Nature · Thesis
How to cite a thesis or dissertation in Nature
Theses and dissertations are citable scholarship: author, year, title, the degree it was written for, and the awarding university. If it lives in a repository, add the link. Examiners read these citations closely, since candidates who cite theses usually cite them from the same repository the examiner knows.
Worked example · Nature
1. Lovelace, A. Grounded verification in academic writing. (Example University, 2020).
Rendered with the official Nature style file from a placeholder source (reserved example DOI and domain), so the format is exactly what the style produces. In text: Superscript numbers in citation order, with a numbered reference list.
What to collect before you cite a thesis or dissertation
- Author
- Title
- Degree type (PhD thesis, master's dissertation)
- Awarding university
- Year of award
- Repository URL, if it is online
Have a DOI? Generate the reference instantly
Journal articles, many books and reports carry a DOI. Paste it and get the Nature entry from the same engine that produced the example above.
Citing a whole thesis, not one source?
CiteDash keeps your bibliography in Nature automatically, verifies every citation against a real paper, and compiles to DOCX, PDF or LaTeX.
Citing a thesis or dissertation in Nature: FAQ
Is a thesis a 'published' or 'unpublished' source?
If it is in a university repository or a database, most styles treat it as published; a bound copy only in the library is unpublished. The style marks the two differently, and the degree and university appear either way.
Can I cite my own earlier thesis?
Yes, as a normal thesis citation, and your institution's self-plagiarism rules govern how much of it you may reuse without declaration.
Master's dissertation or PhD thesis: does the wording matter?
Yes. Use the label the awarding institution used, since the reader uses it to judge the depth of the source.
What does the in-text citation look like in Nature?
Superscript numbers in citation order, with a numbered reference list.
Is the example on this page hand-written?
No. It is rendered by the same citation engine and official CSL style file CiteDash uses for full thesis bibliographies, from a clearly-marked placeholder source, and a test re-renders it on every release so the page can never drift from the engine.