Conducting a scholarly research, one might wonder whether he/she can include a dissertation citation in the research. After all, if the dissertation was accepted, it implies that a respectable commission reviewed the academic value of such dissertation and approved its academic contribution to the respective field of study. A dissertation citation, in that regard, might not differ from an article citation in a scholarly journal.
 
In some aspects, a dissertation citation might be considered even better than a journal citation, where the latter might not always show the full scale of the research undertaken on a particular subject. In the light of the aforementioned, the present article will attempt to clarify the applicability of using a dissertation citation in one’s own research.
 
The Value of Dissertation Citations
 
Analyzing the value of dissertation citations, it should be acknowledged that many of the scholarly works, which were published in books and journals, have their foundations in the dissertations submitted by their respective authors. Accordingly, unless the contributions of the dissertation were subsequently refuted, either by the author or other researchers, the dissertation citation remains credible. Additionally, dissertation citations can be seen as a reference to the source of the study, which version in the scholarly journal might not contain all the details of the original research.
 
Precautions
 
Despite of the latter, there are several precautions that should be considered before using dissertation citations. Such precautions include the limitations of the study conducted in the dissertation. Being acknowledged by the author, such limitations should be considered when using dissertation citations.
 
Accordingly, the dissertation citation should not be used to refer to information that were cited by the author of the dissertation, and which refer to external works. In such case, the student should refer to the original work, rather than the dissertation in which such work was cited.