Locate the precise type of citation required by the instructor for whom you are writing your paper. The two most popular agencies that publish style manuals are the MLA (Modern Language Association) and the APA (American Psychological Association); however, other styles include Chicago and Turabian. Also, individual professors sometimes develop personal preferences in citation format.
Look inside your style manual for directions for citing a thesis, or a section of a thesis. Style manuals usually group types of references together, such as books, magazines or encyclopedia. MLA places dissertations and thesis after most major publications, and before e-mail. It differentiates between a doctoral dissertation and a master's thesis. APA places dissertations and thesis after research and technical reports, and also makes a distinction between levels of scholarship.
List the thesis in your reference resource page at the end of your paper. Roughly, it should include the name of author, title of the thesis, that it is a thesis and a location for retrieval; APA requires an ending identification number for a thesis found in an electronic database.
Cite the source in text at the location where you use the information. Place the in-text citation in parenthesis, using this format: (author name, date, title of chapter, page number). Formats may vary slightly from agency to agency. Again, be aware of particular requirements by your specific professor.