• Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations Dissertation and thesis aggregator pulling from dissertation repositories including DART-Europe E-theses Portal, EThOS e-theses online service (British Library), Theses Canada and others.
• ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Indexes US dissertations from 1861 with full text available from 1997; masters theses covered selectively including some full text. Citations for dissertations from 1980 include 350-word abstracts, while masters' theses from 1988 have 150-word abstracts. Selectively covers dissertations from Great Britain and other European universities for recent years. In addition to this database, the full text of the majority of UNC theses and dissertations from 2006, and all beginning in 2008, are freely available electronically from the UNC Library: Dissertations | Theses more... less... Access: Off Campus Access is available for: UNC-Chapel Hill students, faculty, and staff; UNC Hospitals employees; UNC-Chapel Hill affiliated AHEC users. Coverage: 1861 to present
• Open Access Theses and Dissertations Search engine and access tool to millions of graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. more... less... Access: No restrictions.

Library Data Services

Library Data Services cater to researchers interested in working with data, mapping, texts, visualization, and technology. Many of these services are available online. Davis Library Data Services, located on the second floor of Davis Library, offers:

• A computing lab with specialized software for GIS and data visualization & analysis.
• Walk-in assistance provided by knowledgeable student consultants during set hours . 
• Consultations with specialists for more in-depth inquiries (by appointment).
• Spaces for collaboration and presentation, complete with white boards and external displays.
• Technology workshops focused on working with data (manipulation, visualization, mapping).

Scholarly Communications Services

• Copyright and fair use
• Authors' rights
• Privacy rights
• Open access
• Other information policy issues important to the creation and use of scholarly material

Learn more about Scholarly Communications Services at UNC.

• Last Updated: Aug 15, 2024 12:57 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/AnthropologyResources

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Applications for New Awards; Special Education Dissertation Research Fellowship Program

A Notice by the Education Department on 08/15/2024

This document has been published in the Federal Register . Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

• Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agency Department of Education Document Citation 89 FR 66372 Document Number 2024-18271 Document Type Notice Pages 66372-66375 (4 pages) Publication Date 08/15/2024 Published Content - Document Details
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• Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Dates Text Application Package Available: August 29, 2024. Published Content - Document Dates

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Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences, Department of Education.

The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2025 for the Special Education Dissertation Research Fellowship Program.

Application Package Available: August 29, 2024.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 14, 2024.

For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022 ( 87 FR 75045 ) and available at www.federalregister.gov/​documents/​2022/​12/​07/​2022-26554/​common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs .

Courtney Pollack. Telephone: 202-987-0999. Email: [email protected] .

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

Purpose of Program: In awarding research training grant programs, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) aims to prepare individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant education and special education research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners.

Assistance Listing Number: 84.324G.

OMB Control Number: 4040-0001.

Competition in This Notice: The IES National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) is announcing one competition: Special Education Dissertation Research Fellowship Program (ALN 84.324G). Under the Dissertation program, doctoral students will receive support for conducting their dissertation and participating in related training with guidance from a sponsor at their institution. NCSER will consider only applications that address one or more of the following topics:

• Education Systems
• Education Technologies
• Low-Incidence Disabilities
• Postsecondary Education

Multiple Submissions: You may submit applications to more than one of the FY 2025 research and research training grant programs offered through the Department, including those offered through IES as well as those offered through other offices and programs within the Department. You may submit multiple applications to the grant program announced here as long as they specify different doctoral students and dissertation research. However, you may submit a given application only once for the IES FY 2025 grant competitions, meaning you may not submit the same application or similar applications to multiple grant programs within IES, to multiple topics within a grant competition, or multiple times within the same topic. If you submit multiple similar applications, IES will determine whether and which applications will be accepted for review and/or will be eligible for funding. In addition, if you submit the same or similar application to IES and to another funding entity within or external to the Department and receive funding for the non-IES application prior to IES scientific peer review of applications, you must withdraw the same or similar application submitted to IES, or IES may otherwise determine you are ineligible to receive an award. If reviews are happening concurrently, IES staff will consult with the other potential funder to determine the degree of overlap and which entity will provide funding if both applications are being considered for funding.

Exemption from Proposed Rulemaking: Under section 191 of the ( print page 66373) Education Sciences Reform Act, 20 U.S.C. 9581 , IES is not subject to section 437(d) of the General Education Provisions Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232(d) , and is therefore not required to offer interested parties the opportunity to comment on matters relating to grants.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.

Note: Projects will be awarded and must be operated in a manner consistent with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Federal civil rights laws.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 77 , 81 , 82 , 84 , 86 , 97 , 98 , and 99 . In addition, the regulations in 34 CFR part 75 are applicable, except for the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100 , 75.101(b) , 75.102 , 75.103 , 75.105 , 75.109(a) , 75.200 , 75.201 , 75.209 , 75.210 , 75.211 , 75.217(a)-(c) , 75.219 , 75.220 , 75.221 , 75.222 , 75.230 , 75.250(a) , and 75.708 . (b) The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180 , as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485 . (c) The Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance in 2 CFR part 200 , as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474 .

Note: The open licensing requirement in 2 CFR 3474.20 does not apply to this competition.

Note: The Department will implement the provisions in the OMB final rule OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance, which amends 2 CFR parts 25 , 170 , 175 , 176 , 180 , 182 , 183 , 184 , and 200 , on October 1, 2024. Grant applicants that anticipate a performance period start date on or after October 1, 2024 should follow the provisions in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance ( 89 FR 30046 ) when preparing an application. For more information about these updated regulations please visit: www.cfo.gov/​resources/​uniform-guidance/​ .

Type of Awards: Discretionary grants.

Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not yet enacted an appropriation for FY 2025, IES is inviting applications for this competition now so that applicants can have adequate time to prepare their applications. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. IES may announce additional competitions later in 2024.

Estimated Range of Awards: Up to $50,000 for the entire project period of 1 year.

Estimated Number of Awards: The number of awards will depend on the quality of the applications received and the availability of funds.

IES may waive any of the following limits on awards in the special case that the peer review process results in a tie between two or more grant applications, making it impossible to adhere to the limits without funding only some of the equally ranked applications. In that case, IES may make a larger number of awards to include all applications of the same rank.

IES intends to fund up to eight grants. However, should funding be available, IES may consider making additional awards to high-quality applications that remain unfunded after eight awards are made.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 1 year.

1. Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education in the United States and its territories that confer doctoral degrees.

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: The competition in this notice does not require cost sharing or matching.

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: Under 34 CFR 75.562(c)(2) , indirect cost reimbursement on a training grant is limited to the recipient's actual indirect costs, as determined by its negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, or 8 percent of a modified total direct cost base, whichever amount is less. For more information regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect cost rate, please see www2.ed.gov/​about/​offices/​list/​ocfo/​intro.html .

3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities described in its application.

1. Application Submission Instructions: Applicants are required to follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022 ( 87 FR 75045 ) and available at https://www.federalregister.gov/​documents/​2022/​12/​07/​2022-26554/​common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs , which contain requirements and information on how to submit an application.

2. Other Information: Information regarding program and application requirements can be found in the currently available IES Application Submission Guide and in the Request for Applications (RFA), which will be available on or before August 29, 2024, on the IES website at: https://ies.ed.gov/​funding/​ . The application package will also be available on or before August 29, 2024.

3. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements concerning the content of an application are contained in the RFA. The forms that must be submitted are in the application package.

4. Submission Dates and Times: The deadline date for transmittal of applications is November 14, 2024.

We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements.

5. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79 .

6. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

1. Selection Criteria: For all of its grant competitions, IES uses selection criteria based on a peer review process that has been approved by the National Board for Education Sciences. The Peer Review Procedures for Grant Applications can be found on the IES website at https://ies.ed.gov/​director/​sro/​application_​review.asp .

Peer reviewers will be asked to evaluate the significance of the application, quality of the research plan, quality of the career plan, and quality of the management plan. These criteria will be described in greater detail in the RFA.

Applications must include budgets no higher than the maximum award as set out in the RFA. IES will not make an award exceeding the maximum award amount as set out in the RFA.

2. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, IES may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3) , the past performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as the applicant's use of funds, achievement of project objectives, compliance with the IES policy regarding public access to research, and compliance with grant conditions. IES may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality.

In addition, in making a competitive grant award, IES requires various ( print page 66374) assurances including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department ( 34 CFR 100.4 , 104.5 , 106.4 , 108.8 , and 110.23 ).

3. Risk Assessment and Specific Conditions: Consistent with 2 CFR 200.206 , before awarding grants under this competition, the Department conducts a review of the risks posed by applicants. Under 2 CFR 200.208 , IES may impose specific conditions and, under 2 CFR 3474.10 , in appropriate circumstances, high-risk conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system that does not meet the standards in 2 CFR part 200, subpart D ; has not fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.

4. Integrity and Performance System: If you are selected under this competition to receive an award that over the course of the project period may exceed the simplified acquisition threshold (currently $250,000), under 2 CFR 200.206(a)(2) we must make a judgment about your integrity, business ethics, and record of performance under Federal awards—that is, the risk posed by you as an applicant—before we make an award. In doing so, we must consider any information about you that is in the integrity and performance system (currently referred to as the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)), accessible through the System for Award Management. You may review and comment on any information about yourself that a Federal agency previously entered and that is currently in FAPIIS.

Please note that, if the total value of your currently active grants, cooperative agreements, and procurement contracts from the Federal Government exceeds $10,000,000, the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII , require you to report certain integrity information to FAPIIS semiannually. Please review the requirements in 2 CFR part 200, Appendix XII , if this grant plus all the other Federal funds you receive exceed $10,000,000.

5. In General: In accordance with the OMB's guidance located at 2 CFR part 200 , all applicable Federal laws, and relevant Executive guidance, the Department will review and consider applications for funding pursuant to this notice inviting applications in accordance with:

(a) Selecting recipients most likely to be successful in delivering results based on the program objectives through an objective process of evaluating Federal award applications ( 2 CFR 200.205 );

(b) Prohibiting the purchase of certain telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment in alignment with section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 ( Pub. L. 115-232 ) ( 2 CFR 200.216 );

(c) Providing a preference, to the extent permitted by law, to maximize use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States ( 2 CFR 200.322 ); and

(d) Terminating agreements in whole or in part to the greatest extent authorized by law if an award no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities ( 2 CFR 200.340 ).

1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN); or we may send you an email containing a link to access an electronic version of your GAN. We also may notify you informally.

If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you.

2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify administrative and national policy requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant.

3. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for an annual meeting of four days for project directors to be held in Washington, DC.

4. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under the competition announced in this notice, you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b) .

(b) At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by IES. If you receive a multiyear award, you must submit an annual performance report that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information as directed by IES under 34 CFR 75.118 . IES may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c) . For specific requirements on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/​fund/​grant/​apply/​appforms/​appforms.html .

5. Performance Measures: To evaluate the overall success of its special education research grant programs, IES annually assesses the percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications, the number of newly developed or modified interventions with evidence of promise for improving learner education outcomes, and the number of IES-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in improving learner education outcomes. School readiness outcomes include pre-reading, reading, pre-writing, early mathematics, early science, and social-emotional skills that prepare young children for school. Developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers (birth to age three) include cognitive, communicative, linguistic, social, emotional, adaptive, functional, or physical development. Student academic outcomes include learning and achievement in academic content areas, such as reading, writing, math, and science, as well as outcomes that reflect students' successful progression through the education system, such as course and grade completion; high school graduation; and postsecondary enrollment, progress, and completion. Social and behavioral competencies include social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are important to academic and post-academic success. Functional outcomes include behaviors and skills that learners need to participate in developmentally appropriate routines and activities. Transition outcomes include transition to employment, independent living, and postsecondary education. Employment and earnings outcomes include hours of employment, job stability, and wages and benefits, and may be measured in addition to student academic outcomes.

6. Continuation Awards: There is no option for a continuation award under this competition.

Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT , as well as in the RFA and application package, individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the RFA in an accessible format. The Department will provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible format. ( print page 66375)

Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register . You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov . At this site you can view this document, as well as all other Department documents published in the Federal Register , in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.

You may also access Department documents published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at www.federalregister.gov . Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

Matthew Soldner,

Acting Director, Institute of Education Sciences.

[ FR Doc. 2024-18271 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]

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Is ‘weird-checking’ the new fact-checking?

Aug 12, 2024

Examining social psychological principles that explain why Democrats’ strategy of calling ideas “weird” works.

This blog post was co-authored by Madeline Jalbert , a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, and Ira Hyman , a psychology professor at Western Washington University.

• Democrats have recently started to call some Republican attitudes and behaviors “weird” — a strategy we refer to as weird-checking . The approach shares many similarities with social norm interventions that social psychologists have found to be effective.
• Our own attitudes and behaviors are heavily guided by perceived social norms — what we think others believe and do. Unfortunately, people frequently have incorrect views of which ideas are widely shared. Extreme and minority views are often overrepresented in the media, making them appear to be more common and acceptable than they are.
• Weird-checking communicates what others actually believe and can disrupt these inflated perceptions of consensus . It can also orient us to more carefully consider whether the attitude or behavior is consistent with societal values and expectations. This strategy can be used to address problematic attitudes and behaviors that can not be addressed through traditional fact-checking methods

That’s just weird . Over the last few weeks, you have probably seen Democrats referring to some Republican ideas and policy proposals as weird. Thanks to Tim Walz, the Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee, weird has become a central part of the political discourse. The news media is currently flooded with discussion of this new strategy and its success, with a few examples of recent headlines including “Democrats Embrace ‘Weird’ Messaging on Trump” (from The New York Times ), “Why the ‘Weird’ Label is Working for Kamala Harris’” (from the BBC ), and “‘Weird’ is Democrat’s Most Effective Insult” (from The Washington Post ). This approach represents a shift away from Democrat’s standard fact-checking attempts (see this recent TechDirt piece by Mike Masnick for a discussion). We’ve started to refer to this strategy as “weird-checking” — like fact-checking, but checking if something is weird instead of checking if it’s true.

Why does weird-checking work? One key reason for its success can be explained by its appeal to social norms, which play a powerful role in whether we accept or reject an idea or action. As individuals, we look to what others believe and endorse to inform our own attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Schwarz & Jalbert, 2021 ). The phenomenon of checking our ideas and actions against what others believe and do is referred to as “social proof” (Cialdini, 2009) — if something has broad acceptance, there must be something to it (Festinger, 1954) . When we see that others endorse a message, we’re also more likely to endorse it (Cialdini, 2009) . 

Unfortunately, we may not know what other people think. This is because our perceptions of what others believe and do are often constructed through our own experiences rather than from information about actual rates (Tankard & Paluck, 2016) . For example, we typically assess the popularity of an opinion by relying on cues like how familiar it feels or how many times we recall seeing it in the news or on social media. We’re less likely to use information obtained through an opinion poll. Indeed, media exposure is our primary source of information on many issues (Shehata & Strömbäck, 2021; Su et al., 2015) . Media is not, however, constructed to be representative of the actual distribution of beliefs and opinions that exist in the world. Instead, the news disproportionately shares extreme and uncommon views (e.g., Koehler, 2016) , and our social media algorithms often prioritize sensational content that grabs and maintains our engagement (e.g., Bucher & Helmond, 2018; Dujeancourt & Garz, 2023) . 

Media exposure can shift our perception of norms (Gunther et al., 2006; Paluck, 2009) , and disproportionate exposure to reports of minority attitudes and behaviors may make those attitudes and behaviors seem more common and acceptable than they actually are. Some of our work has found that the mere repetition of information increases perceptions that the information has consensus — an “illusory consensus” effect (Jalbert & Pillai, 2024) . Other researchers have found that repeated exposure to reports of immoral behaviors makes them seem more common and, in turn, more acceptable (Pillai et al., 2023) . These processes may help explain why people have a tendency to overestimate the extremity of views of those who do not share their political orientation or underestimate how many others actually share their own policy-related opinion (e.g., Levendusky & Malhotra, 2016; Yang et al., 2016) . For example, most people believe that climate change is a substantial problem that their government should address but substantially underestimate the percentage of people who agree with them (Andre et al., 2024; Sparkman et al., 2022) .

In addition to the effects of being exposed to information, other aspects of the messages may also lead people to (often incorrectly) believe those ideas have widespread consensus. Politicians frequently bake information about broad consensus into their messages. A recurring part of Trump’s rhetoric includes referring to the “many people” who say or believe the message he wants to promote. For example, in a press conference last Thursday, Trump (incorrectly) claimed that “They wanted to get rid of Roe v. Wade and that’s Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and everybody. Liberals, conservatives, everybody wanted it back in the states” (Montanaro, 2024) . As another example, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) argued on May 8, “We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections.” In this case, Johnson was not only repeating false information (Swenson, 2024) but was also claiming that this was something widely known and accepted. Combined with the influences of disproportionate and repeated news coverage, these political messages can easily mislead people on which positions are widely held.

Weird-checking as a social norms intervention

A recent survey by Data for Progress asked US voters to judge how weird they found recent claims made and actions taken by members of the Republican party. Most voters found several of them — including claiming that Kamala Harris only recently became a Black person and supporting the monitoring of pregnant women to prevent them from traveling for reproductive healthcare — to be “very weird” (Springs, 2024) . When left unchecked, the disproportionate and repeated coverage of these behaviors may make them especially susceptible to falsely inflated perceptions of consensus. Without looking at this poll, people may not know that the majority of other people also find these behaviors to be abnormal. By weird-checking unpopular beliefs, including these, Democrats are helping communicate more accurate perceptions of the true state of consensus.

Communicating information around consensus is a powerful intervention, well-established by social psychologists to be effective in promoting belief correction and behavior change across a variety of domains. For example, communicating doctors’ consensus around COVID-19 vaccines can increase vaccination rates (Bartoš et al., 2022) , and sharing social norms around engaging in energy and water conservation habits can increase those behaviors (Goldstein et al., 2008; Nolan et al., 2008; Schultz et al., 2007) . Communicating consensus information can also be used to reduce undesirable behaviors like littering (Kallgren et al., 2000) and drinking and driving (Perkins et al., 2010) . And, more recently, sharing consensus information has been found to help reduce belief in misinformation (Ecker et al., 2023) .

Communication around consensus also does not have to be explicit to change our minds. In some of our work, we’ve investigated how false information shared online is evaluated when it appears with social truth queries: questions posed by another user drawing attention to whether information is true (e.g., “How do you know this is true?”, “Is there evidence for that?”, “Do other people believe that?”). We have consistently found that the presence of these truth queries reduces belief in and intent to share false information. These truth queries are thought to be effective in part because the mere act of asking a question disrupts assumptions that the information has consensus and changes how we process it (Jalbert et al., 2023) . Similarly, calling something weird may lead people to use a different frame than they normally would to guide how that information is interpreted and understood (see Starbird, 2023 , for a relevant discussion).

An additional note is that these efforts may be effective even when they don’t convince everyone that a particular attitude or behavior is weird. Because people have a strong motivation to affiliate and receive the approval of others (Cialdini & Goldstein, 2004) , just knowing that others consider a sentiment weird may make someone less likely to publicly endorse or share it. 

We also want to note an important limitation to our discussion of weird-checking so far. We have been focused on the effects of calling attitudes and behaviors weird. However, politicians have also been referring to the people who promote these attitudes and engage in these behaviors as weird too. Doing so may lead people to reconsider those politicians in the same fashion — e.g., are these people reasonable? How similar are they to what people expect of someone who holds their position? How many others generally agree with their beliefs and values?

Why weird-checking may sometimes be better than fact-checking

Why might weird-checking be helping Democrats change the narrative in places where typical fact-checking efforts have been unsuccessful? In many situations, fact-checks can be effective in getting people to update their beliefs (Walter & Murphy, 2018) . However, fact-checking has its shortcomings. One particularly important one is that attitudes and the acceptability of behaviors can’t be fact-checked. You can’t fact-check, for example, whether someone should support the monitoring of pregnant women to restrict their travel. But you can weird-check this view.

In addition, the truth of a message is often nuanced and complicated, making it difficult to communicate and digest. Fact-checks ask us to focus on the specific details of an attitude held or action taken by one person. Weird-checking may allow us to bypass engaging these details (an often frustrating and not-so-fruitful task that distracts from the overarching takeaway) and instead do a more general gut check of whether the attitude or behavior is consistent with our values and norms and those our society endorses.

Why weird-checking works

Why does weird-checking work? Calling an attitude or behavior weird communicates information about social norms and consensus, factors that play a critical role in guiding our own beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Extreme and minority views are often overrepresented in the media, and repeated exposure to them may make them appear to be more common and acceptable than they actually are. Referring to an attitude or behavior as weird disrupts inflated perceptions of consensus, provides information about the views of others, and orients us to more carefully consider whether the attitude or behavior is consistent with societal values and expectations. You don’t have to use the word weird to get this effect. You could use a more traditional approach like sharing opinion poll information. Or you could try out another phrasing like unusual, strange, bizarre, or out-of-touch. But weird works.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Drew Gorenz, Michael Grass, Angela Harwood, and Rachel Moran-Prestridge for their thoughtful input and suggestions on this piece.

Illustration at top based on icons via The Noun Project .

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Journal of Materials Chemistry A

The role of copolymers towards key materials in electrochemical supercapacitors: a review.

* Corresponding authors

a Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Geological Carbon Storage and Low Carbon Utilization of Resources, School of Material Sciences and Technology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China E-mail: [email protected]

b Lang Fang Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Langfang 065000, China

c School of Science, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China E-mail: [email protected]

Supercapacitors (SCs) are promising energy storage systems, distinguished by their long cycle life, rapid charging/discharging capabilities, and environmental friendliness, making them effective alternatives to batteries. Copolymers, owing to their easily tunable structures and properties, are considered highly advantageous materials for SCs. The mechanical strength, ionic conductivity, and stability of copolymers are critical, representing significant challenges for developing high-performance copolymer-based SCs. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the role of copolymers towards key materials for SCs. We initially introduce the fundamentals of SCs and copolymers, followed by a detailed discussion on the effects of their preparation methods, preparation principles, material selections, and structural design on the performance of electrodes, electrolytes, and binders in SCs, illustrated with some key examples. Finally, we discuss the future prospects and challenges of copolymer applications in SCs. This review aims to guide further development of the role of copolymers towards key materials for SCs and enhance their production and application.

• This article is part of the themed collection: Journal of Materials Chemistry A Recent Review Articles

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S. Yin, X. Bai, D. Jiang, L. Liao and H. Liu, J. Mater. Chem. A , 2024, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D4TA03682D

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