U.S. Government

Once you determine the department and/or agency relevant to your topic, you can search their website or use the Google site search tool to find information produced by that department or agency. 

Google Site Search:
•For example, “site:hhs.gov” for the Department of Health and Human Services
•To search all Government websites, regardless of agency, only use “site:gov”
 

• Bureau of Land Management
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Energy
• Department of Homeland Security: Science & Technology Directorate
• Department of the Interior
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Communications Center
• Food & Drug Administration
• National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
• National Institutes of Health
• National Institute of Standards & Technology
• National Laboratories
• National Marine Fisheries Service
• National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• National Science Foundation
• National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Office of Science & Technology Policy
• Office of Scientific & Technical Information
• Patent and Trademark Office
• Transportation Research and Technology
• U.S. Geological Survey

Government technical reports are written by and for experts within certain disciplines and document the progress of scientific research. Reports are often not peer-reviewed or well edited, but they are released quickly, and can be more up-to-date than books or articles.

 Technical reports are usually part of a numbered series. They can be searched by the title of the report or the series title. Often it is helpful to know which agency is responsible for the report, so that you can search that agency's website or search the agency as author in our online catalog. (Example: author as United states Environmental Protection Agency)

Technical reports subjects where U.S. government sponsored research is particularly prominent and widely available include:

Aeronautics and space exploration (NASA)
Defense & Military Science (DOD)
Earth sciences (USGS) (NASA)
Energy research (DOE) (NRC)
Engineering (DOD) (NASA)
Environmental sciences (EPA) (NIH)
Health & Life sciences (NIH)
Transportation (DOT) (FAA) (more detailed list of subject categories)

To locate technical reports and standards visit the Library of Congress Online Resources Related to Technical Reports and Standards. You might also find relevant material in the Technical Reports and Standards Collections.