Historical Research for Higher Degrees in the United Kingdom is an annual publication of the prestigious Institute of Historical Research (IHR). The 64th issue here under review comprises, like other recent issues, two listings: Part I: Theses Completed 2002 and Part II: Theses in Progress 2003. Theses Completed 2002, by far the slimmer of the two volumes, lists 608 theses on historical topics completed during 2002 in UK universities. Theses in Progress 2003 lists 3,293 theses under way as at 1 January. The lists, which can be purchased together or separately, have a long history. Original publication in the Institute’s journal History began as long ago as 1920. Issue on the current pattern of two lists dates from 1967 (list no. 28). Theses in Progress 2003 and records from Theses Completed 1995‐2002 are also freely available on the IHR’s extensive and highly regarded Web site at www.history.ac.uk
The format and content of the two volumes are very similar. Both are arranged under chronological and topographical headings. The same broad headings are used in each volume, but the headings are expanded in Theses in Progress to handle the greater number of entries. Both volumes provide fairly minimal information on the theses recorded. Theses Completed gives title, author, supervisor(s), university, degree awarded and date. Theses in Progress provides provisional title, author, supervisor(s), university and degree in view. There are no abstracts or additional information in either volume. In both volumes records are numbered consecutively across the subject sections. Indexing is by author only in Theses in Progress and university, subject and author in Theses Completed. The subject index in the latter is fairly extensive and adequate for tracing theses on specific topics that cannot be immediately found through browsing. Theses included in both volumes are mainly those at doctorate level, but MPhil theses are also covered to some extent. Theses Completed includes a few titles not completed in 2002 omitted from earlier lists. The lists appear to have been compiled to a high standard of accuracy and are well presented in soft‐bound, but apparently durable, covers.
To further evaluate Theses Completed a brief comparison was made with the electronic version of Index to Theses, the standard source for bibliographical information on UK theses. Of ten titles selected at random from Theses Completed only four were found in both sources. When the comparison was reversed and five randomly chosen 2002 theses from the history classification of Index to Theses were checked against Theses Completed, only one was duplicated. This seems to suggest that neither source can be relied upon to give comprehensive coverage of history‐related theses produced in UK universities. In the case of Theses Completed, perhaps this is due to reliance on universities and university departments to provide information. In making this brief comparison it should be noted that Index to Theses, which is also available as a print listing in seven issues annually, has the advantage of more frequent updating and, most importantly, 200‐250‐word abstracts.
Making a similar evaluation of Theses in Progress is difficult, as there is no directly comparable source. Herein lies one of its main advantages – lack of any other means of easily obtaining this information. Having said this, Theses in Progress is probably some way from being comprehensive and reliable. The information is again dependent on reporting by universities and university departments. Moreover, theses in all subject areas have the habit of changing title midstream or failing to make it to submission. Recording such changes or failures may not always be a high priority for university authorities. In this regard it is interesting to note again that Theses in Progress 2003 contains 3,293 entries and Theses Completed 2002 608. This is nearly six theses in progress for every one submitted, a ratio that would indicate an average completion time of six years, double the normally expected three.
As already noted, an electronic version of Historical Research for Higher Degrees in the United Kingdom is freely available on the IHR’s Web site. With the relevant pages somewhat buried and not easily traced from the Institute’s homepage, many users may prefer to link directly to the relevant section at www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Resources/Theses At the present time this Internet version comprises simply the two printed lists available for browsing, with the addition of records for Theses Completed for all years back to 1995. Libraries that have only a marginal interest in history will find this Web version more than adequate for their needs and have no requirement for the printed lists. Libraries supporting students engaged in serious historical research, on the other hand, will probably want them in addition to Web access, not least because of the convenience of print and the very modest cost.
