Dissertations and theses are actually unpublished documents, which is why they aren't cited using the same method used for books. 

Important Elements:

• Author (last name, initials only for first and middle names)
• Title of dissertation or thesis (capitalize only the first word of title and subtitle, and proper nouns)
• Dissertation or Thesis distinction
• Name of institution
• Location
• Database location and stable URL (if online)

Print Dissertations & Theses

Author, A. A. (year). Title of dissertation or thesis. (Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis). Name of institution, Location.

Fairfield, S. M. (2010). Creative thinking in elementary general music: a survey of teachers' perceptions and practices. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.

Online Dissertations & Theses

Author A. A. (year). Title of dissertation or thesis. (Doctoral dissertation or master's thesis). Retrieved from Name of database. (Accession or Order No.)

Fairfield, S. M. (2010). Creative thinking in elementary general music: a survey of teachers' perceptions and practices. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.c15zzw6b.

Examples from the Music Citation Guide

•   Articles
•   Audio & Video
•   Books
•   Business Reports
•  Dissertations & Theses
•   In-text Citation
•   Meetings & Symposia
•    Web pages & Social Media
•    Other Source Types

Librarians are available to help you with your questions. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have regarding citation styles, citation management, etc.

Ask a question below or contact your subject specialist librarian for more help!