Biomedical Innovation & Entrepreneurship

A technical report is a document that describes the process, progress, or results of technical or scientific research or the state of a technical or scientific research problem.  They are prepared for internal or wider distribution by many organizations.  Technical reports often present cutting edge research before being published in journals or conferences.

A standard is "a recognized unit of comparison by which  the correctness of others can be determined."  Another definition is "a set of characteristics or qualities that describes features of a product, process, or service."   

To locate a standard, you should have at least some of the following details:

• Name of the publishing organization (often referred to as the SDO - Standards Developing Organization)
• Standard number
• Title
• Subject

Locating standards can be difficult.  Databases for locating standards often only have a title for you search by keyword.  Standards are regularly updated (usually) and the version that you want might depend on your specific information needs. 

Conferences papers are the papers presented at a conference, meeting, symposium, etc. by individual speakers.

Proceedings are the collection of conference papers that are published by the organizing institution of the conference or via a publisher.  They are distributed as printed books or made available online.  Proceedings may include whole papers or just the abstracts.

• publication title
• publication type (separate, one-time publications, serials, or as special issues in journals)
• content (abstracts, extended abstracts, or complete papers)
• publication date (some proceedings may be published long after the actual conference date)
• sponsoring associations' name