How to Reference in Turabian

Referencing Theses/Dissertations

A few of our databases will include results for Masters or PhD theses. These are almost always cutting-edge work, but be aware that they are not peer-reviewed, so you should check whether the author has published their work.

For example, you may come across:

Hovey, Kevin G. "Guiding Light: Contributions of Alan R. Tippett Toward the Development and Dissemination of Twentieth-Century Missiology." PhD diss., Alphacrucis College, Sydney, 2017.

However, Hovey has since published his thesis into a book, and so represents the more current form of his research on the topic:

Hovey, Kevin G. Guiding Light: Contributions of Alan R. Tippett Toward the Development and Dissemination of Twentieth-Century Missiology. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2019.

Furthermore, be aware that not all theses are of similarly high quality, so be judicious in how you use them.

i. First citation in the footnotes

Narelle Jane Coetzee, “Wild God in the Wilderness: Why Does Yahweh Choose to Appear in the Wilderness in the Book of Exodus?” (PhD diss., University of Birmingham, 2016), 239.

ii. Subsequent citations are shortened

Coetzee, “Wild God in the Wilderness,” 2.

iii. In the bibliography

Coetzee, Narelle Jane. “Wild God in the Wilderness: Why Does Yahweh Choose to Appear in the Wilderness in the Book of Exodus?” PhD diss., University of Birmingham, 2016.