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APA Style Guide 7th Edition

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR Thesis and Dissertations 

Published Thesis - Available online / from a database 

Author Last name, First Initials. (Year). Title of Thesis or Dissertation  [Type of thesis, Name of institution awarding degree]. Database name. Web address

Unpublished Thesis - Available in print from a college or university 

Author Last name, First Initials. (Year). Title of Thesis or Dissertation  [Unpublished type of thesis]. Name of institution awarding degree.

EXAMPLES 


Published Thesis - From a database 

Kral, T. R. (2020). Impact of mindfulness meditation on brain function, connectivity, and structure (Publication
         No. 27833897)  [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison]. 
ProQuest Dissertations
          Publishing.

 

Published Thesis - Available online  

Hunsaker, C. (2020). Beyond theory: Simulation and role-play in interpreter education [Master's thesis,
          Western Oregon University]. Western Oregon University Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons
          wou.edu/theses/61

 

Unpublished Thesis - Available in print form at a college or university 

Carlin, A. (2017). Effective pairing methods for students in a second grade dual language
           classroom. 
[Unpublished Master's thesis]. Western Oregon University.

 

NOTES ABOUT AUTHOR, DATE, TITLE, AND SOURCE

Author 

  • List the author alphabetically by the authors last name and first name initial(s)

Date 

  • Enclose the date of publication in parentheses followed by a period. For example: (2020).

 

Thesis or Dissertation Title 

  • Italicize the title 
  • The first word of the title and subtitle is capitalized as are proper nouns but all other words are lowercase. 
  • If a title ends with a question mark or exclamation point, use those punctuation marks instead of a period at the end. 

Identify Type of Dissertation or Thesis 

  • For an unpublished dissertation or thesis (available only in print from a college or university) label as [Unpublished doctoral dissertation] or [Unpublished master's thesis]. 
  • For a published dissertation or thesis label as [Doctoral dissertation, Name of University] or [Master's thesis, Name of University].   

Name of Institution 

  • The name of the instruction will appear with the type of dissertation or thesis (if published) or as the place where the dissertation or thesis is housed (if unpublished). 

Database Publication 

  • If published, include the name of the database publishing the dissertation or thesis 

Online Publication Not in a Database 

  • If published online but not in a database, include the web address /URL