Technical Reports: Government Reports

This guide will talk about the different kinds of technical reports, why you might use them and how to find them.

Government Report Resources

NTIS (National Technical Information Service)- Contains citations to unclassified reports from U.S. and international government agencies such as NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. Includes a broad range of engineering, technology, and scientific subjects: aeronautics & aerodynamics, chemistry, computer sciences, energy, environmental sciences, materials sciences, nuclear science, telecommunications and transportation. Many of these will be on microfiche in the Engineering Library. NOTE: you will need the NTIS number to find the microfiche in the Library. Ask at the desk for help.
National Technical Reports Library (NTRL): The United States' National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is now offering the American public free public access to a searchable online database of approximately three million federal science and technology reports via the National Technical Reports Library (NTRL).
National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP): This site is EPA’s premier site for accessing EPA publications, with more than 7,000 in stock and 31,000 digital titles, free of charge.
WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) -The Washington State Department of Transportation website includes searchable databases of their research reports, manuals and specifications available online.
Science.gov - Searches over 40 databases and 2,000 websites, offering millions of pages of authoritative U.S. government science information, including research and development results. Includes specific databases such as:
- DTIC - Defense Technical Information. Many full-text technical reports from the Defense Technical Information Center.
- SciTech Connect - The Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) has consolidated the information previously indexed in the individual databases: DOE Information Bridge and the DOE Energy Citations Database into SciTech Connect. (More information)
  - DOE Green Energy: The Green Energy Project has been discontinued. All of the information is now available via SciTech Connect.
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS): This database displays citation information from NASA's Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program. Examples of NASA's STI include research reports, journal articles, conference and meeting papers, technical videos, mission-related operational documents, and preliminary data. These are not full-text documents, although links to online full-text are provided when available.
TRAIL Technical Report Archive & Image Library: The Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL) identifies, acquires, catalogs, digitizes and provides unrestricted access to U.S. government agency technical reports.