Dissertation Abstracts International

Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) is an unparalleled and well-established information service for dissertation literature. Dissertation Abstracts International is divided into two sections, namely Section A (Humanities & Social Sciences) and Section B (Sciences & Engineering). Dissertation Abstracts International -A and B list over 3000 dissertations each month, most of them from North American and British institutions. Full manuscripts are microfilmed and made available for sale. The author or university pays a fee for this service.

Dissertation Abstracts International Section C
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The purpose of Dissertation Abstracts International -C is to enhance the value of the Dissertation Abstracts International service by increasing its worldwide coverage and thus respond to the recognized need for an expanded source for dissertation literature. Dissertation Abstracts International -C publishes abstracts free of charge; full manuscripts are not microfilmed or made available for sale. DAI-C is a bibliographic information service only, but the quarterly issues are distributed widely.

Section C is devoted to dissertations from throughout the world in all disciplines. Publication started in 1976 and is quarterly. The internal organization of material within Section C is by subject and each issue includes author and keyword indexes. For all titles, including those in foreign languages, English keywords are used for the generation of the subject indexes to avoid dispersing synonymous terms (e.g., railway, chemin de fer, Eisenbahn, ferrovia) throughout a single-sequence index or creating more than one index sequence. A cumulated author index is issued at the end of the volume year. Beginning with 1988 issues, DAI-C data is also included in Dissertation Abstracts Online, Dissertation Abstracts Ondisc, and the annual Comprehensive Dissertation Index.

Benefits of Contributing to DAI Section C
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The results of much of the research carried out at institutions of advanced education are embodied in doctoral dissertations, and it is in the interests of authors, librarians, and other academics, including post-graduate students conducting doctoral research, that information should be disseminated concerning recently completed doctoral research. The DAI system has been developed to achieve this end, and Section C has adopted all of its features. The chief benefits of the system are set out below:

Bibliographic Control:
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Full bibliographic details are given: author, dissertation title, degree date, institution, language of text, and, where known, number of dissertation pages.
Abstracts:
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A second level of depth is provided by abstracts, which enable researchers to decide whether the consultation of a complete text is necessary for their own work.
Complete Texts:
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Information is given on the availability of copies of dissertations, provided the author has submitted publisher information.
Subject Access:
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A keyword indexing system is employed to offer subject access to dissertations recorded. Since a doctoral dissertation is frequently the author's first significant published work, this is
a more useful tool than author indexes alone.
Current Awareness:
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Even the most comprehensive reading and the most cultured "grapevine" cannot guarantee that a researcher is always up-to-date. DAI offers assistance in a sometimes elusive sphere of literature.