Citing a previously unpublished master’s thesis, can I simply use part of my thesis to apply to a conference? I wrote my master’s thesis which looked at something through two different lenses using two different datasets.
I want to use one of those angles to submit a paper to a conference, and potentially the other in the future. So my questions are:


Is this okay to do?
Do I need to cite my master’s thesis, even if it is unpublished?
Can I just copy parts that would apply, or do I need to paraphrase and cite different parts of the paper? For example, the analysis section of the paper, I give the background of the interviews I conducted. Can I just use this same language for the paper I want to submit to the conference?
It sounds like you're rewriting your previous research into a publishable form. That's completely above board and very common. You wouldn't have to cite your masters thesis because the thesis is effectively an earlier draft of this paper.

See this related question, except the OP wants to turn a published paper into a thesis.

See also this related question, where I asked about self-plagiarism in conference talks.