Technical Reports

A guide to technical reports: what they are, where to find them, and how to write them.

Finding Technical Reports

Technical reports usually appear as part of a numbered series from the issuing agency. These numbers are important and are often the easiest way to find a specific report or document. Each agency has its own numbering system. Technical report number systems usually include the following elements:

agency, society, or company delineator
year code
specific number for each report

Some reports are classified and not available to the public. Further, reports may or may not be included in the library catalog or electronic discovery services. Check with a librarian for assistance with searching for technical reports.

Technical Report Libraries

General

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
NIST is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that assists with U.S. scientific and technical innovation/competitiveness by promoting measurement science and standardization.
National Technical Reports Library (NTRL)
NTRL is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce that assists with distributing federally funded scientific and technical information to U.S. businesses and the public.
Science.gov
Science.gov provides access to publications/technical reports from federally funded research across agencies. Using science.gov can be helpful if you are unsure which agency database to search.
Technical Reports Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)
TRAIL collects and provides access to U.S. government agency technical reports.

Aeronautics and Defense

AERADE
Aerospace Research Council (Great Britain) 1909-1979 and National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (U.S.) 1917-1958 technical reports
Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
U.S. Department of Defense technical reports
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration technical reports
North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Science and Technology Office (NATO-STO)
NATO-STO technical publications

Earth and Environmental Sciences

EPA National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP)
Environmental Protection Agency technical publications
National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)
Environmental methods, protocols, and statistical analyses from federal agencies.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Institutional Repository
NOAA technical publications
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Digital Library
U.S. Army Corps of Engineering technical publications (includes reports on fish/wildlife, water resources)
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service Publications
U.S. Forest Service technical publications
U.S. Geologic Survey Reports
U.S. Geologic Survey technical reports

Energy

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
IAEA technical publications
Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
U.S. Department of Energy technical publications
U.S. NRC Agency Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commision technical publications

Life and Health Sciences

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
MMWR (CDC) is a weekly epidemiological briefing, providing topical reports of disease incidence across the U.S. and the globe.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
NCI (NIH) technical reports
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
NCHS (CDC) publications reporting a variety of U.S. public health statistics.
National Toxicology Program (NTP)
NTP (NIH) technical reports
World Health Organization (WHO)
WHO technical reports

Transportation

Repository and Open Science Access Portal (ROSAP)
National Library of Transportation digital collections. Includes technical publications from the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as state departments of transportation.
Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)
U.S. Transportation Research Board and OECD Joint Transport Research Centre International Transport Research

Last Updated: Aug 1, 2025 11:37 AM
URL: https://guides.library.umass.edu/techreports
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