Open Access Theses and Dissertations

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About OATD.org

OATD.org aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions . OATD currently indexes 7,241,108 theses and dissertations.

About OATD (our FAQ) .

Visual OATD.org

We’re happy to present several data visualizations to give an overall sense of the OATD.org collection by county of publication, language, and field of study.

You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses:

  • Google Scholar
  • NDLTD , the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not.
  • Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published electronically or in print, and mostly available for purchase. Access to PQDT may be limited; consult your local library for access information.

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How to collect data for your thesis

Thesis data collection tips

Collecting theoretical data

Search for theses on your topic, use content-sharing platforms, collecting empirical data, qualitative vs. quantitative data, frequently asked questions about gathering data for your thesis, related articles.

After choosing a topic for your thesis , you’ll need to start gathering data. In this article, we focus on how to effectively collect theoretical and empirical data.

Empirical data : unique research that may be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed.

Theoretical data : secondary, scholarly sources like books and journal articles that provide theoretical context for your research.

Thesis : the culminating, multi-chapter project for a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.

Qualitative data : info that cannot be measured, like observations and interviews .

Quantitative data : info that can be measured and written with numbers.

At this point in your academic life, you are already acquainted with the ways of finding potential references. Some obvious sources of theoretical material are:

  • edited volumes
  • conference proceedings
  • online databases like Google Scholar , ERIC , or Scopus

You can also take a look at the top list of academic search engines .

Looking at other theses on your topic can help you see what approaches have been taken and what aspects other writers have focused on. Pay close attention to the list of references and follow the bread-crumbs back to the original theories and specialized authors.

Another method for gathering theoretical data is to read through content-sharing platforms. Many people share their papers and writings on these sites. You can either hunt sources, get some inspiration for your own work or even learn new angles of your topic. 

Some popular content sharing sites are:

With these sites, you have to check the credibility of the sources. You can usually rely on the content, but we recommend double-checking just to be sure. Take a look at our guide on what are credible sources?

The more you know, the better. The guide, " How to undertake a literature search and review for dissertations and final year projects ," will give you all the tools needed for finding literature .

In order to successfully collect empirical data, you have to choose first what type of data you want as an outcome. There are essentially two options, qualitative or quantitative data. Many people mistake one term with the other, so it’s important to understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative research .

Boiled down, qualitative data means words and quantitative means numbers. Both types are considered primary sources . Whichever one adapts best to your research will define the type of methodology to carry out, so choose wisely.

In the end, having in mind what type of outcome you intend and how much time you count on will lead you to choose the best type of empirical data for your research. For a detailed description of each methodology type mentioned above, read more about collecting data .

Once you gather enough theoretical and empirical data, you will need to start writing. But before the actual writing part, you have to structure your thesis to avoid getting lost in the sea of information. Take a look at our guide on how to structure your thesis for some tips and tricks.

The key to knowing what type of data you should collect for your thesis is knowing in advance the type of outcome you intend to have, and the amount of time you count with.

Some obvious sources of theoretical material are journals, libraries and online databases like Google Scholar , ERIC or Scopus , or take a look at the top list of academic search engines . You can also search for theses on your topic or read content sharing platforms, like Medium , Issuu , or Slideshare .

To gather empirical data, you have to choose first what type of data you want. There are two options, qualitative or quantitative data. You can gather data through observations, interviews, focus groups, or with surveys, tests, and existing databases.

Qualitative data means words, information that cannot be measured. It may involve multimedia material or non-textual data. This type of data claims to be detailed, nuanced and contextual.

Quantitative data means numbers, information that can be measured and written with numbers. This type of data claims to be credible, scientific and exact.

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EBSCO Open Dissertations

EBSCO Open Dissertations makes electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) more accessible to researchers worldwide. The free portal is designed to benefit universities and their students and make ETDs more discoverable. 

Increasing Discovery & Usage of ETD Research

EBSCO Open Dissertations is a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs to increase traffic and discoverability of ETD research. You can join the movement and add your theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to your institutional repository. 

EBSCO Open Dissertations extends the work started in 2014, when EBSCO and the H.W. Wilson Foundation created American Doctoral Dissertations which contained indexing from the H.W. Wilson print publication, Doctoral Dissertations Accepted by American Universities, 1933-1955. In 2015, the H.W. Wilson Foundation agreed to support the expansion of the scope of the American Doctoral Dissertations database to include records for dissertations and theses from 1955 to the present.

How Does EBSCO Open Dissertations Work?

Your ETD metadata is harvested via OAI and integrated into EBSCO’s platform, where pointers send traffic to your IR.

EBSCO integrates this data into their current subscriber environments and makes the data available on the open web via opendissertations.org .

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Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)

OATD.org provides open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 6,654,285 theses and dissertations.

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What is research data?

Research data are the evidence that underpins the answer to your research question and can support the findings or outputs of your research. Research data takes many different forms. They may include for example, statistics, digital images, sound recordings, films, transcripts of interviews, survey data, artworks, published texts or manuscripts, or fieldwork observations. The term 'data' is more familiar to researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but any outputs from research could be considered data. For example, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) researchers might create data in the form of presentations, spreadsheets, documents, images, works of art, or musical scores. The Research Data Management Team in the University Library aim to help you plan, create, organise, share, and look after your research materials, whatever form they take. For more information about the Research data Management Team,  visit their website .

Data Management Plans

Research Data Management is a complex issue, but if done correctly from the start, could save you a lot of time and hassle when you are writing up your thesis. We advise all students to consider data management as early as possible and create a Data Management Plan (DMP). The Research Data Management Team offer help in creating your DMP and can offer advice and training on how to do this. There are some departments that have joined a pilot project to include Data Management Plans in the registration reviews of PhD students. As part of the pilot, students are asked to complete a brief Data Management Plan (DMP) and supervisors and assessors ensure that the student has thought about all the issues and their responses are reasonable. If your department is taking part in the pilot or would like to, see the Data Management Plans for Pilot for Cambridge PhD Students page. The Research Data Management Team will provide support for any students, supervisors or assessors that are in need.

Submitting your digital thesis and depositing your data

If you have created data that is connected to your thesis and the data is in a format separate to the thesis file itself, we recommend that you deposit it in the data repository and make it open access to improve discoverability. We will accept data that either does not contain third party copyright, or contains third party copyright that has been cleared and is data of the following types:

  •     computer code written by the researcher
  •     software written by the researcher
  •     statistical data
  •     raw data from experiments

If you have created a research output which is not one of those listed above, please contact us on the  [email protected]  address and we will advise whether you should deposit this with your thesis, or separately in the data repository. If you are ready to deposit your data in the data repository, please do so via symplectic elements. More information on  how to deposit can be found on the Research Data Management pages . If you wish to cite your data in your thesis, we can arranged for placeholder DOIs to be created in the data repository before your thesis is submitted. For further information, please email:  [email protected]  

Third party copyright in your data

For an explanation of what is third party copyright, please see the  OSC third party copyright page . If your data is based on, or contains third party copyright you will need to obtain clearance to make your data open access in the data repository. It is possible to apply a 12 month embargo to datasets while clearance is obtained if you need extra time to do this. However, if it is not possible to clear the third party copyrighted material, it is not possible to deposit your data in the data repository. In these cases, it might be preferable to deposit your data with your thesis instead, under controlled access, but this can be complicated if you wish to deposit the thesis itself under a different access level. Please email  [email protected]  with any queries and we can advise on the best solution.

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Data and your thesis

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What is research data?

Research data are the evidence that underpins the answer to your research question and can support the findings or outputs of your research. Research data takes many different forms. They may include for example, statistics, digital images, sound recordings, films, transcripts of interviews, survey data, artworks, published texts or manuscripts, or fieldwork observations. The term 'data' is more familiar to researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but any outputs from research could be considered data. For example, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) researchers might create data in the form of presentations, spreadsheets, documents, images, works of art, or musical scores. The Research Data Management Team in the University Library aim to help you plan, create, organise, share, and look after your research materials, whatever form they take. For more information about the Research data Management Team, visit their website .

Data Management Plans

Research Data Management is a complex issue, but if done correctly from the start, could save you a lot of time and hassle when you are writing up your thesis. We advise all students to consider data management as early as possible and create a Data Management Plan (DMP). The Research Data Management Team offer help in creating your DMP and can offer advice and training on how to do this. There are some departments that have joined a pilot project to include Data Management Plans in the registration reviews of PhD students. As part of the pilot, students are asked to complete a brief Data Management Plan (DMP) and supervisors and assessors ensure that the student has thought about all the issues and their responses are reasonable. If your department is taking part in the pilot or would like to, see the Data Management Plans for Pilot for Cambridge PhD Students page. The Research Data Management Team will provide support for any students, supervisors or assessors that are in need.

Submitting your digital thesis and depositing your data

If you have created data that is connected to your thesis and the data is in a format separate to the thesis file itself, we recommend that you deposit it in the data repository and make it open access to improve discoverability. We will accept data that either does not contain third party copyright, or contains third party copyright that has been cleared and is data of the following types:

  •     computer code written by the researcher
  •     software written by the researcher
  •     statistical data
  •     raw data from experiments

If you have created a research output which is not one of those listed above, please contact us on the [email protected] address and we will advise whether you should deposit this with your thesis, or separately in the data repository. If you are ready to deposit your data in the data repository, please do so via symplectic elements. More information on how to deposit can be found on the Research Data Management pages . If you wish to cite your data in your thesis, we can arranged for placeholder DOIs to be created in the data repository before your thesis is submitted. For further information, please email:  [email protected]  

Third party copyright in your data

For an explanation of what is third party copyright, please see the OSC third party copyright page . If your data is based on, or contains third party copyright you will need to obtain clearance to make your data open access in the data repository. It is possible to apply a 12 month embargo to datasets while clearance is obtained if you need extra time to do this. However, if it is not possible to clear the third party copyrighted material, it is not possible to deposit your data in the data repository. In these cases, it might be preferable to deposit your data with your thesis instead, under controlled access, but this can be complicated if you wish to deposit the thesis itself under a different access level. Please email [email protected] with any queries and we can advise on the best solution.

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Why search this literature?

It is crucial for graduate students to search the thesis and dissertation literature to make sure that an idea or hypothesis has not already been tested, explored, and published.  An additional reason to search this literature is that it is rich with ideas and information not found elsewhere.  If graduate students do not continue on as academics or if students that came after them in their programs did not continue their research, this literature may be the end of the line for scholarship on a topic.

ProQuest has published dissertation e-learning modules covering the usefulness of using dissertations as a research source.  See link below:

  • Dissertation eLearning resources from ProQuest Uncover the value of dissertations.

Library Databases

All graduate students should, at minimum, search the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database (PQDT) to see if the research they are proposing to do has already been done by a student at another institution/university.  RIT dissertations and theses have been included in PQDT since approximately 2006.

  • Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window Identifies Ph.D. dissertations from U.S. & Canadian universities since 1861. Abstracts from 1980. Master's theses from 1988. Many with full-text.

RIT Digital Institutional Repository

  • Digital Institutional Repository The digital institutional repository for the Rochester Institute of Technology, managed by RIT Libraries.
  • ProQuest - Most Accessed Dissertations/Theses

Each month ProQuest updates this list of the top 25 Most-Accessed Dissertations and Theses across all subjects, based upon total PDF downloads. Find out what is trending.

The web sites below should also be consulted as appropriate to perform a full and thorough review of the dissertation and thesis literature beyond your introductory search of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.  Consider whether a particular country or part of the world would have an interest in your potential research topic.

Only large-scale repositories of dissertations and theses are included here. You may also need to search individual university repositories directly.

  • Ebsco Open Dissertations Search thousands of open dissertations and theses from over 50 participating libraries.
  • EThOS (from the British Library) EThOS offers a 'single point of access' where researchers the world over can access ALL theses produced by UK Higher Education.
  • Indian Institute of Science Dissertations and theses from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
  • Indian Theses and Dissertations (Shodhganga) Over 130 participating Indian universities and over 8800 ETD documents.
  • National ETD Portal (South Africa) South African theses and dissertations.
  • Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD), is an international organization dedicated to promoting the adoption, creation, use, dissemination, and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The NDLTD Union Catalog contains more than one million records of electronic theses and dissertations. Search the Union Catalog from here: http://thumper.vtls.com:6090/?theme=NDLTD
  • OhioLINK ETD Center Electronic theses and dissertations from colleges and universities in the state of Ohio.
  • Open Access Theses and Dissertations OATD aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 600 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 1.5 million theses and dissertations. RIT is included.
  • Theses Canada Canadian universities voluntarily participate by submitting approved theses and dissertation to Theses Canada. Click on "Search Theses Canada" under the Introduction on the left hand side of the page to begin your search.
  • TROVE From the National Library of Australia - Search Trove to explore amazing collections from Australian libraries, universities, museums, galleries and archives.
  • Next: Thesis Writing Guides >>

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Search tip: Finding data for my thesis or research project

Ever wondered if somebody has created a dataset that you can use for your thesis or project? Or if data is already available from a similar experiment? You can save time and resources if you find data that you can (re)use.

What is data?

With all the interesting research being done, not only are papers being published, but also datasets. Research data consists of anything you collect, observe, create, and analyze for your research. This can vary from models, scripts, specimens, field notebooks, audio files, videos, questionnaire responses, interview transcripts to sequencing data.

Where to find data?

Nowadays publishers and funders require researchers to deposit a paper's data in a permanent data repository with open access. Once deposited, the data can be found by using literature, data repositories, or indexes of datasets.

Re3data.org

A good source to find a data repository with data in your field is re3data.org . On the homepage you can type your topic in the search field. If using multiple words, place them between double quotation marks (“..”) for a phrase search. The results will show data repositories with data on your topic. Using the toolbar, you can select ‘Browse’ and ‘Browse by Subject’, where you can browse from general to more specific subjects. For additional information on data searching and data repositories, check the e-learning module ‘Finding research data’ .

Citing data

Always remember to cite the dataset's source when it in your thesis or manuscript. The citation should include the creator(s), year, title, repository, and persistent identifier (usually a doi). Currently, there is no standard format for referencing datasets. You can follow your referencing style, journal guidelines/requirements, or guidelines from the repository. Remember to include datasets in the reference list at the end of your text to properly credit the data's creator.

Do you have questions about finding data? Please email us.

where to find data thesis

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Check out the separate research guide on how to locate and use data at Wellesley.

  • ICPSR: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window Archive of downloadable datasets that can be used with statistical software packages.
  • IPUMS IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community context.
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  • Penn World Tables Data on about 30 variables for about 189 countries over some or all the years 1950-2010.
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Environment

  • UNEP Environmental Data Explorer Provides 500+ variables from the United Nations Environment Programme.
  • Water Data From the Pacific Institute; some tables available as .csv files
  • New York Stock Exchange Data Library Tables can be copied and pasted into Excel.
  • Yahoo Finance Use this to find historical stock prices. Search by ticker symbol.
  • Health and Medical Care Archive
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  • Longitudinal Studies of Aging
  • National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging
  • National Health Interview Survey
  • National Hospital Care Survey
  • Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive
  • American Housing Survey
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  • National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
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  • Current Population Survey (CPS) Joint project between the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.
  • National Longitudinal Surveys Labor market activities and other significant life events of several groups of men and women.
  • World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers Older data available from ICPSR .
  • Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window Compilation of hundreds of thousands of public opinion survey questions and responses, at the local, state, national, or international level, 1986 to present.
  • Roper iPOLL This link opens in a new window Searchable collection of 500,000 questions and answers from surveys collected by the major polling firms in the U.S. since 1935, with downloadable datasets.
  • ABC News/Washington Post Poll Series
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  • European Commission Public Opinion Analysis
  • Pew Research Center for the People & the Press data archive
  • Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project
  • Program on International Policy Attitudes
  • World Public Opinion
  • American Religion Data Archive
  • CPANDA: Cultural Policy & the Arts National Data Archive Data dealing with public policy and the arts.
  • European Social Survey Interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations. Register to download data.
  • International Social Survey Program
  • World Values Survey World's most comprehensive investigation of political and sociocultural change.
  • WomanStats Project Qualitative and quantitative information on over 300 indicators of women's status in 174 countries. First time users must register. Use the codebook to define the variable.
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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.  

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Global ETD Search

Search the 6,480,322 electronic theses and dissertations contained in the NDLTD archive:

The archive supports advanced filtering and boolean search.

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  • Finding Dissertations and Theses from Other Institutions
  • Finding University of Chicago Dissertations and Theses
  • Finding University of Chicago Master's Theses

Quick Links

  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window Subscription database. Single access point for North American dissertations and theses with significant and growing international coverage. & more less... Includes citations for materials from the first U.S. dissertation (1861) to those accepted as recently as last semester. Starting in 1997 full-text is often available. If full-text is not available information about ordering the document is provided.
  • PQDT Open Open access dissertations from the ProQuest database. ( North America .)
  • CRL Guide to Dissertations Center for Research Libraries guide to foreign dissertations.
  • EThOS This link opens in a new window & more less... EThOS is the UK’s national thesis service which aims to maximise the visibility and availability of the UK’s doctoral research theses. Register for free to download theses and dissertations.
  • Database of African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD) Contains brief citations for theses and dissertations completed in African universities.
  • Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD) IBICT ETD initiative for Brazilian theses and dissertations.
  • Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) This link opens in a new window & more less... International organization for ETDs.
  • Theses Canada Portal Central access point for Canadian theses. See ProQuest database also.
  • SUDOC: Système Universitaire de Documentation This link opens in a new window Union catalog for over 3000 French universities & more less... The combined catalogs of French academic libraries. See also the Bibliothèque Nationale de France .
  • Digitaler Dissertationen in Deutschland This link opens in a new window A gateway to online dissertation sites of many German universities. & more less... A gateway to online dissertation sites of many German universities.
  • Tesionline This link opens in a new window Italian service from the Corriere della sera. & more less... Provides bibliographic and full text access to over 8,000 Italian theses and dissertations, from the bachelors level to doctoral dissertations.
  • DART-Europe This link opens in a new window Portal for European ETDs. & more less... Portal for European Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
  • Base de datos de tesis doctorales (TESEO) Covers theses completed at Spanish universities.
  • Theses en ligne This link opens in a new window & more less... Llimited in content, but provides access to the full text of some French dissertations.

Obtaining Dissertations the Library Does Not Hold

Current University of Chicago faculty, students, and staff may borrow dissertations and theses by placing an interlibrary loan request .

Dissertations from U.S. or Canadian Institutions

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses contains records for most North American doctoral dissertations. To locate dissertations of interest, search by keyword.  Select More Search Options or use the Advanced search interface to search for terms in specific fields (Author, School, etc.).  Note that some fields (Abstract, Advisor, Committee Member, Department) will not work for dissertations produced before a certain date.  Most titles submitted since 1997 are available online.

The Theses Canada Portal provides additional information about Canadian theses.

Dissertations from Academic Institutions Outside the U.S.

Dissertations and theses from institutions outside the United States and Canada can sometimes be challenging to obtain. The Center for Research Libraries has a large collection of foreign dissertations. We borrow material from them, and in many cases interlibrary loan staff will ask CRL to acquire material they do not hold. See the CRL guide to dissertations for additional information.

Other Sources for Identifying Dissertations

While ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and the CRL Guide to Dissertations are good starting points, many of the Library's subscription databases contain records for dissertations. Along with the records for books and other material, WorldCat contains records for dissertations or theses held by member libraries. Most of the major subject-specific indexes (such as PsycINFO, SciFinder Scholar, or Sociological Abstracts) will also include citations for dissertations. Some of the Library's research guides mention additional sources.

The Library also has some print sources and bibliographies which you may use to locate dissertations. Locate these sources by searching the Library Catalog using the subject term Dissertations, Academic in either the subject keyword search or the Begins with subject search option. If you are looking for dissertations from a specific country, you can add the country into your search terms (i.e. Dissertations, Academic -- Mexico ).

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ECON 691H: Honors Thesis in Economics: Find Data

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Data Sources

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This is a long list of data sources. Read descriptions to get a sense of what's covered before choosing a source to search in.

Start with the sources at the top of the list.

For additional lists of data sources by topic, see this guide .

  • Sage Data Access billions of datasets on economics, crime, health, population, energy, the environment, and more in a single interface. Manipulate data; create charts, graphs, tables, maps. Data come from U.S. and international sources For help, see the user guide . 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.
  • Statista Contains statistics, infographics, industry and market research reports and publicly-available data for over 25 countries on all topics. Download statistics and charts in Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF. 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.
  • ICPSR How to use the ICPSR . ICPSR provides Web access to data files and documentation for use with statistical software, such as SAS, SPSS, and Stata. Data holdings include files that cover areas such as population, economics, education, health, social and political behavior, social and political attitudes, history, crime, aging, and substance abuse. Individual registration and adherence to responsible use statement are required. 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: Varies
  • FRED This site offers a wealth of economic data and information. The widely used database FRED is updated regularly and allows 24/7 access to regional and national financial and economic data.
  • FRASER FRASER is a digital library of U.S. economic, financial, and banking history—particularly the history of the Federal Reserve System. Provides access to data and policy documents from the Federal Reserve System and many other institutions.
  • data.census.gov Main access point for U.S. Census data. Guide to Census Data Resources more... less... Access: No restrictions. Coverage: Varies

U.S.-focused data

  • Statistical Abstract of the United States An authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. 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. North Carolina residents with a borrower's card may access from off campus by visiting NCLive directly. Contact the Davis Library Service Desk for the NCLive password. Coverage: 2013 - Present
  • Social Explorer Provides web-based access to United States Census data from 1790 to the present, and to other U.S. and international data, with the ability to make tables and interactive maps easily or export data for analysis. Data include the most commonly used variables and geographies. 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.
  • Prices and Wages by Decade This guide points to primary sources showing retail prices for common items or "necessities of life," including prices for foods, clothing, household items, fuels for heat and transportation, and fees for services fall within the domain of this guide.
  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.
  • Bureau of Economic Analysis BEA prepares national, regional, industry, and international data that presents essential information on economic growth, regional economic development, inter-industry relationships, and the United States' position in the world economy.
  • National Center for Health Statistics Provides health statistics for the United States from sources such as birth and death records, medical records, interview surveys, and through direct physical exams and laboratory testing.
  • National Center for Education Statistics Find data related to education in the U.S. and other nations
  • Centers for Disease Control Find health data

Global/International Data

  • UNdata From the United Nations. Areas of coverage include agriculture, education, energy, industry, labor, national accounts, population, tourism and trade more... less... Access: No restrictions.
  • World Development Indicators (WDI Online) From the World Bank, WDI data includes major economic indicators, information on population, health, gender, poverty, natural resources, financial matters, environmental variables, and other topics related to economic and social development. Updated quarterly. more... less... Access: No restrictions. Coverage: 1960 - present, updated quarterly.
  • International Financial Statistics Online (International Monetary Fund) For most countries of the world, IFS Online provides current data on exchange rates, international liquidity, international banking, money and banking, interest rates, prices, production, international transactions, government accounts, and national accounts. 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.
  • International Debt Statistics Presents recent data on financial flows, trends in external debt, and other major financial indicators for developing and advanced economies from the World Bank’s Quarterly External Debt Statistics and Quarterly Public Sector Debt databases. more... less... Access: No restrictions. Coverage: 1970-
  • International Historical Statistics A collection of statistical data from around the world, including hard-to-find data on Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Statistical data can be downloaded as a PDF or in Excel. Historical date range from 1750-2010. 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: 1750 - present
  • China Data Online Provides users with a wealth of statistics about contemporary China, focusing on economic and demographic statistics. Data from national, provincial, county, and city levels can be accessed, on a monthly and/or yearly basis.We subscribe only to the China Statistics; census data is not included in our subscription. 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: Varies, generally from mid-1990s to present
  • Penn World Tables Penn World Tables is a database with information on relative levels of income, output, input and productivity, covering 182 countries between 1950 and 2014

Other, Possibly-Relevant Data Sources

  • Osiris Contains information on over 110,000 publicly traded companies, banks, and insurance companies from around the world, including financial statement data. Provides ownership, subsidiaries, earnings estimates, stock data. Report formats reflect accounting procedures in the major world regions. Note: This resource does not currently work with Chrome browser 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: 1996 - present
  • USA Trade Online Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce on United States exports and imports of over 18,000 commodities. more... less... Access: No restrictions.
  • CountryData Online Data source that combines current and historical risk ratings to produce political, economic, financial, and social risk data for over 150 countries dating to 1984 in most cases. Useful for studying political, social, and economic stability. Provides access to the data underlying the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) publication. It includes MONTHLY averages of political risk and QUARTERLY updates of the economic/financial indicators. The regime forecasts for each country are updated 2-3 times annually. Data may be downloaded in tabular form. Note: Users will need to allow popups to enable this database to work properly. 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: 1984 - present
  • Roper Center's iPoll Offers extensive database of opinion poll datasets. Roper’s iPOLL allows searching at the question level. The Center archives national opinion polls back to 1935, both U.S. and some international polls. Holdings include survey results data from academic, commercial and media survey organizations such as Gallup, Harris Interactive, Pew Research Associates, ABC, CBS, Wall Street Journal and many more. Many datasets are available for instant download in ASCII or SPSS format. Datasets not available for immediate download may be requested from the Center to be queued for digitization. NOTE: First time users to NEW Roper iPoll need to self-register for access at login. Your credentials from Classic iPOLL will NOT work without new registration as of 8/14/2020. Classic iPOLL will no longer be updated after Sept 1, 2020. 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: 1935 -
  • Health Disparities and General Surveillance-Related MMWRs Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report publications from the Centers for Disease Control about health disparities.
  • UNC's Sheps Center Data Many datasets are available to UNC-Chapel Hill students--be sure to check the Access Limits column. more... less... About: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research seeks to improve the health of individuals, families, and populations by understanding the problems, issues and alternatives in the design and delivery of health care services. This is accomplished through an interdisciplinary program of research, consultation, technical assistance and training that focuses on timely and policy-relevant questions concerning the accessibility, adequacy, organization, cost and effectiveness of health care services and the dissemination of this information to policy makers and the general public.
  • ITERATE by Edward F. Mikolus Annual statistics of terrorism incidents back to 1968. More recent data available than 2011--contact Michele Hayslett for access.

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While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

  • Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
  • Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
  • Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
  • Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
  • Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
  • picture_as_pdf Thesis

10 Great Places to Find Free Datasets for Your Next Project

Wondering where to find free and open datasets for your next data project? Look no further…

If you’re looking for a job in data analytics, you’ll need a portfolio to demonstrate your expertise. Of course, if you’re new to data analytics, you probably don’t have much expertise! Not to worry. The fact you might not have worked on a paid project yet doesn’t mean you can’t whip up a compelling portfolio using some practice datasets.

Fortunately, the Internet is awash with these, most of which are completely free to download (thanks to the open data initiative). In this post, we’ll highlight a few first-rate repositories where you can find data on everything from business to finance, planetary science and crime.

Prefer to watch this information over reading it? Check out this video on dataset resources, presented by our very own in-house data scientist, Tom!

Prepare to geek out, and here we go:

1. Google Dataset Search

Type of data: Miscellaneous Data compiled by: Google Access: Free to search, but does include some fee-based search results Sample dataset: Global price of coffee, 1990-present

It seems we turn to Google for everything these days, and data is no exception. Launched in 2018, Google Dataset Search is like Google’s standard search engine, but strictly for data.

While it’s not the best tool if you prefer to browse, if you have a particular topic or keyword in mind, it won’t disappoint. Google Dataset Search aggregates data from external sources, providing a clear summary of what’s available, a description of the data, who it’s provided by, and when it was last updated. It’s an excellent place to start.

Type of data: Miscellaneous Data compiled by: Kaggle Access: Free, but registration required Sample dataset: Daily temperature of major cities

Like Google Dataset Search, Kaggle offers aggregated datasets, but it’s a community hub rather than a search engine. Kaggle launched in 2010 with a number of machine learning competitions, which subsequently solved problems for the likes of NASA and Ford.

It’s since evolved into a renowned open data platform, offering cloud-based collaboration for data scientists, as well as educational tools for teaching artificial intelligence and data analysis techniques …plus, of course, tonnes of great datasets covering almost any topic you can imagine.

3. Data.Gov

Type of data: Government Data compiled by: US Federal Government Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Lobster Report for Transshipment and Sales

In 2015, the US Government made all its data publicly available. With over 200,000 datasets covering everything from climate change to crime, you can lose yourself in the database for hours.

For a government website, it has some surprisingly user-friendly search functions, including the ability to drill down by geographical area, organization type, and file format. Search results are also clearly labeled at federal, state, county, and city levels.

If you’re interested in more general data about the US population, you can also check out the US Census Bureau , offering a rich selection of data about US citizens, their geography, education, and population growth.

4. Datahub.io

Type of data: Mostly business and finance Data compiled by: Datahub Access: Mostly free, no registration required Sample dataset: Average mass of glaciers since 1945

The goal of many data analysts is to help drive savvy business decisions. As such, using economic or business datasets for your portfolio project might be worth considering.

While Datahub covers a variety of topics from climate change to entertainment, it mainly focuses on areas like stock market data, property prices, inflation, and logistics. Because many of the data on the portal are updated monthly (or even daily) you’ll always have something fresh to work with, as well as data that covers broad timescales.

5. UCI Machine Learning Repository

Type of data: Machine learning Data compiled by: University of California Irvine Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Behavior of urban traffic in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Generalized repositories are great if you’re happy to browse. But if you’re seeking something more niche, why not specialize? Enter the UCI Machine Learning Repository.

Launched thirty years ago by the University of California Irvine, don’t let the 90s vibe mislead you—the UCI repository has a strong reputation among students, teachers, and researchers as the go-to place for machine learning data.

Datasets are clearly categorized by task (i.e. classification, regression, or clustering), attribute (i.e. categorical, numerical), data type, and area of expertise. This makes it easy to find something that’s suitable, whatever machine learning project you’re working on .

5. Earth Data

Type of data: Earth science Data compiled by: NASA Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Environmental conditions during fall moose hunting season in Alaska, 2000-2016

If you think space is awesome (let’s face it, space is awesome!) look no further than Earth Data. Publicly available since 1994, this repository provides access to all of NASA’s satellite observation data for our little blue planet.

As you can imagine, there’s plenty to peruse, from weather and climate measurements to atmospheric observations, ocean temperatures, vegetation mapping, and more. If Earth-based data isn’t your thing, NASA’s Planetary Data System takes things a step further with data from interplanetary missions, such as the Cassini probe (which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017). Who knows, you might even make a scientific discovery…

6. CERN Open Data Portal

Type of data: Particle Physics Data compiled by: CERN Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Higgs candidate collision events from 2011 and 2012

Want to demonstrate your ability to work with highly complex datasets? Head to the CERN Open Data Portal. It offers access to over two petabytes of information, including datasets from the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator. Frankly, these data aren’t for the faint of heart but if you’re interested in particle physics, they’re worth checking out.

While even the names of these datasets are pretty complex, each entry has a helpful breakdown of what’s included, as well as related datasets, and how to go about analyzing them. In many cases, they even provide sample code to get you started (thanks, CERN!)

7. Global Health Observatory Data Repository

Type of data: Health Data compiled by: UN World Health Organization Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Polio immunization coverage estimates by region

The Global Health Observation data repository is the UN WHO’s gateway to health-related statistics from across the globe. If you’re looking to break into the healthcare industry (a key focus for many data scientists, especially in the area of machine learning), these datasets are a good option for your portfolio.

Covering everything from malaria to HIV/AIDS, antimicrobial resistance, and vaccination rates, the portal even has a nice little feature that lets you preview data tables before downloading them. Not strictly necessary, but definitely nice to have!

8. BFI film industry statistics

Type of data: Entertainment and film Data compiled by: British Film Institute Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Weekend box office figures from 2001-present

If you’re looking for some data that are a bit more digestible, the next few should be right up your street. First off: the British Film Institute industry statistics. Throughout the year, the BFI accrues and releases data on everything from UK box office figures, to audience demographics, home entertainment, movie production costs, and more.

The best part, though, is their annual statistical yearbook. This breaks down the year’s data with some excellent statistical analysis and visual reports—great if you’re new to data analytics and want to check your work against the real thing.

9. NYC Taxi Trip Data

Type of data: Transport Data compiled by: New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Take your pick!

This is a weirdly fascinating one…since 2009, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has been accruing transport data from across New York City. Find datasets covering pick-up/drop-off times and locations, trip distances, fares, rate and payment types, passenger counts, and more.

It’s pretty interesting to compare the differences in figures from 2009 to the present day, especially within such a small geographic area. The site also provides some additional tools, including user guides, taxicab zone maps, data dictionaries (for explaining the spreadsheet labels), and annual industry reports. All very intuitive and quite a helpful guide if you’re new to data analytics.

10. FBI Crime Data Explorer

Type of data: Crime and drugs Data compiled by: Federal Bureau of Investigation Access: Free, no registration required Sample dataset: Homicide offense counts in Point Pleasant, 2008-2018

If you’re fascinated by crime, the FBI Crime Data Explorer is the one for you. It provides a broad collection of crime statistics from a variety of state organizations (universities and local law enforcement) and government (on a local, regional, and state-level). Pull data on hate crimes, officer assaults, homicides, and more.

Like the last couple of entries on our list, it also includes some helpful user guides to support data navigation. Each dataset also has some pretty nice visual breakdowns and analysis, so you can see if it has the features you’re looking for before downloading it.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll lose hours simply browsing these vast repositories. From the quirky to the unashamedly geeky, there’s no better evidence of data’s ubiquity in our lives.

So what do you do once you’ve found your dataset and analyzed it? If you want to feature your analysis as a project in your portfolio, there are certain steps you’ll need to follow—you can learn how to build your data analytics portfolio in this guide .

If you’re completely new to data analytics, why not try out a free, 5-day introductory short course ? You’ll get a hands-on introduction to the field, complete with access to a workable dataset. And, if you’d like to learn more about what it takes to forge a career in data, check out the following:

  • Am I a Good Fit for a Career as a Data Analyst?
  • The Best Online Data Analytics Courses
  • The 7 Top Data Analysis Software Tools

LOGO ANALYTICS FOR DECISIONS

11 Tips For Writing a Dissertation Data Analysis

Since the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution – the Digital World; lots of data have surrounded us. There are terabytes of data around us or in data centers that need to be processed and used. The data needs to be appropriately analyzed to process it, and Dissertation data analysis forms its basis. If data analysis is valid and free from errors, the research outcomes will be reliable and lead to a successful dissertation. 

Considering the complexity of many data analysis projects, it becomes challenging to get precise results if analysts are not familiar with data analysis tools and tests properly. The analysis is a time-taking process that starts with collecting valid and relevant data and ends with the demonstration of error-free results.

So, in today’s topic, we will cover the need to analyze data, dissertation data analysis, and mainly the tips for writing an outstanding data analysis dissertation. If you are a doctoral student and plan to perform dissertation data analysis on your data, make sure that you give this article a thorough read for the best tips!

What is Data Analysis in Dissertation?

Dissertation Data Analysis  is the process of understanding, gathering, compiling, and processing a large amount of data. Then identifying common patterns in responses and critically examining facts and figures to find the rationale behind those outcomes.

Even f you have the data collected and compiled in the form of facts and figures, it is not enough for proving your research outcomes. There is still a need to apply dissertation data analysis on your data; to use it in the dissertation. It provides scientific support to the thesis and conclusion of the research.

Data Analysis Tools

There are plenty of indicative tests used to analyze data and infer relevant results for the discussion part. Following are some tests  used to perform analysis of data leading to a scientific conclusion:

11 Most Useful Tips for Dissertation Data Analysis

Doctoral students need to perform dissertation data analysis and then dissertation to receive their degree. Many Ph.D. students find it hard to do dissertation data analysis because they are not trained in it.

1. Dissertation Data Analysis Services

The first tip applies to those students who can afford to look for help with their dissertation data analysis work. It’s a viable option, and it can help with time management and with building the other elements of the dissertation with much detail.

Dissertation Analysis services are professional services that help doctoral students with all the basics of their dissertation work, from planning, research and clarification, methodology, dissertation data analysis and review, literature review, and final powerpoint presentation.

One great reference for dissertation data analysis professional services is Statistics Solutions , they’ve been around for over 22 years helping students succeed in their dissertation work. You can find the link to their website here .

For a proper dissertation data analysis, the student should have a clear understanding and statistical knowledge. Through this knowledge and experience, a student can perform dissertation analysis on their own. 

Following are some helpful tips for writing a splendid dissertation data analysis:

2. Relevance of Collected Data

If the data is irrelevant and not appropriate, you might get distracted from the point of focus. To show the reader that you can critically solve the problem, make sure that you write a theoretical proposition regarding the selection  and analysis of data.

3. Data Analysis

For analysis, it is crucial to use such methods that fit best with the types of data collected and the research objectives. Elaborate on these methods and the ones that justify your data collection methods thoroughly. Make sure to make the reader believe that you did not choose your method randomly. Instead, you arrived at it after critical analysis and prolonged research.

On the other hand,  quantitative analysis  refers to the analysis and interpretation of facts and figures – to build reasoning behind the advent of primary findings. An assessment of the main results and the literature review plays a pivotal role in qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The overall objective of data analysis is to detect patterns and inclinations in data and then present the outcomes implicitly.  It helps in providing a solid foundation for critical conclusions and assisting the researcher to complete the dissertation proposal. 

4. Qualitative Data Analysis

Qualitative data refers to data that does not involve numbers. You are required to carry out an analysis of the data collected through experiments, focus groups, and interviews. This can be a time-taking process because it requires iterative examination and sometimes demanding the application of hermeneutics. Note that using qualitative technique doesn’t only mean generating good outcomes but to unveil more profound knowledge that can be transferrable.

Presenting qualitative data analysis in a dissertation  can also be a challenging task. It contains longer and more detailed responses. Placing such comprehensive data coherently in one chapter of the dissertation can be difficult due to two reasons. Firstly, we cannot figure out clearly which data to include and which one to exclude. Secondly, unlike quantitative data, it becomes problematic to present data in figures and tables. Making information condensed into a visual representation is not possible. As a writer, it is of essence to address both of these challenges.

          Qualitative Data Analysis Methods

Following are the methods used to perform quantitative data analysis. 

  •   Deductive Method

This method involves analyzing qualitative data based on an argument that a researcher already defines. It’s a comparatively easy approach to analyze data. It is suitable for the researcher with a fair idea about the responses they are likely to receive from the questionnaires.

  •  Inductive Method

In this method, the researcher analyzes the data not based on any predefined rules. It is a time-taking process used by students who have very little knowledge of the research phenomenon.

5. Quantitative Data Analysis

Quantitative data contains facts and figures obtained from scientific research and requires extensive statistical analysis. After collection and analysis, you will be able to conclude. Generic outcomes can be accepted beyond the sample by assuming that it is representative – one of the preliminary checkpoints to carry out in your analysis to a larger group. This method is also referred to as the “scientific method”, gaining its roots from natural sciences.

The Presentation of quantitative data  depends on the domain to which it is being presented. It is beneficial to consider your audience while writing your findings. Quantitative data for  hard sciences  might require numeric inputs and statistics. As for  natural sciences , such comprehensive analysis is not required.

                Quantitative Analysis Methods

Following are some of the methods used to perform quantitative data analysis. 

  • Trend analysis:  This corresponds to a statistical analysis approach to look at the trend of quantitative data collected over a considerable period.
  • Cross-tabulation:  This method uses a tabula way to draw readings among data sets in research.  
  • Conjoint analysis :   Quantitative data analysis method that can collect and analyze advanced measures. These measures provide a thorough vision about purchasing decisions and the most importantly, marked parameters.
  • TURF analysis:  This approach assesses the total market reach of a service or product or a mix of both. 
  • Gap analysis:  It utilizes the  side-by-side matrix  to portray quantitative data, which captures the difference between the actual and expected performance. 
  • Text analysis:  In this method, innovative tools enumerate  open-ended data  into easily understandable data. 

6. Data Presentation Tools

Since large volumes of data need to be represented, it becomes a difficult task to present such an amount of data in coherent ways. To resolve this issue, consider all the available choices you have, such as tables, charts, diagrams, and graphs. 

Tables help in presenting both qualitative and quantitative data concisely. While presenting data, always keep your reader in mind. Anything clear to you may not be apparent to your reader. So, constantly rethink whether your data presentation method is understandable to someone less conversant with your research and findings. If the answer is “No”, you may need to rethink your Presentation. 

7. Include Appendix or Addendum

After presenting a large amount of data, your dissertation analysis part might get messy and look disorganized. Also, you would not be cutting down or excluding the data you spent days and months collecting. To avoid this, you should include an appendix part. 

The data you find hard to arrange within the text, include that in the  appendix part of a dissertation . And place questionnaires, copies of focus groups and interviews, and data sheets in the appendix. On the other hand, one must put the statistical analysis and sayings quoted by interviewees within the dissertation. 

8. Thoroughness of Data

It is a common misconception that the data presented is self-explanatory. Most of the students provide the data and quotes and think that it is enough and explaining everything. It is not sufficient. Rather than just quoting everything, you should analyze and identify which data you will use to approve or disapprove your standpoints. 

Thoroughly demonstrate the ideas and critically analyze each perspective taking care of the points where errors can occur. Always make sure to discuss the anomalies and strengths of your data to add credibility to your research.

9. Discussing Data

Discussion of data involves elaborating the dimensions to classify patterns, themes, and trends in presented data. In addition, to balancing, also take theoretical interpretations into account. Discuss the reliability of your data by assessing their effect and significance. Do not hide the anomalies. While using interviews to discuss the data, make sure you use relevant quotes to develop a strong rationale. 

It also involves answering what you are trying to do with the data and how you have structured your findings. Once you have presented the results, the reader will be looking for interpretation. Hence, it is essential to deliver the understanding as soon as you have submitted your data.

10. Findings and Results

Findings refer to the facts derived after the analysis of collected data. These outcomes should be stated; clearly, their statements should tightly support your objective and provide logical reasoning and scientific backing to your point. This part comprises of majority part of the dissertation. 

In the finding part, you should tell the reader what they are looking for. There should be no suspense for the reader as it would divert their attention. State your findings clearly and concisely so that they can get the idea of what is more to come in your dissertation.

11. Connection with Literature Review

At the ending of your data analysis in the dissertation, make sure to compare your data with other published research. In this way, you can identify the points of differences and agreements. Check the consistency of your findings if they meet your expectations—lookup for bottleneck position. Analyze and discuss the reasons behind it. Identify the key themes, gaps, and the relation of your findings with the literature review. In short, you should link your data with your research question, and the questions should form a basis for literature.

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Wrapping Up

Writing data analysis in the dissertation involves dedication, and its implementations demand sound knowledge and proper planning. Choosing your topic, gathering relevant data, analyzing it, presenting your data and findings correctly, discussing the results, connecting with the literature and conclusions are milestones in it. Among these checkpoints, the Data analysis stage is most important and requires a lot of keenness.

In this article, we thoroughly looked at the tips that prove valuable for writing a data analysis in a dissertation. Make sure to give this article a thorough read before you write data analysis in the dissertation leading to the successful future of your research.

Oxbridge Essays. Top 10 Tips for Writing a Dissertation Data Analysis.

Emidio Amadebai

As an IT Engineer, who is passionate about learning and sharing. I have worked and learned quite a bit from Data Engineers, Data Analysts, Business Analysts, and Key Decision Makers almost for the past 5 years. Interested in learning more about Data Science and How to leverage it for better decision-making in my business and hopefully help you do the same in yours.

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  • Writing Tips

5 Tips for Handling your Thesis Data Analysis

3-minute read

  • 23rd June 2015

When writing your thesis, the process of analyzing data and working with statistics can be pretty hard at first. This is true whether you’re using specialized data analysis software, like SPSS, or a more descriptive approach. But there are a few guidelines you can follow to make things simpler.

1. Choose the Best Analytical Method for Your Project

The sheer variety of techniques available for data analysis can be confusing! If you are writing a thesis  on internet marketing, for instance, your approach to analysis will be very different to someone writing about biochemistry. As such it is important to adopt an approach appropriate to your research.

2. Double Check Your Methodology

If you are working with quantitative data, it is important to make sure that your analytical techniques are compatible with the methods used to gather your data. Having a clear understanding of what you have done so far will ensure that you achieve accurate results.

For instance, when performing statistical analysis, you may have to choose between parametric and non-parametric testing. If your data is sampled from a population with a broadly Gaussian (i.e., normal) distribution, you will almost always want to use some form of non-parametric testing.

But if you can’t remember or aren’t sure how you selected your sample, you won’t necessarily know the best test to use!

3. Familiarize Yourself with Statistical Analysis and Analytical Software

Thanks to various clever computer programs, you no longer have to be a math genius to conduct top-grade statistical analysis. Nevertheless, learning the basics will help you make informed choices when designing your research and prevent you from making basic mistakes.

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Likewise, trying out different software packages will allow you to pick the one best suited to your needs on your current project.

4. Present Your Data Clearly and Consistently

This is possibly one of the most important parts of writing up your results. Even if your data and statistics are perfect, failure to present your analysis clearly will make it difficult for your reader to follow.

Ask yourself how your analysis would look to someone unfamiliar with your project. If they would be able to understand your analysis, you’re on the right track!

5. Make It Relevant!

Finally, remember that data analysis is about more than just presenting your data. You should also relate your analysis back to your research objectives, discussing its relevance and justifying your interpretations.

This will ensure that your work is easy to follow and demonstrate your understanding of the methods used. So no matter what you are writing about, the analysis is a great time to show off how clever you are!

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Research Method

Home » Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Thesis – Structure, Example and Writing Guide

Table of contents.

Thesis

Definition:

Thesis is a scholarly document that presents a student’s original research and findings on a particular topic or question. It is usually written as a requirement for a graduate degree program and is intended to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and their ability to conduct independent research.

History of Thesis

The concept of a thesis can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a particular subject. However, the modern form of the thesis as a scholarly document used to earn a degree is a relatively recent development.

The origin of the modern thesis can be traced back to medieval universities in Europe. During this time, students were required to present a “disputation” in which they would defend a particular thesis in front of their peers and faculty members. These disputations served as a way to demonstrate the student’s mastery of the subject matter and were often the final requirement for earning a degree.

In the 17th century, the concept of the thesis was formalized further with the creation of the modern research university. Students were now required to complete a research project and present their findings in a written document, which would serve as the basis for their degree.

The modern thesis as we know it today has evolved over time, with different disciplines and institutions adopting their own standards and formats. However, the basic elements of a thesis – original research, a clear research question, a thorough review of the literature, and a well-argued conclusion – remain the same.

Structure of Thesis

The structure of a thesis may vary slightly depending on the specific requirements of the institution, department, or field of study, but generally, it follows a specific format.

Here’s a breakdown of the structure of a thesis:

This is the first page of the thesis that includes the title of the thesis, the name of the author, the name of the institution, the department, the date, and any other relevant information required by the institution.

This is a brief summary of the thesis that provides an overview of the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions.

This page provides a list of all the chapters and sections in the thesis and their page numbers.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the research question, the context of the research, and the purpose of the study. The introduction should also outline the methodology and the scope of the research.

Literature Review

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the relevant literature on the research topic. It should demonstrate the gap in the existing knowledge and justify the need for the research.

Methodology

This chapter provides a detailed description of the research methods used to gather and analyze data. It should explain the research design, the sampling method, data collection techniques, and data analysis procedures.

This chapter presents the findings of the research. It should include tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate the results.

This chapter interprets the results and relates them to the research question. It should explain the significance of the findings and their implications for the research topic.

This chapter summarizes the key findings and the main conclusions of the research. It should also provide recommendations for future research.

This section provides a list of all the sources cited in the thesis. The citation style may vary depending on the requirements of the institution or the field of study.

This section includes any additional material that supports the research, such as raw data, survey questionnaires, or other relevant documents.

How to write Thesis

Here are some steps to help you write a thesis:

  • Choose a Topic: The first step in writing a thesis is to choose a topic that interests you and is relevant to your field of study. You should also consider the scope of the topic and the availability of resources for research.
  • Develop a Research Question: Once you have chosen a topic, you need to develop a research question that you will answer in your thesis. The research question should be specific, clear, and feasible.
  • Conduct a Literature Review: Before you start your research, you need to conduct a literature review to identify the existing knowledge and gaps in the field. This will help you refine your research question and develop a research methodology.
  • Develop a Research Methodology: Once you have refined your research question, you need to develop a research methodology that includes the research design, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.
  • Collect and Analyze Data: After developing your research methodology, you need to collect and analyze data. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, or analyzing existing data.
  • Write the Thesis: Once you have analyzed the data, you need to write the thesis. The thesis should follow a specific structure that includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, conclusion, and references.
  • Edit and Proofread: After completing the thesis, you need to edit and proofread it carefully. You should also have someone else review it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors.
  • Submit the Thesis: Finally, you need to submit the thesis to your academic advisor or committee for review and evaluation.

Example of Thesis

Example of Thesis template for Students:

Title of Thesis

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Chapter 4: Results

Chapter 5: Discussion

Chapter 6: Conclusion

References:

Appendices:

Note: That’s just a basic template, but it should give you an idea of the structure and content that a typical thesis might include. Be sure to consult with your department or supervisor for any specific formatting requirements they may have. Good luck with your thesis!

Application of Thesis

Thesis is an important academic document that serves several purposes. Here are some of the applications of thesis:

  • Academic Requirement: A thesis is a requirement for many academic programs, especially at the graduate level. It is an essential component of the evaluation process and demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct original research and contribute to the knowledge in their field.
  • Career Advancement: A thesis can also help in career advancement. Employers often value candidates who have completed a thesis as it demonstrates their research skills, critical thinking abilities, and their dedication to their field of study.
  • Publication : A thesis can serve as a basis for future publications in academic journals, books, or conference proceedings. It provides the researcher with an opportunity to present their research to a wider audience and contribute to the body of knowledge in their field.
  • Personal Development: Writing a thesis is a challenging task that requires time, dedication, and perseverance. It provides the student with an opportunity to develop critical thinking, research, and writing skills that are essential for their personal and professional development.
  • Impact on Society: The findings of a thesis can have an impact on society by addressing important issues, providing insights into complex problems, and contributing to the development of policies and practices.

Purpose of Thesis

The purpose of a thesis is to present original research findings in a clear and organized manner. It is a formal document that demonstrates a student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. The primary purposes of a thesis are:

  • To Contribute to Knowledge: The main purpose of a thesis is to contribute to the knowledge in a particular field of study. By conducting original research and presenting their findings, the student adds new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
  • To Demonstrate Research Skills: A thesis is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate their research skills. This includes the ability to formulate a research question, design a research methodology, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
  • To Develop Critical Thinking: Writing a thesis requires critical thinking and analysis. The student must evaluate existing literature and identify gaps in the field, as well as develop and defend their own ideas.
  • To Provide Evidence of Competence : A thesis provides evidence of the student’s competence in their field of study. It demonstrates their ability to apply theoretical concepts to real-world problems, and their ability to communicate their ideas effectively.
  • To Facilitate Career Advancement : Completing a thesis can help the student advance their career by demonstrating their research skills and dedication to their field of study. It can also provide a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.

When to Write Thesis

The timing for writing a thesis depends on the specific requirements of the academic program or institution. In most cases, the opportunity to write a thesis is typically offered at the graduate level, but there may be exceptions.

Generally, students should plan to write their thesis during the final year of their graduate program. This allows sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis. It is important to start planning the thesis early and to identify a research topic and research advisor as soon as possible.

In some cases, students may be able to write a thesis as part of an undergraduate program or as an independent research project outside of an academic program. In such cases, it is important to consult with faculty advisors or mentors to ensure that the research is appropriately designed and executed.

It is important to note that the process of writing a thesis can be time-consuming and requires a significant amount of effort and dedication. It is important to plan accordingly and to allocate sufficient time for conducting research, analyzing data, and writing the thesis.

Characteristics of Thesis

The characteristics of a thesis vary depending on the specific academic program or institution. However, some general characteristics of a thesis include:

  • Originality : A thesis should present original research findings or insights. It should demonstrate the student’s ability to conduct independent research and contribute to the knowledge in their field of study.
  • Clarity : A thesis should be clear and concise. It should present the research question, methodology, findings, and conclusions in a logical and organized manner. It should also be well-written, with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
  • Research-Based: A thesis should be based on rigorous research, which involves collecting and analyzing data from various sources. The research should be well-designed, with appropriate research methods and techniques.
  • Evidence-Based : A thesis should be based on evidence, which means that all claims made in the thesis should be supported by data or literature. The evidence should be properly cited using appropriate citation styles.
  • Critical Thinking: A thesis should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically analyze and evaluate information. It should present the student’s own ideas and arguments, and engage with existing literature in the field.
  • Academic Style : A thesis should adhere to the conventions of academic writing. It should be well-structured, with clear headings and subheadings, and should use appropriate academic language.

Advantages of Thesis

There are several advantages to writing a thesis, including:

  • Development of Research Skills: Writing a thesis requires extensive research and analytical skills. It helps to develop the student’s research skills, including the ability to formulate research questions, design and execute research methodologies, collect and analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
  • Contribution to Knowledge: Writing a thesis provides an opportunity for the student to contribute to the knowledge in their field of study. By conducting original research, they can add new insights and perspectives to the existing body of knowledge.
  • Preparation for Future Research: Completing a thesis prepares the student for future research projects. It provides them with the necessary skills to design and execute research methodologies, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on their findings.
  • Career Advancement: Writing a thesis can help to advance the student’s career. It demonstrates their research skills and dedication to their field of study, and provides a basis for future publications, presentations, or research projects.
  • Personal Growth: Completing a thesis can be a challenging and rewarding experience. It requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. It can help the student to develop self-confidence, independence, and a sense of accomplishment.

Limitations of Thesis

There are also some limitations to writing a thesis, including:

  • Time and Resources: Writing a thesis requires a significant amount of time and resources. It can be a time-consuming and expensive process, as it may involve conducting original research, analyzing data, and producing a lengthy document.
  • Narrow Focus: A thesis is typically focused on a specific research question or topic, which may limit the student’s exposure to other areas within their field of study.
  • Limited Audience: A thesis is usually only read by a small number of people, such as the student’s thesis advisor and committee members. This limits the potential impact of the research findings.
  • Lack of Real-World Application : Some thesis topics may be highly theoretical or academic in nature, which may limit their practical application in the real world.
  • Pressure and Stress : Writing a thesis can be a stressful and pressure-filled experience, as it may involve meeting strict deadlines, conducting original research, and producing a high-quality document.
  • Potential for Isolation: Writing a thesis can be a solitary experience, as the student may spend a significant amount of time working independently on their research and writing.

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Craft a Compelling Thesis: 9 pro tools for research and writing success

where to find data thesis

The journey from a captivating research topic to a compelling thesis can be long and winding. Between navigating mountains of information, organizing your thoughts, and crafting a well-structured argument, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But fear not, intrepid researcher! This article introduces you to the categories of powerful tools that will streamline your research process, empower your writing, and ultimately help you craft a thesis that shines.

Part 1: Laying the Foundation – Research Powerhouses

Your research is the backbone of your thesis. To build a strong foundation, you need access to credible and diverse sources. Here are two essential online tools to kickstart your search:

Google Scholar and JSTOR: Unearthing scholarly gems

These academic search engines are goldmines for researchers. Google Scholar scours the web for scholarly articles, theses, books, and abstracts across a wide range of disciplines. JSTOR delivers a curated collection of high-quality, peer-reviewed journals and primary sources.

Power Up Your Research with Google Scholar and JSTOR:

1. Advanced Search Techniques: Both platforms offer advanced search functions. You can filter by publication date, author, title keywords, or specific journals.

2. Citation Tracking: Both Google Scholar and JSTOR allow you to track citations, helping you identify seminal works and build upon existing research.

3. Saved Searches and Alerts: Set up alerts to receive notifications when new articles relevant to your topic appear. This keeps you at the forefront of your field.

Choosing Between Them: Google Scholar offers a broader search across the web, while JSTOR provides a more focused collection of academically vetted sources. Use both in tandem for a comprehensive research strategy.

Part 2: Organizing the Chaos – From Drafts to Masterpieces

With research underway, the next hurdle is organizing your findings. Thankfully, digital note-taking apps like Evernote can be your savior.

Evernote: Your digital research vault

Evernote functions as a multi-functional information hub.

Evernote’s Powerhouse Features:

1. Text, Audio, and Image Capture: Capture ideas in various formats, including typed notes, voice recordings, and images of handwritten notes or scanned documents.

2. Organization and Tagging: Organize your notes using notebooks and tags, making it easy to find specific information later.

3. Web Clipper Integration: Save relevant web pages directly into Evernote, including text snippets, images, and links.

4. Collaboration: Share notes and collaborate with your peers on research projects.

Mastering Evernote for Thesis Success:

1. Create Subject-Specific Notebooks: Dedicate notebooks to different aspects of your thesis topic.

2. Maintain a Master Bibliography: Use a dedicated notebook to compile references you encounter during research.

3. Organize Quotes and Excerpts: Tag key quotes and excerpts with relevant keywords for easy retrieval.

4. Record Brainstorming Sessions: Use Evernote’s audio recording feature to capture fleeting ideas for future exploration.

Part 3: Roadmap to Success – Project Management Magic

With Evernote keeping your research organized, it’s time for project management tools to keep you on track. Trello, a popular visual project management platform, can be your guiding light.

Trello: Your thesis roadmap

Trello uses boards with lists and cards to visually represent your project progress.

Trello’s Advantages for Thesis Writers:

1. Visualizing Your Thesis Journey: Break down your thesis into manageable tasks within lists, and visualize your progress as you move cards across stages.

2. Setting Deadlines and Reminders: Assign deadlines to each task card and receive timely reminders to stay on schedule.

3. Collaboration Made Easy: Share your Trello board with your advisor or fellow researchers for collaborative brainstorming and task management.

Optimizing Trello for Your Thesis:

1. Create Lists for Different Stages: Set up lists like “Research,” “Outline,” “Writing,” “Revision,” and “Final Draft.”

2. Break Down Research Objectives: Within the “Research” list, create cards for specific sources you need to explore.

3. Track Writing Progress: Divide your writing into chapters or sections and create cards for each one, tracking progress as you write drafts.

4. Add Resources and Deadlines: Attach relevant research articles or outline notes to each card and set realistic deadlines to stay focused.

Part 4: Unveiling the Data – Statistical Power

If your research involves quantitative data analysis, statistics software like SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) becomes your secret weapon.

SPSS: Unveiling insights from data

SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) is a robust tool for quantitative data analysis, allowing you to explore relationships between variables, test hypotheses, and create data visualizations.

Unlocking the Power of SPSS:

1. Data Input and Cleaning: Enter your data into SPSS and utilize its cleaning tools to identify and address inconsistencies or missing values.

2. Statistical Analysis: Conduct various statistical tests depending on your research question. Explore correlations, conduct t-tests or ANOVAs, and analyze complex relationships.

3. Data Visualization: Create informative charts and graphs to visually represent your findings, making them easier to understand for yourself and your audience.

Part 5: Crafting Your Thesis – Writing and Polishing

With research organized, the project managed, and data analyzed, it’s time to translate your knowledge into a compelling thesis. Here, two writing powerhouses come into play:

Scrivener and MS Word: From drafts to polished prose

Scrivener : This software is designed specifically for writers, offering unique features to help you structure and organize your thesis.

Scrivener’s Strengths:

1. Corkboard Feature: Visually arrange your research notes, chapter outlines, and drafts on a digital corkboard for easy reorganization.

2. Focus Mode: Minimize distractions by hiding everything on the screen except the current section you’re working on.

3. Goal Setting and Tracking: Set daily writing goals and track your progress to maintain momentum.

MS Word : This ubiquitous word processor offers essential writing and editing tools.

MS Word’s Advantages:

1. Collaboration Tools : Share your thesis document with your advisor or peers for real-time feedback and collaborative editing.

2. Formatting and Styles: Utilize built-in styles and formatting options to ensure consistent formatting throughout your thesis.

3. Reference Management Tools: Integrate reference management software like Mendeley (mentioned later) for seamless in-text citations and bibliography creation.

Optimizing Your Writing Process:

1. Choose Your Weapon: Use Scrivener for initial brainstorming and organization, then switch to MS Word for fine-tuning formatting and referencing.

2. Utilize Templates: Both programs offer thesis templates to jumpstart your formatting process.

3. Embrace Collaboration: Share your drafts with others for constructive feedback and fresh perspectives.

Part 6: Extracting Text from Images – A Hidden Gem

Sometimes, your research may involve extracting text from images, such as scanned documents or screenshots. This is where Cardscanner.co comes in handy.

Cardscanner.co: Turning images into text

Cardscanner.co is an online OCR based Image to text converter which allows you to upload images, scanned documents, hand written notes and convert the text within them into editable digital format.

Cardscanner’s Benefits:

1. Effortless Text Extraction: Save time by quickly extracting text from images instead of manual retyping.

2. Supports Various Formats: Handle documents, scanned and printed images, hand written notes and more.

3. Batch Conversion: Allows you to process multiple files simultaneously and perform the text extracting conversion with complete accuracy.

4. Directly Export in Spreadsheet: Cardscanner also allows you to directly extract text from images containing any tabular data and export them directly into spreadsheets (XLSX, XLS, CSV).

5. Text Translation: With the translation feature, even if the image contains text in another language, the tool allows you to extract and translate the text without the need to translate it separately after extraction.

Part 7: Visual Storytelling – Infographics for Impact

Visuals can significantly enhance your thesis by making complex information more understandable and engaging. Here, two online infographic creation tools offer a helping hand:

Canva and Venngage: Simplifying visual communication

Canva and Venngage both are user-friendly platforms that provide a wide range of templates, icons, and design elements to create stunning infographics.

Canva and Venngage’s Advantages:

1. Drag-and-Drop Functionality: Easily design infographics without needing graphic design expertise.

2. Pre-designed Templates: Choose from a vast library of templates tailored to various topics and styles.

3. Collaboration Features: Work with your peers or advisor to create infographics collaboratively.

Tips for Creating Effective Infographics for Your Thesis:

1. Focus on Clarity: Keep your infographic focused on a single key message and avoid information overload.

2. Choose Data Wisely: Select the most impactful data points from your research to visually represent in your infographic.

3. Maintain Brand Consistency: Ensure your infographic aligns with the overall style and tone of your thesis.

Part 8: Citation Management Made Easy – Reference Powerhouse

Proper citation management is crucial for academic writing. Mendeley is a software specifically designed to streamline this process.

Mendeley: Your citation management ally

Mendeley helps you organize your research references, automatically generate in-text citations and bibliographies in various citation styles, and seamlessly integrate with writing software like MS Word.

Mendeley’s Benefits:

1. Reference Organization: Import references from various sources, including online databases and research papers.

2. Automatic Citation Generation: Generate in-text citations and bibliographies in the required format with a few clicks.

3. PDF Annotation and Highlighting: Annotate and highlight key passages within your research PDFs directly.

Part 9: Polishing Your Prose – Grammar and Plagiarism Checkers

Even the most meticulous researcher can benefit from a final polish. Here, two tools can empower you to deliver a grammatically sound and plagiarism-free thesis:

Trinka AI and Enago Plagiarism Checker : Ensuring Accuracy and Originality

Trinka AI : This online grammar checker utilizes AI technology to identify and correct grammatical errors, typos, and sentence structure issues.

Trinka AI’s Benefits:

1. Advanced Error Detection: Identifies a wider range of errors beyond basic grammar mistakes.

2. Contextual Analysis: Provides suggestions based on the context of your writing, ensuring appropriate phrasing.

3. Free Basic Plan: Offers a free plan with limited checks, with paid options for extended features.

Enago Plagiarism Checker : This online tool scans your thesis against a vast database of academic sources to identify unintentional plagiarism.

Enago Plagiarism Checker’s Advantages:

1. Peace of Mind: Ensures your work is original and avoids plagiarism accusations.

2. Detailed Report: Provides a report highlighting potential plagiarism instances with suggestions for correction.

3. Free Basic Version: Offers a free basic version with limited checks, with paid options for more comprehensive reports.

Final Words: A thesis triumph awaits!

With this arsenal of powerful tools at your disposal, you are well-equipped to navigate the research and writing journey with confidence. Remember, research and writing are iterative processes. Utilize these tools to organize your information, analyze data, craft compelling arguments, and present your findings in a clear and concise manner.

The path to a successful thesis may have its challenges, but with dedication and these tools as your allies, you can transform your research into a compelling and impactful document. Best of luck on your thesis journey!

Disclaimer: The opinions/views expressed in this article exclusively represent the individual perspectives of the author. While we affirm the value of diverse viewpoints and advocate for the freedom of individual expression, we do not endorse derogatory or offensive comments against any caste, creed, race, or similar distinctions. For any concerns or further information, we invite you to contact us at [email protected].

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where to find data thesis

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When June Carbone, Naomi Cahn and Nancy Levit set out to write a book about women in the workforce, they initially thought it would be a story all about women's march towards workplace equality. But when they looked at the data, they found something more disturbing: of the ways in which women's push toward workplace equality has actually been stalled for years. In today's episode, law professor June Carbone argues that the root of the problem lies in something they call the "winner take all" approach to business. That's the thesis of their new book, " Fair Shake: Women & the Fight to Build a Just Economy ". Related episodes: What would it take to fix retirement? ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Music by Drop Electric . Find us: TikTok , Instagram , Facebook , Newsletter .

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  • What Is Sickle Cell Trait?
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Data and Statistics on Sickle Cell Disease

  • Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects about 100,000 people in the United States; more than 90% are non-Hispanic Black or African American, and an estimated 3%–9% are Hispanic or Latino.
  • The estimated life expectancy of those with SCD in the United States is more than 20 years shorter than the average expected.
  • Many people with SCD do not receive the recommended healthcare screenings and treatments.

Hands typing on laptop keyboard. Keyboard screen shows various bar and pie charts.

Sickle cell disease worldwide

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects millions of people throughout the world and is particularly common among those whose ancestors came from parts of the world where malaria is or was common:

  • Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Spanish-speaking regions in the Western Hemisphere (South America, the Caribbean, and Central America).
  • Saudi Arabia.
  • Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

Sickle cell disease in the United States

  • The exact number of people living with SCD in the United States is unknown.
  • Two studies published in 2010 estimated that SCD affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States.
  • More than 90% of people in the United States with SCD are non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black), and an estimated 3%–9% are Hispanic or Latino.
  • SCD occurs in about 1 out of every 365 Black or African American births and about 1 out of every 16,300 Hispanic American births.
  • About 1 in 13 Black or African American babies is born with sickle cell trait (SCT, inheritance of a sickle cell gene from only one parent).

Complications and Mortality

  • In people with SCD, red blood cells become rigid and deform into a crescent or sickle shape. Sickled cells die early and often become lodged in small blood vessels, restricting blood flow, which can lead to serious health problems throughout the body.
  • SCD-associated complications include anemia, acute and chronic pain, infections, pneumonia and acute chest syndrome, stroke, and kidney, liver, and heart disease.
  • Estimated life expectancy of those with SCD in the United States is more than 20 years shorter than the average expected. Quality-adjusted life expectancy A is more than 30 years shorter.

Healthcare access

  • Despite their extensive healthcare needs, many persons with SCD have difficulty accessing appropriate care and report feeling stigmatized and having their symptoms dismissed when they do seek care.
  • Given that SCA is a common cause of childhood stroke, the panel recommended that children and adolescents aged 2–16 years with SCA be screened annually with transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound to identify those at increased risk for stroke.
  • The panel also recommended that children and adolescents aged 9 months or older with SCA be offered treatment with hydroxyurea, a medication that has been shown to prevent or reduce severe pain episodes, acute chest syndrome, and other SCA-associated complications and to increase patient survival.
  • Additionally, less than half of children aged 2–9 years of age were using hydroxyurea and approximately one half of those aged 10–16 years used hydroxyurea.
  • These findings highlight the ongoing gaps in health care for people with SCD and speak to the urgent need to address barriers to care.
  • Statistical estimate of the average life expectancy for a population of people that considers not only the expected length of life but also the likely quality of life as people age.
  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Addressing sickle cell disease: A strategic plan and blueprint for action. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
  • Hassell KL. Population estimates of sickle cell disease in the U.S. Am J Prev Med. 2010;38(Suppl):S512-21.
  • Brosseau DC, Panepinto JA, Nimmer M, Hoffmann RG. The number of people with sickle cell disease in the United States: national and state estimates. Am J Hematol. 2010 Jan;85(1):77-8.
  • Ojodu J, Hulihan MM, Pope SN, Grant AM; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Incidence of sickle cell trait—United States, 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014 Dec 12;63(49):1155-8. PMID: 25503918; PMCID: PMC4584538.
  • Lubeck D, Agodoa I, Bhakta N, et al. Estimated life expectancy and income of patients with sickle cell disease compared with those without sickle cell disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(11):e1915374.
  • National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health. Evidence-Based Management of Sickle Cell Disease: Expert Panel Report, 2014 .
  • Schieve LA, Simmons GM, Payne AB, Abe K, Hsu LL, Hulihan M, Pope S, Rhie S, Dupervil B, Hooper WC. Vital Signs: Use of Recommended Health Care Measures to Prevent Selected Complications of Sickle Cell Anemia in Children and Adolescents — Selected U.S. States, 2019. MMWR 2022 Sep 30;71(39):1241-1246.

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. In SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle.”

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MS in Data Science Graduate Wins Best Poster at NJBDA

The poster was on Jyoti Yadav’s thesis work titled Ai in TB Detection on Medical Big Data with Health and Educational Impacts

Posted in: Awards and Recognition , Data Science , Students

Dr. Aparna Varde with recent graduate Jyoti Yadav with their NJBDA Best Poster award

Jyoti worked on this project with her thesis committee, Dr. Varde , Dr. Liu and Dr. Antoniou . External contributors also included Dr. Lei Xie from CUNY Hunter NY (and Weill Cornell Medical College NY) as well. This research focused on analysis of the CODA TB Challenge Data Set.

Jyoti will be joining NYU, New York University Tandon School of Engineering , for a PhD program in Biomedical Engineering.

Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers

The tech giant is rolling out AI-generated answers that displace links to human-written websites, threatening millions of creators

Kimber Matherne’s thriving food blog draws millions of visitors each month searching for last-minute dinner ideas.

But the mother of three says decisions made at Google, more than 2,000 miles from her home in the Florida panhandle, are threatening her business. About 40 percent of visits to her blog, Easy Family Recipes , come through the search engine, which has for more than two decades served as the clearinghouse of the internet, sending users to hundreds of millions of websites each day.

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As the tech giant gears up for Google I/O, its annual developer conference, this week, creators like Matherne are worried about the expanding reach of its new search tool that incorporates artificial intelligence. The product, dubbed “Search Generative Experience,” or SGE, directly answers queries with complex, multi-paragraph replies that push links to other websites further down the page, where they’re less likely to be seen.

The shift stands to shake the very foundations of the web.

The rollout threatens the survival of the millions of creators and publishers who rely on the service for traffic. Some experts argue the addition of AI will boost the tech giant’s already tight grip on the internet, ultimately ushering in a system where information is provided by just a handful of large companies.

“Their goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information they want,” Matherne said. “But if you cut out the people who are the lifeblood of creating that information — that have the real human connection to it — then that’s a disservice to the world.”

Google calls its AI answers “overviews” but they often just paraphrase directly from websites. One search for how to fix a leaky toilet provided an AI answer with several tips, including tightening tank bolts. At the bottom of the answer, Google linked to The Spruce, a home improvement and gardening website owned by web publisher Dotdash Meredith, which also owns Investopedia and Travel + Leisure. Google’s AI tips lifted a phrase from The Spruce’s article word-for-word.

A spokesperson for Dotdash Meredith declined to comment.

The links Google provides are often half-covered, requiring a user to click to expand the box to see them all. It’s unclear which of the claims made by the AI come from which link.

Tech research firm Gartner predicts traffic to the web from search engines will fall 25 percent by 2026. Ross Hudgens, CEO of search engine optimization consultancy Siege Media, said he estimates at least a 10 to 20 percent hit, and more for some publishers. “Some people are going to just get bludgeoned,” he said.

Raptive, which provides digital media, audience and advertising services to about 5,000 websites, including Easy Family Recipes, estimates changes to search could result in about $2 billion in losses to creators — with some websites losing up to two-thirds of their traffic. Raptive arrived at these figures by analyzing thousands of keywords that feed into its network, and conducting a side-by-side comparison of traditional Google search and the pilot version of Google SGE.

Michael Sanchez, the co-founder and CEO of Raptive, says that the changes coming to Google could “deliver tremendous damage” to the internet as we know it. “What was already not a level playing field … could tip its way to where the open internet starts to become in danger of surviving for the long term,” he said.

When Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai announced the broader rollout during an earnings call last month, he said the company is making the change in a “measured” way, while “also prioritizing traffic to websites and merchants.” Company executives have long argued that Google needs a healthy web to give people a reason to use its service, and doesn’t want to hurt publishers. A Google spokesperson declined to comment further.

“I think we got to see an incredible blossoming of the internet, we got to see something that was really open and freewheeling and wild and very exciting for the whole world,” said Selena Deckelmann, the chief product and technology officer for Wikimedia, the foundation that oversees Wikipedia.

“Now, we’re just in this moment where I think that the profits are driving people in a direction that I’m not sure makes a ton of sense,” Deckelmann said. “This is a moment to take stock of that and say, ‘What is the internet we actually want?’”

People who rely on the web to make a living are worried.

Jake Boly, a strength coach based in Austin, has spent three years building up his website of workout shoe reviews. But last year, his traffic from Google dropped 96 percent. Google still seems to find value in his work, citing his page on AI-generated answers about shoes. The problem is, people read Google’s summary and don’t visit his site anymore, Boly said.

“My content is good enough to scrape and summarize,” he said. “But it’s not good enough to show in your normal search results, which is how I make money and stay afloat.”

Google first said it would begin experimenting with generative AI in search last year, several months after OpenAI released ChatGPT. At the time, tech pundits speculated that AI chatbots could replace Google search as the place to find information. Satya Nadella, the CEO of Google’s biggest competitor, Microsoft, added an AI chatbot to his company’s search engine and in February 2023 goaded Google to “ come out and show that they can dance .”

The search giant started dancing. Though it had invented much of the AI technology enabling chatbots and had used it to power tools like Google Translate, it started putting generative AI tech into its other products. Google Docs, YouTube’s video-editing tools and the company’s voice assistant all got AI upgrades.

But search is Google’s most important product, accounting for about 57 percent of its $80 billion in revenue in the first quarter of this year. Over the years, search ads have been the cash cow Google needed to build its other businesses, like YouTube and cloud storage, and to stay competitive by buying up other companies .

Google has largely avoided AI answers for the moneymaking searches that host ads, said Andy Taylor, vice president of research at internet marketing firm Tinuiti.

When it does show an AI answer on “commercial” searches, it shows up below the row of advertisements. That could force websites to buy ads just to maintain their position at the top of search results.

Google has been testing the AI answers publicly for the past year, showing them to a small percentage of its billions of users as it tries to improve the technology.

Still, it routinely makes mistakes. A review by The Washington Post published in April found that Google’s AI answers were long-winded, sometimes misunderstood the question and made up fake answers.

The bar for success is high. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a novel product, consumers have spent years with Google and expect search results to be fast and accurate. The rush into generative AI might also run up against legal problems. The underlying tech behind OpenAI, Google, Meta and Microsoft’s AI was trained on millions of news articles, blog posts, e-books, recipes, social media comments and Wikipedia pages that were scraped from the internet without paying or asking permission of their original authors.

OpenAI and Microsoft have faced a string of lawsuits over alleged theft of copyrighted works .

“If journalists did that to each other, we’d call that plagiarism,” said Frank Pine, the executive editor of MediaNews Group, which publishes dozens of newspapers around the United States, including the Denver Post, San Jose Mercury News and the Boston Herald. Several of the company’s papers sued OpenAI and Microsoft in April, alleging the companies used its news articles to train their AI.

If news organizations let tech companies, including Google, use their content to make AI summaries without payment or permission, it would be “calamitous” for the journalism industry, Pine said. The change could have an even bigger effect on newspapers than the loss of their classifieds businesses in the mid-2000s or Meta’s more recent pivot away from promoting news to its users, he said.

The move to AI answers, and the centralization of the web into a few portals isn’t slowing down. OpenAI has signed deals with web publishers — including Dotdash Meredith — to show their content prominently in its chatbot.

Matherne, of Easy Family Recipes, says she’s bracing for the changes by investing in social media channels and email newsletters.

“The internet’s kind of a scary place right now,” Matherne said. “You don’t know what to expect.”

A previous version of this story said MediaNews Group sued OpenAI and Microsoft. In fact, it was several of the company's newspapers that sued the tech companies. This story has been corrected.

where to find data thesis

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COMMENTS

  1. OATD

    You may also want to consult these sites to search for other theses: Google Scholar; NDLTD, the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.NDLTD provides information and a search engine for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), whether they are open access or not. Proquest Theses and Dissertations (PQDT), a database of dissertations and theses, whether they were published ...

  2. How to collect data for your thesis

    After choosing a topic for your thesis, you'll need to start gathering data. In this article, we focus on how to effectively collect theoretical and empirical data. Glossary. Empirical data: unique research that may be quantitative, qualitative, or mixed. Theoretical data: secondary, scholarly sources like books and journal articles that ...

  3. EBSCO Open Dissertations

    EBSCO Open Dissertations is a collaboration between EBSCO and BiblioLabs to increase traffic and discoverability of ETD research. You can join the movement and add your theses and dissertations to the database, making them freely available to researchers everywhere while increasing traffic to your institutional repository.

  4. Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD)

    OATD.org provides open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes 6,654,285 theses and dissertations.

  5. Dissertations

    Over the last 80 years, ProQuest has built the world's most comprehensive and renowned dissertations program. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT Global), continues to grow its repository of 5 million graduate works each year, thanks to the continued contribution from the world's universities, creating an ever-growing resource of emerging research to fuel innovation and new insights.

  6. Data and your thesis

    If you are ready to deposit your data in the data repository, please do so via symplectic elements. More information on how to deposit can be found on the Research Data Management pages. If you wish to cite your data in your thesis, we can arranged for placeholder DOIs to be created in the data repository before your thesis is submitted.

  7. Data and your thesis

    The term 'data' is more familiar to researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but any outputs from research could be considered data. For example, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) researchers might create data in the form of presentations, spreadsheets, documents, images, works of art, or musical scores.

  8. Thesis & Dissertation Database Examples

    Thesis & Dissertation Database Examples. Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on May 10, 2024. During the process of writing your thesis or dissertation, it can be helpful to read those submitted by other students. Luckily, many universities have databases where you can find out who has written about your dissertation topic ...

  9. Thesis and Dissertation Resources: Databases and Websites

    Find out what is trending. ProQuest - Most Accessed Dissertations/Theses. Websites. The web sites below should also be consulted as appropriate to perform a full and thorough review of the dissertation and thesis literature beyond your introductory search of ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. Consider whether a particular country or part ...

  10. Search tip: Finding data for my thesis or research project

    A good source to find a data repository with data in your field is re3data.org. On the homepage you can type your topic in the search field. If using multiple words, place them between double quotation marks ("..") for a phrase search. The results will show data repositories with data on your topic. Using the toolbar, you can select ...

  11. Create, Find, and Use Data

    Library Research Guides: Thesis & Departmental Honors Students: Create, Find, and Use Data

  12. Find Dissertations and Theses

    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 ...

  13. Global ETD Search

    Global ETD Search. Search the 6,479,935 electronic theses and dissertations contained in the NDLTD archive:

  14. How do I find dissertations and theses?

    While ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and the CRL Guide to Dissertations are good starting points, many of the Library's subscription databases contain records for dissertations. Along with the records for books and other material, WorldCat contains records for dissertations or theses held by member libraries. Most of the major subject-specific indexes (such as PsycINFO, SciFinder Scholar, or ...

  15. ECON 691H: Honors Thesis in Economics: Find Data

    Data source that combines current and historical risk ratings to produce political, economic, financial, and social risk data for over 150 countries dating to 1984 in most cases. Useful for studying political, social, and economic stability. Provides access to the data underlying the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) publication.

  16. Where to get Data: a collection of resources for your thesis

    Google has a dedicated search engine for datasets. It is freely available and index data that implement a particular schema.org format. Some of the data may be behind paywalls. However, academics and students usually can contact the data provider in order to get access to them or to a selected portion that is sufficient for their study.

  17. Thesis

    Thesis. Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore ...

  18. 10 Great Places To Find Open, Free Datasets [2024 Guide]

    It's an excellent place to start. 2. Kaggle. Type of data: Miscellaneous. Data compiled by: Kaggle. Access: Free, but registration required. Sample dataset: Daily temperature of major cities. Like Google Dataset Search, Kaggle offers aggregated datasets, but it's a community hub rather than a search engine.

  19. 11 Tips For Writing a Dissertation Data Analysis

    The data you find hard to arrange within the text, include that in the appendix part of a dissertation. And place questionnaires, copies of focus groups and interviews, and data sheets in the appendix. On the other hand, one must put the statistical analysis and sayings quoted by interviewees within the dissertation. 8. Thoroughness of Data

  20. How can I find theses and dissertations?

    The Center for Research Libraries ' Dissertations database includes many non-US theses. WorldCat describes many masters' & PhD theses. Use "Advanced Search" and limit to subtype "thesis/dissertation." No full text; it just tells you what libraries have reported having copies. There are several excellent guides out there with international ...

  21. 5 Tips for Handling your Thesis Data Analysis

    When writing your thesis, the process of analyzing data and working with statistics can be pretty hard at first. This is true whether you're using specialized data analysis software, like SPSS, or a more descriptive approach. But there are a few guidelines you can follow to make things simpler. 1. Choose the Best Analytical Method for Your ...

  22. UT Electronic Theses and Dissertations

    This collection contains University of Texas at Austin electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs). The collection includes ETDs primarily from 2001 to the present. Some pre-2001 theses and dissertations have been digitized and added to this collection, but those are uncommon. The library catalog is the most comprehensive list of UT Austin ...

  23. Dissertation & Thesis Outline

    Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates. Published on June 7, 2022 by Tegan George.Revised on November 21, 2023. A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process.It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding the specifics of your dissertation topic and showcasing its relevance to ...

  24. Thesis

    Collect and Analyze Data: After developing your research methodology, you need to collect and analyze data. This may involve conducting surveys, interviews, experiments, or analyzing existing data. Write the Thesis: Once you have analyzed the data, you need to write the thesis. The thesis should follow a specific structure that includes an ...

  25. What Is a Data Scientist? Salary, Skills, and How to Become One

    A data scientist uses data to understand and explain the phenomena around them, and help organizations make better decisions. Working as a data scientist can be intellectually challenging, analytically satisfying, and put you at the forefront of new technological advances. Data scientists have become more common and in demand, as big data ...

  26. 9 Tools to Write Compelling Thesis

    3. Data Visualization: Create informative charts and graphs to visually represent your findings, making them easier to understand for yourself and your audience. Part 5: Crafting Your Thesis - Writing and Polishing. With research organized, the project managed, and data analyzed, it's time to translate your knowledge into a compelling thesis.

  27. Why the gender pay gap persists : The Indicator from Planet Money

    gender pay gap. Facebook. Flipboard. Email. When June Carbone, Naomi Cahn and Nancy Levit set out to write a book about women in the workforce, they initially thought it would be a story all about ...

  28. Data and Statistics on Sickle Cell Disease

    Key points. Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects about 100,000 people in the United States; more than 90% are non-Hispanic Black or African American, and an estimated 3%-9% are Hispanic or Latino. The estimated life expectancy of those with SCD in the United States is more than 20 years shorter than the average expected.

  29. MS in Data Science Graduate Wins Best Poster at NJBDA

    Posted in: Awards and Recognition, Data Science, Students. Jyoti worked on this project with her thesis committee, Dr. Varde, Dr. Liu and Dr. Antoniou. External contributors also included Dr. Lei Xie from CUNY Hunter NY (and Weill Cornell Medical College NY) as well. This research focused on analysis of the CODA TB Challenge Data Set.

  30. As Google AI search rolls out to more people, websites brace for

    Tech research firm Gartner predicts traffic to the web from search engines will fall 25 percent by 2026. Ross Hudgens, CEO of search engine optimization consultancy Siege Media, said he estimates ...