From microfilm to AI: Transforming dissertation use for every researcher

In 1938, Eugene Power founded University Microfilms, launching what would become a revolutionary effort to preserve and distribute dissertations. For decades, microfilm was the gold standard—compact, inexpensive, and widely accessible. It opened the door to global access to graduate research, long before the digital age.

Fast forward to today to another research transformation — this time powered by artificial intelligence. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global has grown to over 6.3 million curated records, including 3.9 million full-text documents from more than 4,100 institutions across 75+ countries. But the challenge remains: how do we help researchers — especially undergraduates — navigate and extract value from these often lengthy and complex documents?

That’s where the new ProQuest Research Assistant comes in.

A New Era of Dissertation Discovery

Dissertations are rich with original research, often representing the earliest work of emerging scholars. Yet their length and density can be daunting. The average dissertation is over 200 pages, and for many students, especially those new to academic research, knowing where to begin can be overwhelming.

ProQuest Research Assistant addresses this challenge by using responsible, curated AI to guide users through the research process, empowering them to engage more deeply with the content. As one fourth year undergraduate student from Maryland put it, "It honestly helps you dissect the article or resource more. By dissect, I mean critically analyze it to make sure you understand what the resource is talking about. If you want similar resources, [Research Assistant] guides you to the next one."

Supporting Researchers at Every Level

For undergraduates, ProQuest Research Assistant serves as a launchpad. It helps them explore topics, understand structure, and identify foundational research — all within a single dissertation. This scaffolding is especially valuable for students who may be unfamiliar with academic conventions or who are just beginning to develop their research skills.

For graduate students and faculty, ProQuest Research Assistant accelerates literature reviews and supports milestone achievements. By identifying key references and surfacing connections across disciplines, it helps researchers build depth of expertise more efficiently. A second-year undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida noted, “Research Assistant would help me with my research by allowing me to find information quicker and providing topics that I can search separately. It helps me be more specific in my research.”

Responsible AI, Designed with Librarians in Mind

Academic librarians have long been champions of information literacy and critical engagement with sources. Understandably, there’s concern that AI tools might encourage shortcuts or reduce the incentive to read primary materials. ProQuest Research Assistant was designed with these concerns in mind.

Rather than generating answers, ProQuest Research Assistant prompts inquiry. It encourages users to explore, question, and reflect. It’s not a substitute for research — it’s a companion that makes the process more accessible and rewarding.

A Legacy of Innovation

The launch of ProQuest Research Assistant is the latest milestone in a long history of innovation aimed at unlocking the value of graduate output. From microfilm to digital databases, ProQuest has continually evolved to meet the needs of researchers and librarians alike. For example, the integration of the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global Citation Index into Web of Science in 2023 brings early-career research — often found only in dissertations — into the mainstream discovery workflow, allowing researchers to find, cite, and build upon this foundational work alongside peer-reviewed literature, all within a single, trusted platform.

Today, ProQuest Research Assistant represents a new chapter — one that blends the depth of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global with Academic AI to unlock the full potential of dissertations. It’s a tool that honors the past while embracing the future.

Uncover the Undiscovered

Whether you’re helping a first-year student find their footing or supporting a faculty member’s next publication, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, supported by ProQuest Research Assistant, is here to help.

Learn more and request your free trial of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global with ProQuest Research Assistant.

Register for our webinar, “From Microfiche to AI: The Evolution of ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global” on July 24, 2025.