ENVS 243: Energy

Technical reports disseminate research findings (including data) focusing on a particular problem or research topic of an agency or organization. Technical reports can be produced by

• academic institutions, e.g., biological field stations
• governmental agencies, e.g., Illinois Natural History Survey
• corporations (from their Research and Development departments)

Here are two strategies for finding technical reports:

• Use Knox Primo to identify technical reports, especially those from United States and Illinois agencies. For example, reports from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are listed in Knox Primo.
• Go to the web site of the governmental agency that you think might produce technical reports related to your topic. In many cases, reports from these agencies will be freely available.

In addition, try these gateways to technical reports and lists of agencies that produce technical reports:

• Science.gov searches over 42 databases and over 2000 selected websites from 14 federal agencies.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory has a collection of technical and non-technical publications. This lab is "the only federal laboratory dedicated to the research, development, commercialization and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies." NOTE: These reports are also listed in Knox Primo.
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's regional scientific centers, and part of its mission is to "increases U.S. energy capacity and reduces dependence on imported oil through research of hydrogen and biomass-based fuels." Many of their publications are available for searching and downloading.

The following databases provide access to policy papers, technical reports and some scholarly journal articles. Concentrate your efforts on the databases highlighted with the stars [ ].

National Agricultural Library Catalog (AGRICOLA) -- Compiled by the National Agricultural Library, this database contains citations to materials, from 1970 to the present, on all aspects of agriculture.

 OSTI.Gov -- Contains bibliographic records and links to some full text files for energy and energy-related scientific and technical information from the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies, the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The Database provides access to DOE publicly available citations from 1948 through the present, with continued growth through regular updates.

PolicyArchive (Energy section) -- From Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the Center for Governmental Studies, this databases aims to be a comprehensive archive of public policy research reports from 220 think tanks and other research organization.

Science.gov searches for authoritative U.S. Government science information, including research and development results, from over 42 databases and over 2000 selected websites from 14 federal agencies.

TRID Transportation Research Database -- Transportation Research Information Services Database and the OECD’s Joint Transport Research Centre’s International Transport Research Documentation Database. TRID provides access to more than one million records of transportation research worldwide. See also the National Transportation Library catalog (often has links to documents and reports).