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Research Guides

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. 
Subjects: Engineering