| Where to search | What its own page shows | Best for | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDLTD list of finding tools (ndltd.org) | A list of resources for finding theses and dissertations by country, with Global ETD Search, Google Scholar, BASE and, for South Africa, an ETD Portal | Starting point when you do not know which university holds what you need | It is a directory of tools, not a database itself |
| Google Scholar | NDLTD describes it as harvesting theses and dissertations from virtually all registered open-access repositories | Fast keyword search across many repositories at once | No thesis-only filter; results mix articles and theses |
| UPSpace (University of Pretoria) | A Theses and Dissertations collection, faculty collections, and browse by issue date, author, supervisor, postgrad, title and subject | Browsing by supervisor or subject | Pretoria’s output only |
| SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University) | Describes itself as a digital archive of Stellenbosch research output, organised in 12 communities that include faculties of AgriSciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Economic and Management Sciences, Education and Engineering | Browsing by faculty | Stellenbosch’s output only |
| WIReDSpace (Wits) | An Electronic Theses and Dissertations community for all faculties’ and schools’ masters and doctoral ETDs | Wits master’s and doctoral work in one community | Wits output only |
| KovsieScholar (University of the Free State) | An Electronic Theses and Dissertations collection among UFS collections, with access status shown on items | Checking whether an item is open access | UFS output only |
| NWU Institutional Repository | 20 communities, including faculties of Education, Health Sciences, Humanities, Engineering and Economic and Management Sciences | North-West University dissertations by faculty | NWU output only |
| DUT Open Scholar | Repository of the Durban University of Technology with item types that include theses, in 12 communities | Universities of technology topics, such as applied sciences and built environment | DUT output only |
The table above sets out where you can search for previous South African dissertations and research reports, and what each repository’s own page shows. The short recommendation: start with your own university’s repository, because its theses follow your faculty’s template and standards, then widen to Google Scholar and the repositories of other universities in your field.
Why look at previous South African dissertations at all?
Earlier dissertations are not a source to copy. They are a map. A well-chosen thesis in your field shows how a South African supervisor and examiner expect a chapter to be structured, which instruments and designs have already been used with local samples, how the ethics and access chain was handled, and which references the literature review leans on. Read them for those purposes, then go back to the original sources yourself. The site’s guide to the literature review for a South African dissertation explains how to turn what you find into your own review.
1. NDLTD: the directory that points you to the right tool
Suits you if you are not sure where a topic has been studied. The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations describes itself as an international organisation promoting the creation, use and preservation of electronic theses and dissertations. Its page titled “List of Resources for Finding ETDs” groups tools by country or region. For South Africa it lists an ETD Portal; for the world it lists Global ETD Search, which it calls its flagship ETD search, plus Google Scholar and the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE), which it says can be restricted to theses through its advanced search. It also lists ProQuest Dissertations and Theses and marks it as paywalled, which is the answer when your library subscribes and the open tools do not hold what you need.
Where it falls short: it is a directory, so you still have to search each tool. Coverage of any single tool is never guaranteed to be complete, so treat a missing result as “not found here” rather than “does not exist”.
2. Google Scholar: fastest first pass
Suits you if you have a precise keyword string. NDLTD’s list describes Google Scholar as harvesting theses and dissertations from virtually all registered open-access repositories, which is why it often surfaces a South African dissertation within a few results. Add “dissertation” or “thesis” and your university or degree name to the string, for example “teacher self-efficacy” “mini-dissertation”.
Where it falls short: there is no thesis-only filter, so articles and theses are mixed. It also shows you the repository link, not the quality of the thesis, so check the degree level and university before you rely on it.
3. Your own university’s repository: highest value for the least effort
Every repository below uses the same pattern: faculty communities or collections, a theses and dissertations area, and browse or search options. Use these pages as models for how to search your own university’s repository, whether it is on this list or not (Unisa, UCT, UKZN and others run repositories of their own).
- UPSpace (University of Pretoria). The home page shows a Theses and Dissertations collection and faculty collections such as Education, Law and Theology, and its browse menu lists issue date, author, UP author, supervisor, postgrad, title and subject. Browsing by supervisor is the unusual feature: if you know who supervises in your field, you can see what their students have written.
- SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University). It describes itself as a leading digital archive of Stellenbosch’s research output. Its home page lists communities by faculty (12 in total, shown five at a time), so you pick your faculty and browse its collections.
- WIReDSpace (Wits). Its home page describes a community for all faculties’ and schools’ electronic theses and dissertations by masters and doctoral students, which makes it a clean place to look for Wits degree work in one step.
- KovsieScholar (University of the Free State). The home page links an Electronic Theses & Dissertations collection next to other UFS collections, and each item shows an access status such as Open Access, which tells you straight away whether you can read the full text.
- NWU Institutional Repository (North-West University). It lists 20 communities, among them the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities. Because North-West University publishes its own dissertation and thesis format rules, you can pair a repository search with the site’s guide to North-West University dissertation format rules.
- DUT Open Scholar (Durban University of Technology). It describes itself as the institutional repository of the university, providing open access to its academic output as far as possible, with item types including theses and 12 communities. It is a useful model for universities of technology, where applied topics are common.
How do you search a repository effectively?
- Use the field’s vocabulary and the local degree word. South African theses may call themselves a mini-dissertation, a research report, a dissertation or a thesis. Search each.
- Search the construct, then the population. “Self-efficacy” first, then “self-efficacy” with “pre-service teachers”. Narrow only when you have too many results.
- Browse by subject or supervisor where the repository allows it. A supervisor’s students often share designs and instruments.
- Sort by date. A thesis from the last five years uses current policy and instruments, while an older one may rely on superseded rules.
- Open the front matter first. The abstract, table of contents and list of references tell you in two minutes whether the thesis is worth reading in full.
- Record your searches. Keep a short log of the tool, string and date, as you would for a systematic literature search. The guide to reference managers for postgraduates helps you store what you find.
What should you take from a thesis once you have found it?
Read a relevant thesis with a checklist, so that an hour in the repository gives you material you can use. Note the research problem and objectives, because they show how the topic was scoped. Note the framework and why it was chosen. Note the sampling approach and sample size, and the instrument with its source and reliability. Note the ethics route the author describes, such as the committees and permissions involved. Note the limitations and recommendations, which are often a ready-made list of gaps. Finally, copy the reference list into your reference manager as a set of leads. Everything on this list is something you will then verify and cite from the original source, not from the thesis.
How do you cite a previous dissertation?
A thesis you found in a repository is cited like any other unpublished work, with the repository link. A generic Harvard layout is: author surname and initials, year in brackets, title in italics, the degree level (for example “MEd dissertation”), the university, then “Available at:” the link and the date you accessed it. Your faculty publishes its own Harvard variant, so compare this layout with the site’s guide to Harvard versus APA at South African universities and your faculty guide before you format your list.
How do you use an earlier thesis without plagiarising it?
- Use it as a pointer. Take the reference list and method as leads, then read and cite the original sources yourself.
- Cite it when you use its ideas. If you adapt a framework, instrument or finding, cite the thesis as the source.
- Never reuse its wording. Copying paragraphs from a repository thesis is plagiarism even when the thesis is open access and the author is unknown to your examiner.
- Prefer published articles for evidence. Where a peer-reviewed article reports the same study, cite the article, and say plainly when a source is an unpublished thesis.
- Ask your supervisor. If a thesis is very close to your topic, show it to your supervisor early so that your contribution is clear.
Which one should you start with?
The clear recommendation: start with your own university’s repository, then run the same keyword string in Google Scholar, then use the NDLTD list to find the next tool for your field. Check at least one repository from a university with a strong programme in your discipline, using its faculty communities or supervisor browse. If a thesis you need is not in any of them, it may be embargoed, held in print only or not yet deposited, so ask the subject librarian at the university concerned.
How do repositories fit a public health or education topic?
If your field is public health, pair repository searches with the site’s guide to journals and databases for a public health dissertation, because theses should lead you back to published journal articles. For education, a repository search is an excellent way to see how earlier students defined their key terms; compare it with the site’s guide to the clarification of concepts section.
How can Tesify help once you have found your sources?
Finding earlier theses is the start. Turning what you learned into your own structured chapter, in your own words, is the harder step. 9,000+ students have written 15,000+ chapters with Tesify, which helps you structure and organise your dissertation, and the text stays 100% written by you. Organise your literature review with Tesify.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find South African master’s dissertations online for free?
Start with your own university’s institutional repository, then use NDLTD’s list of finding tools, Google Scholar and the repositories of other universities. Many items are open access, although some are embargoed.
Is there one national database of all South African theses?
NDLTD’s resource list names an ETD Portal as its South African entry, but coverage is not guaranteed to be complete, so search your own and other universities’ repositories as well.
Can I search a repository by supervisor?
Some can. UPSpace, for example, lists a browse by supervisor option on its home page. Check the browse menu of each repository.
Can I copy the literature review from an earlier thesis?
No. Use earlier theses to find sources, methods and structure, then read and cite the original sources yourself and write your own text.
How do I cite a dissertation I found in a repository?
Give the author, year, title, the level of the degree, the university and the repository link with an access date, in the Harvard variant your faculty prescribes.
Why can I not find a thesis I know exists?
It may be embargoed, held only in print, or not yet deposited. Ask the subject librarian at the university concerned.
Should I cite a previous thesis in my literature review?
You may, especially for South African evidence, but prefer peer-reviewed articles where they exist and say clearly when a source is an unpublished thesis.