Stephen Hawking and Finding Theses

Stephen Hawking and Finding Theses

Stephen Hawking

This week we heard the news that cosmologist and scientist Stephen Hawking died at the age of 76. He worked as a Professor at Cambridge University and became famous for his research in to cosmology - especially black holes. His book A Brief History of Time became a bestseller.

Black hole CC0 https://pixabay.com/en/black-hole-nebula-stars-space-2483571/

The BBC have put together a Stephen Hawking quiz if you want to test your knowledge of the famous scientist.

In October 2017, Cambridge University put Hawking's PhD thesis online for the first time and the demand to read it crashed the system. It was read two million times.

Theses

What is a thesis?

According to the Collins Dictionary the definition of a thesis is a long piece of writing based on your own ideas and research that you do as part of a university degree, especially a higher degree such as a PhD. 

Are they useful?

• They are valid academic sources of information and can be used as sources of background reading and research for dissertations and assignments.
• They are published sources of information with copyright restrictions and must be cited and referenced when used as part of your academic work. ARU has instructions on how to do this using the Harvard system on their website.
• Theses will have reading lists and bibliographies like books and journals which may lead you to other sources/ authors you can read.
• Looking through recent theses in your field may give you an idea of the sorts of issues currently being researched. It may help you pinpoint what you want to choose for your research topic or give you background for a job interview.
• Some research written up in theses may also be summarised in academic journals so you may want to search the author (or the Professor who supervised the research) in a journal database too to see if you can find more context or read a summary.

Where are they stored? How do I find them?

Most universities have their own repository - usually online. ARU's for example is here. These online databases/ websites give open access to a University's research. Stephen Hawking's PhD thesis is on Apollo - the name Cambridge University have given their online repository.

However, you can be forgiven for thinking that trawling through every University's online repository one by one - especially if you don't know which University to look for - is not ideal. These online resources make this easier.

EThoS (Electronic Theses Online System) is the British Library's online repository for over 475,000 doctoral theses awarded by universities across the UK. Most are available in digital format but details of how to get a copy is given if the digital copy isn't available.

NDLTD (Networked Digital Library or Theses and Dissertations) offers access to theses mainly from America and Canada but there are some from other countries.

Finally...

We leave this week's blog with a quote from Stephen Hawking

On life...
❝One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away❞ - Interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, June 2010