Here is a place to search for and purchase dissertations. They have about 1.5M dissertations available. I did a search on a somewhat obscure topic (software components) and found about 25. Most were in the $25-30 range for unbound or electronic copies. http://www.contentville.com/content/dissertations.asp They also have screenplays, legal docs., transcripts, and speeches.
Try looking in your local public or academic library for a database called Dissertation Abstracts. Here are the scope notes: "Dissertation Abstracts / Digital Dissertations at ProQuest covers dissertations accepted at accredited U.S. institutions since 1861. Approximately 47,000 new dissertations and 12,000 new theses to the database each year. It selectively covers masters theses, Canadian dissertations, British, and other international dissertations. Abstracts are included for dissertations beginning July 1980 and for masters theses beginning spring 1988. For dissertations done in 1997 and later, PDFs of some titles are available." They go on to note that it's possible to purchase copies of dissertations through Dissertation Abstracts. But you can also borrow them through the interlibrary loan department of your library. Why pay for something when you can get it for free? From the list's cheerful librarian, ------------------ Michael Wilson
Actually, you can search for (and purchase) USA dissertations yourself at: http://www.umi.com/hp/Products/Dissertations.html