How do I reference a thesis… in the Cranfield Author-date style?
03/06/2015

Because theses are not published in the traditional manner, if you’re using them in your research, you will need to identify them as such in your references. This means that a thesis reference looks slightly different from book or report type references.
A print thesis or dissertation
What to include in an Author-date reference:
- Author (surname, initials)
- (Year of publication)
- Title
- Name of degree award eg BSc, PhD, MSc
- Degree-awarding body
Here are some examples of what your bibliographic references might look like:
D’Allance, V. (2012) Banking efficiencies in Russia and Brazil in context of the global financial crisis. MSc thesis. Cranfield University.
Knight, E.R.W.F. (2010) The finance of climate change: transitioning to a low carbon economy. PhD thesis. University of Oxford.
MacKie, D.J. (2013) The effectiveness of strength-based executive coaching in enhancing transformational leadership. PsyD thesis. University of Leicester.
An online thesis or dissertation
If you have retrieved a thesis online, some additional information is required.
What to include in the reference:
- Author (surname, initials)
- (Year of publication)
- Title
- Name of degree award, e.g. BSc, PhD, MSc
- Degree awarding body
- Available at: URL
- (Accessed: date)
Here are some examples of what your bibliographic references might look like:
Champniss, G. (2013) All for one and one for all: encouraging prosocial behaviours through brand-convened consumer groups. PhD thesis. Cranfield University. Available at: http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/8067. (Accessed: 23/03/2015).
Marin-Uribe, P.L. (1995) The impact of liberalization on market structure in the European airline industry. PhD thesis. London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.307656. (Accessed: 24/03/2015).
As always if you have any questions about referencing, pop into MIRC or contact us.
Feature image from Pixabay. Available at: https://pixabay.com/photos/student-typing-keyboard-text-woman-849824/
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Credibility, confidence and collaborative focus: The impact of studying for a sustainability apprenticeship at Cranfield
For participants on Cranfield’s Sustainability Business Specialist Apprenticeship, it doesn’t take long for their studies to start to have an impact, with that impact ranging from personal growth and career progression, to organisational effect ...
Meet Mendeley: a powerful referencing tool that does the hard work for you!
Are you looking for a way to manage your references, create in-text citations and reference lists for your assignments or thesis? If so, you may wish to consider using Mendeley. What is it? Mendeley is ...
Adding documents to your Mendeley account
To make the most of a Mendeley account, it is useful to create and maintain a ‘Library’ of references. You can add references and documents to this Library in a number of ways: 1) Drag ...
Choosing the right reference management tool for you…
Are you thinking about using reference management software to help you manage your references? The Library is here to help you. While Mendeley has been our go-to reference management software for some years, we've recently ...
Cranfield Seed Fund recipient, Cosysense, are using AI to solve air conditioning problems and provide a net zero alternative
If you’ve ever worked in an office environment you’ve probably been involved in, or overheard, a conversation about the air conditioning. Well, it’s no surprise it’s a common complaint when research shows that up ...
An Eye-Opening Journey in Advanced GIS & Remote Sensing at Cranfield University
My experience in the Advanced GIS and Remote Sensing course at Cranfield University was nothing short of transformational. From day one, the course was designed to provide both technical expertise and real-world applications. What ...