Harvard Referencing: Theses

Basic format to reference a thesis

The basics of a Reference List entry for an unpublished thesis:

  • Author. The surname is followed by first initials.
  • Year.
  • Title (in single inverted commas).
  • Level of Thesis.
  • University.
  • City.

Example of unpublished thesis:
​Kyei-Nimakoh, M 2017, ‘Management and referral of obstetric complications: a study in the upper east region of Ghana’, PhD thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne.       

 

Please note:

  • A thesis can come in a number of formats, i.e. they can be published, unpublished or retrieved from a database.
  • The principles when referencing a thesis are similar to those employed when referencing a book. 
  • The example above is for an unpublished thesis, examples for an online or a published thesis can be found below.

Referencing theses: Examples

Material Type In-text example Reference List examples
Thesis: Unpublished
 		 (Kyei-Nimakoh 2017)

Kyei-Nimakoh, M 2017, ‘Management and referral of obstetric complications: a study in the upper east region of Ghana’, PhD thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne.

Title is not italicised for unpublished theses.
Thesis: Published (Roman 2018)

Roman, CW 2018, Using a model of emotional self-efficacy in predicting work outcomes, Alliant International University, San Diego.

If the thesis is published, the title is italicised with no quotation marks.
Thesis:
Online
 
 

(Kashuk 2017)
OR
Kashuk (2017) states that…

 
 

Kashuk, S 2017,  Investigation of MRI brain changes in developmental coordination disorder and Friedreich’s ataxia, PhD thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne, viewed 22 May 2018, <http://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/33211>.