User Guides Subject Guides > Government, Law & Politics — Technical Reports

Most government research is conducted by U.S. government agencies, corporations, and universities. The technical reports which are the published results of this research cover a variety of subjects: science and technology, social and behavioral sciences, business, etc. The University Library has a large technical report collection in both paper and microfiche and can acquire any additional reports as needed.

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NTIS reports | Other technical reports

The primary government agency for publishing and distributing technical reports is the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Reports are issued under an alpha-numeric “NTIS Order Number” (e.g. AD 760 482, PB 91-640 929). The paper reports are shelved in the Library by this NTIS order number in the Technical Reports section in Government Publications (Range 50). The microfiche reports are also filed by NTIS order number in the drawers labeled “NTIS Technical Reports” in the Government Publications microfiche area.

NTIS keeps all reports on file, and they are available for purchase. To have the Library order a report or for assistance in ordering a report, please contact the Government Publications Office at (401) 874-2606.

Listed below are indexes and databases for locating NTIS reports.

http://www.ntis.gov/search.htm

National Technical Information Service Database. 1990-.

A title keyword index to over 750,000 NTIS reports, datafiles, CD-ROMs and audiovisual materials. Search results are arranged in order of relevance. Each entry includes citation, price, and NTIS order number. Some records include abstracts. Instructions for ordering the reports via the Web or by telephone are given.

 

http://www.ntis.gov/FDLP

NTIS/GPO Depository Access to Reports, Technical & Scientific (DARTS). 1990-.

Full text access of online NTIS reports back to 1990.  May be searched by keyword, author or title.  Please ask at the Reference Desk for access.

URI Govt. Pub. Index Z7916 .G78

Government Reports Announcements and Index. 1976-1995. Latest 10 years on Govt. Pub. Index Table 2; Prior years at Govt. Pub. Range D.

Index to published NTIS reports. Arranged by broad subject areas. Indexed by title keyword, personal and corporate author, contract/grant number, and NTIS order number. Each record includes citation, abstract, and price. For retrospective searching, previous titles of this source were: Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports (1946-1949), Bibliography of Technical Reports (1950-1954), U.S. Government Research Reports (1955-1963), U.S. Government Research and Development Reports (1963-1970). All of these editions are shelved in the Govt. Pub. Index, Range D.

Other technical reports

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Indexes and databases for finding technical reports published or distributed by other government agencies are listed below.

http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS534

DOE Information Bridge. 1995-. Updated weekly.

Indexes Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored scientific and technical reports. Can search full text or specific fields. Search results are ranked by relevance. Each entry includes citation, abstract, “subject category number”, keywords indexed under, and publication availability. For reports not available in full text, users are referred to NTIS or to GPO Depository Libraries for obtaining them. This database replaces Energy Research Abstracts listed below.

URI Govt. Pub. Index E1.17:

Energy Research Abstracts. 1977-1995. Located at Govt. Pub. Range C.

Index to publications on energy-related information produced by the U.S. Department of Energy, other U.S. government agencies, and some reports by foreign governments. Includes technical reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, patents, and theses. Arranged by broad subject areas. Each report includes citation, abstract, and publication availability. Indexed by subject, personal and corporate author, report or contract number, and DOE order number. This index was replaced by the DOE Information Bridge listed above.

http://www.uri.edu/library/reference_databases/title.html

GPO Monthly Catalog. 1976-. Updated monthly.

Database of publications published by the Government Printing Office. Includes some technical reports. Access is by author, title, subject, keyword, Sudoc number, or report number. Each record includes cataloging data but no abstract. This database is an electronic version of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications listed below.

URI Ref. Z7144 .N8 I18

INIS Atomindex. 1970-1995.

Abstracts to international publications on nuclear science and related disciplines. Includes technical reports, books, journal articles, conference papers, patents, standards, and theses. International in scope. Indexed by subject, author, and conference/proceedings date.

URI Govt. Pub. Index Z1223 .A18

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. 1895-. Monthly with annual and decennial indexes. Located in Govt. Pub. Index Area.

Index of publications produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Included are some technical reports. Indexed by author, title, subject. For documents published after 1976, the GPO Monthly Catalog listed above is more useful.

http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS18243

NACA Technical Report Service. 1917-1958.

Index and digitized database of reports produced by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor. Coverage is from 1917-1958. Searches may be conducted by author, keyword, or report number. Each record includes citation, abstract, and link to the PDF version of the report.

http://www.epa.gov/nepis/

National Environmental Publications Information System (NEPIS). 1990-. Updated monthly.

Database of over 10,000 technical and popular publications produced by the Environmental Protection Agency. Searches are conducted by keyword. Search results produce linked titles to the digitized report.

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/

NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server. 1994-. Updated semi-monthly.

Database of NASA-produced literature, including technical reports. Also indexes selected aerospace-related reports from other government agencies. Selected historical reports back to 1958 are included. Searches may be conducted by author, keyword, or report number. Each record includes citation, abstract, and, if available, a link to the digital version of the report. Non-digital reports may be ordered from the Center for Aerospace Information.

URI Ref. QC770 .U64

Nuclear Science Abstracts. 1947-1976.

Abstracts international literature in nuclear science and related disciplines. Includes technical reports, journal articles, patents, and books. Indexed by personal author and subject. After 1976, reports are included in INIS Atomindex listed above.

http://www.science.gov/

Science.gov.

A subset of FirstGov, this gateway links to all government scientific and technical Web sites. Searches may be conducted by keyword or by selected topics.

URI Ref. TL500 .S35

Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports. 1963-1995.

Index to literature on space and aeronautics and related disciplines published by NASA and its contractors. Each record includes citation, abstract, and publication availability. Indexed by author, subject, and NASA report number. Replaced by NTRS (NASA Technical Report Server) listed above.

http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS17946

TRIS Online (Transportation Research Information Service). 1960-.

Index and database on transportation research includes current and archival technical reports. Coverage extends back to 1960. Searches may be conducted by author, title, or keyword. Each record includes citation, abstract, subject terms, and availability.

For assistance
If you need further assistance, please contact the Government Publications Office, University Library, (401) 874-2606. If the office is closed, please consult the Reference Desk, which may be reached at (401) 874-2653. You may also contact the government publications subject specialist, Deborah Mongeau, at (401) 874-4610 or dmongeau@uri.edu.

C.P. Winn 4/72; rev. K.S. Nilsen 10/72; A. Shaw 9/76; M. Vocino 4/84; D. Mongeau 3/87, 5/98. 5/04, 4/07.