citing dissertations

pbasu
There is no way to properly cite dissertations Chicago style with Zotero. Can this be added to / corrected in Zotero? A dissertation should be cited in notes and bibliography like this, according to the Chicago Manual of Style:

1. Ilya Vedrashko, “Advertising in Computer Games” (PhD diss., MIT, 2006), 59, http://cms.mit.edu/research/theses/IlyaVedrashko2006.pdf

Choi, Mihwa. “Contesting Imaginaires in Death Rituals during the Northern Song Dynasty.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2008. ProQuest (AAT 3300426).

Zotero only has a Theses category and does not cite dissertations in this precise way. It does this, which is incorrect:

1. Ilya Vedrashko, “Advertising in Computer Games” (Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2006).
  • adamsmith
    I'm on this - the correct category in Zotero is thesis and you should put "PhD diss." in the type field - that will still give you the location and it won't put the proquest catalogue at the end, but it gets you closer. The URL is already displayed in CMoS.
  • adamsmith
    OK, this is done now in the three major CMoS styles. They cite dissertations correctly without location. They also add the database and number (e.g. ATT 3300426) if you put them in the "Archive" and "Loc. in Archive" fields respectively.
  • forthyglory
    edited July 24, 2021
    This was an issue 10 years from now. But this issue still remains unresolved. "Thesis" is from Master degree, but "Dissertation" is from Doctor degree. So they should be separated. But Zotero does not have "Dissertation" form.
  • adamsmith
    edited July 24, 2021
    No. A dissertation is a type of thesis. All unpublished theses, regardless of degree, require the same metadata. There is no reason to split this into multiple item types and the above works fine.

    Edit: E.g. from Webster:
    Thesis: a dissertation embodying results of original research and especially substantiating a specific view
    especially : one written by a candidate for an academic degree
  • lisarbei
    Is there any way to create a section from the thesis (PhD Diss.)? I can't find such an option.
  • adamsmith
    can you say more about what you're trying to do?
  • lisarbei
    I would like to cite a chapter of the thesis. Is it possible? Or should I just use pp. numbers?
  • adamsmith
    You'd cite the whole thesis and then specify chapter (instead of page number) in the Word add-on https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_usage#customizing_cites
  • lisarbei
    Ok, thanks!
  • Akhoshaim
    So when I choose "Thesis" to categorize my dissertation document, I lose the ISBN data apparently. Is there a fix for this?
  • adamsmith
    I would argue that a thesis with an International Standard _Book_ Number is probably better treated as a book in terms of data entry, but if you really want it as a thesis, you can add ISBN: 978-12345-67890 to the Extra field and that'll get picked up by citation styles.
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