Bibliographic Cataloging: Technical Reports

Identification of Technical Reports

Technical reports provide the results of scientific and technical research. They are typically narrow in scope and usually report on a single research effort. Although they may report on more than one experiment or research effort, they do not provide the wide range of information and theory that is provided in general scientific and technical publications. Most are organized in the same way. The initial paragraphs normally include background information and the objectives of the research efforts undertaken. The research methodology is described. Problems encountered and the limits imposed by the research methods are covered. The final paragraphs or sections are devoted to the results, analysis of results, conclusions, and recommendations.

Former Practice

There is more than one definition for technical reports. For cataloging purposes, GPO previously identified technical reports based on one or more of three definitions.¹ In addition, GPO considered “all documents to be technical reports that:

1. Belong to a technical report series or to a series that primarily includes technical reports.
2. Contain a technical report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, research report page, or other similar page.” ^Ibid.

In 2015, GPO’s Library Services & Content Management took the opportunity to review its definition and practice for cataloging technical reports. In that same year, GPO joined the TRAIL (Technical Report Archive & Image Library) initiative and was in the process of revising its Cataloging Guidelines. As a result, GPO has changed its practice as follows: “belonging to a technical report series” is still a criterion for technical reports, but containing a “technical report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, research report page, or other similar page” is not.

Current Practice

Effective September 1, 2016, with the publication of this chapter of the Cataloging Guidelines, GPO now applies the following definitions or criteria to identify technical reports for cataloging purposes:

1. GPO considers all documents to be technical reports that belong to a technical report series or to a series that primarily includes technical reports. (This criterion is self-sufficient; no other criteria need be met or considered.) 
   
   If a document does not meet this criterion, then proceed to definition number 2. For cataloging purposes, documents that meet definition number 2 below, plus one additional definition from numbers 3-5 below, are considered to be technical reports.
    
2. *(Required, unless criterion 1 is met) A report giving the scientific results of research or developmental investigations or other technical studies in the sciences, technology, engineering, or agriculture. It is not a compilation of data. Technical reports are usually concerned with only one specific subject or a few related subjects and provide information of more than transient interest. They are not administrative or legal in nature, nor do they concern the activities of the issuing agency. (GPO definition, compiled from parts of other definitions and personal communications from subject matter experts)
   
   If a document meets this definition, then it must meet one additional definition from numbers 3-5 below, in order to be considered a technical report.
    
3. A report giving details and results of a specific investigation of a scientific or technical problem.--ALA Glossary
    
4. A brief, generally unbound, interim report covering ongoing research in general areas of science and technology (Excludes: social sciences, economics, and "soft" sciences).—Library of Congress’ Descriptive Cataloging Manual (DCM)
    
5. From: OCLC. Bibliographic Formats and Standards, 4^th ed.
    
   1. “According to ANSI Z39.23 (1983), … a technical report is a document that gives the result of research or developmental investigations, or both, or other technical studies. . . A technical report is initially submitted to the person or body for which the investigation was carried out or by which it was sponsored. Copies of it may subsequently be made available in limited quantities. . . , but these copies are not produced commercially and are not available from booksellers or other commercial sources. . . . Technical reports are usually published irregularly, either in series or as separate monographs. Technical reports are not typeset but are reproduced from typescript by near-print processes, and they are usually concerned with only one specific subject or with a few closely related subjects.”--3. Special Cataloging Guidelines, 3.3 Technical Reports
       
   2. “… an item that is the result of scientific investigation or technical development, testing, or evaluation, presented in a form suitable for dissemination to the technical community.”-- Fixed-Field Elements: Cont = Nature of Contents 
       
6. GPO formerly considered all documents that contained a technical report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, research report page, or other similar page, to be technical reports. This former, second self-sufficient criterion (the first was series) no longer applies. While many technical reports will contain such a report page or data sheet, this is no longer a consideration for identifying technical reports.

When in doubt, do not treat the publication as a technical report.

Examples of technical reports:

This belongs to a technical report series, meeting definition 1 above.

This does not belong to a series, however, the material clearly fits the definition of a technical report.

This does not belong to a series, but clearly fits the definition of a technical report.

This belongs to a technical report series, meeting definition 1. (If it did not belong to a series, the cataloger would determine that it meets the definition of a technical report.)

This belongs to a technical report series. (If it did not, it still fits the definition of a technical report.)

Examples that are not technical reports:

This document does not belong to a series. Rather than meeting one of the definitions of a technical report, this is a safety evaluation report which fulfills the licensing responsibilities of the issuing agency—it is not research per se. Reports of a legal or administrative nature, or reports that deal with the activities of the issuing agency do not meet definition 2. Having a bibliographic data sheet is no longer a criterion of a technical report.

This document does not belong to any series. Having a Technical report documentation page is no longer a criterion of a technical report. From the abstract: “The Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program was initiated to collect, store, and analyze the data necessary to better understand high priority bridge performance issues. The success of the program depends on first being able to identify the most important performance issues bridge owners face. To identify these issues, input from those bridge owners and other key stakeholders was sought. As part of this outreach, bridge experts in 15 State transportation departments were interviewed and asked to name the performance issues in their bridge inventory that are most common and/or most difficult to solve. The findings of these interviews are included in this report. To supplement these interviews and identify high priority issues related to bridge substructures, a workshop on substructure performance issues was held. The findings from the interviews and the substructure workshop were used to develop a list of 22 high priority performance issues. From this list, a shorter list of six bridge performance issues was recommended as the first group of issues for study under the LTBP Program.”

The research and results of this report are broader in scope than that of the typical technical report, and are performed in order to identify issues for study in the issuing agency’s Long-Term Bridge Performance Program. Reports that deal with the activities of the issuing agency, or reports of an administrative or legal nature do not meet definition 2.

This document belongs to a series, but not a technical report series. This manifestation was accessed from the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), and, like many of their online reports, has a Report documentation page--however, this is no longer a criterion. From the abstract:

• “In this, the first of three planned volumes, Dr. Charles R. Shrader has for the first time drawn together the scattered threads and woven them into a well-focused historical narrative that describes the evolution of OR in the U.S. Army, from its origins in World War II to the early 1960s. … he has managed to provide a comprehensive history of OR in the U.S. Army …”

Obviously, this history is not a technical report, even though it includes DTIC’s Report documentation page.

This document does not belong to a series. Having a Technical report documentation page is no longer a criterion. From the abstract of this 150 page report:

• “In SAFETEA-LU Section 1808, Congress required the U.S. Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, evaluate and assess the direct and indirect impacts of a representative sample of Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) –funded projects on air quality and congestion levels. This study responds to that request by analyzing 67 CMAQ-funded projects … The study team also conducted additional analyses of the selected set of CMAQ-funded projects to estimate their cost-effectiveness at reducing emissions of each pollutant.”

From the table of contents:

        “4.  Project Analysis and Selection Practices that Support Effectiveness---------------------50
         Emissions Reduction Cost-Effectiveness----------------------------------------------------------------50
         Examples of Good Practices---------------------------------------------------------------------------------60
         Next Steps---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------66”

This is the final report of phase 1 of a Congressionally mandated evaluation of the issuing agency’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program—it is not research per se. Reports of a legal or administrative nature, or reports that deal with the activities of the issuing agency do not meet definition 2.

Monograph or Serial

Technical reports that qualify to be serials based on the definition for serials in the RDA Glossary are cataloged following the instructions for serial cataloging listed in the GPO Cataloging Guideline: Serials.

Sources of Information

The sources of information used to catalog technical reports are generally the same as those used for other language (meaning textual or printed) materials. Information is taken from one of the preferred sources mentioned in RDA 2.2.2 (see Bibliographic Cataloging: General Policies), or from the report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, etc. Generally, take information, such as the performing organization, sponsoring or funding body, contract, grant, or task numbers, etc., only from the resource itself, not from external sources, such as the agency’s web site.

Cataloging Instructions

For specific input conventions, detailed field/subfield definitions, etc., consult:
MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data 
OCLC. Bibliographic Formats and Standards. 4th ed.

Fixed Fields

1. Cont: Nature of Contents:

Code “t” for technical report

2. DtSt: Type of Date/Publication Status and Date 2

DtSt: Use code “e” (detailed date) for all technical reports, if the information is readily available in the document. Use if the issue date includes year and month, or year, month and day. If only the year of publication is given in the document, then use code “s” (single date).
Date 2: Enter 2-4 numbers for either: month (mm__), or month plus day (mmdd). Follow MARC instructions.
(For the 264ǂc, shown in the example below, see the 264ǂc – Date of Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, etc. section, under “Variable Fields.”)

Variable Fields

General Guidance on Special Technical Report Fields

If any of the information appropriate for one of the technical report fields is already being used elsewhere in the record (title, series, publisher’s name, statement of responsibility, etc.), it is, nevertheless, repeated in the relevant special technical report fields. This redundancy is a deliberate reversal of the previous GPO policy of not repeating such information in the specific technical report fields. It is made in the interest of simplicity, in order to avoid excessive deliberation. No harm is done by this slight redundancy; in fact, the different fields record separate data elements even if the data is redundant.

Required Fields

The following special fields are required in GPO technical report catalog records, if applicable:

027 Standard technical report number

(Required when information is available)
See the section below, 027 – Standard Technical Report Number, for more detail.

513 Type of report and period covered note

(Required when information for subfield “a” is available)

Subfield “a” -- Type of report
Subfield “b” -- Period covered
See the section below, 513 – Type of Report and Period Covered Note, for more detail.

536 Funding Information Note

(Required when information is available)

Subfield “a” -- Text of note
Subfield “b” -- Contract number
Subfield “c” -- Grant number
Subfield “d” -- Undifferentiated number associated with the material that identifies a funding or contract-related number
Subfield “e” – Program element number
Subfield “f” – Project number
Subfield “g” – Task number
Subfield “h” – Work unit number

See the section below, 536 – Funding Information Note for more detail.

027 – Standard Technical Report Number

(Required when information is available)

A Standard Technical Report Number (STRN) is included only if it is found on a publication and specifically designated as an STRN. All other report numbers are entered in the 088 field. An STRN must appear on the technical report page to be treated as an STRN. If an STRN appears in different forms throughout a document, the form that appears on the technical report page is preferred.

GPO spacing conventions are observed when recording STRNs. If an STRN has been established in a series authority record as a series-like phrase, it is recorded in the 088 field not the 027 field. If it has been established as a series, it is recorded in the 490/830 field, not the 027 field.

An STRN number is formulated according to International Standard Technical Report Number (ISRN), ISO 10444, or Standard Technical Report Number Format and Creation, ANSI/NISO Z39.23-1997 or Standard Technical Report Number (STRN), Format and Creation, ANSI Z39.23-1983. For more details on the structure of an STRN see MARC 21 Format for Bibliographic Data: 027.

110/710 – Corporate Name Authorized Access Point

Non-federal bodies are given authorized access points if they appear either: (a) on the bibliographic data sheet in conjunction with a corresponding contract, grant, or other funding number, or, (b) in a formal statement, such as a statement of responsibility, on the preferred source of information. No contract, grant, or other funding number is necessary if the body’s name appears in a formal statement on the preferred source.

Sponsors are only given authorized access points when they also function as the author, issuing body, or publisher.

110 – Main Entry: Corporate Name

Corporate bodies, including non-Federal bodies, are entered in the 110 field when the work cataloged meets one of the categories in 19.2.1.1.1.

See the section above, 110/710 – Corporate Name Authorized Access Point, for general guidance on providing authorized access points for corporate bodies.

245ǂc – Statement of Responsibility

"Sponsored by ...", "Prepared for ..." and similar statements may be recorded in full in the statement of responsibility for technical reports, even when they are not inextricably combined with "Prepared by ..." statements. For efficiency, the entire statement may be recorded in the statement of responsibility, as long as it includes a corporate body that is “responsible for the creation of, or contributing to the realization of, the intellectual or artistic content of” the resource. The part of the statement relating to the corporate body financing the work, or simply the corporate body’s name, may then be repeated in the 536 subfield a.

Contract, grant, or other funding numbers may be recorded as part of the statement of responsibility, when appropriate.

264ǂc – Date of Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, etc.

Use the detailed date (month, day, year) if readily available in the document. If the day is not given, record the month and year.

500 – General Note

The performing body or organization may be recorded in this field, if its name does not appear on the preferred source of information. Most commonly, it will appear in the “Performing Organization” field of the Report documentation page/Bibliographic data sheet, in conjunction with a corresponding contract, grant, or other funding number.

On the technical report documentation page of this resource, “Engineering & Software Consultants, Inc.” appears in the “Performing Organization” field, and DTFH61-12-C-00002 appears in the “Contract or Grant No.” field.

513 – Type of Report and Period Covered Note

(Required when information for subfield “a” is available)

This field is only used for technical reports. Information for this field may be taken from one of the preferred sources mentioned in RDA 2.2.2, or from the report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, etc.

The type of technical report and period covered note is entered only when the information is found in the publication being cataloged. Punctuation and spacing, but not necessarily capitalization, should be transcribed as it appears on the document. The technical report documentation page is preferred as the source of the information if the same or similar wording is found elsewhere on the publication. This note is still entered, even if the same information is transcribed elsewhere in the catalog record (i.e. title, series statement, etc.).

The preferred source of information for ǂa (type of report) is the “type of report” section of the report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, etc. The preferred source of information for ǂb (period covered) is the “period covered” section of the report documentation page, bibliographic data sheet, etc. Subfield “a” is mandatory, so if a publication lacks information about the type of report, the 513 field is not entered at all, even if there is information about the period covered.

Subfield “a,” Type of report is mandatory in the 513 field. It is used when the wording on the document indicates what kind of report it is.

Any wording on the technical report documentation page, in the space marked "Type of report", should be transcribed in the 513 field, even if it repeats information given elsewhere in the cataloging record, for instance, in the series note or in the title.

If different but similar wording appears on other sources, prefer the form of information on the documentation page.

Subfield “b,” Period covered, is used for the inclusive dates of coverage of the report. This information is normally given on the documentation page in the area labeled "Period covered." Since subfield “a” is mandatory in the 513 field, if a publication lacks information about the type of report, the 513 field is not entered at all, even if there is information about the period covered. A 513 field having only subfield “b” will not validate.

Punctuation and spacing, but not necessarily capitalization, should be transcribed as on the document.

536 – Funding Information Note 

(Required when information is available)

Funding information for any publication is included in field 536, to identify financial sponsorship, as well as contract, grant, project, task, and work unit or other funding numbers.

No indicators are defined for the 536 field. These subfields are:

Subfield “a” -- Text of note (Information concerning the sponsors or funding agencies)
Subfield “b” -- Contract number
Subfield “c” -- Grant number
Subfield “d” – Undifferentiated number associated with the material that identifies a funding or contract-related number
Subfield “e” – Program element number
Subfield “f” – Project number
Subfield “g” – Task number
Subfield “h” – Work unit number

Subfield “a” is used to record the corporate body financing the work. This body will typically be named in a "Sponsored by ..." or "Prepared for ..." statement on a preferred source, or it will appear in the space labeled "Sponsoring agency name and address" on the technical report documentation page. Either the complete unabbreviated statement from the preferred source, or only the name itself from the documentation page, may be used. A third alternative is to transcribe the name from the documentation page’s "Sponsoring agency name and address" space, preceded by the words “Sponsored by.” If a "Sponsored by ...", "Prepared for ..." or similar statement appearing on a preferred source is not recorded in the statement of responsibility, it should be transcribed in full in the 536 subfield a. Include the sponsoring body in the 536 subfield “a,” even if the same body also appears in the 264 or 260 field.

Subfield “a” does not include the body which is named as the “performing” body or organization. A “performing” body is included in either the statement of responsibility or a 500 note. See the sections 245ǂc – Statement of Responsibility and 500 – General Note00 – General Note above.

Portions of "Sponsored by ...", "Prepared for ..." and similar statements that have been recorded in the statement of responsibility for technical reports, may be repeated in the 536 subfield a. Specifically, the part of the statement relating to the corporate body financing the work, or simply the corporate body’s name, may be repeated. If a "Sponsored by ...", "Prepared for ..." or similar statement appearing on a preferred source is not recorded in the statement of responsibility, it should be transcribed in full in the 536 subfield a.

Sponsors are only given authorized access points (in field 710 or 110) when they also function as the author, issuing body, or publisher. See example under section, 710 – Added Entry: Corporate Name.

Use designated subfields for funding and contract-related numbers, such as contract, grant, project, task, and work unit numbers. The numbers in subfields ǂb through ǂh are transcribed as the data appears on the publication. Do not apply GPO spacing conventions for numbers (also known as General Number Spacing Policies). The preferred source for these numbers is the documentation page. Do not use an unformatted 536 note. The sponsoring body should be included in the ǂa, and all numbers should be included in the designated subfields.

Subfields ǂe, ǂf, ǂg and ǂh may not be used with subfield ǂd, therefore, if needed, use two 536 fields to cover all funding and contract-related numbers in the document.

Subfields “b,” “c,” and “d” formerly appeared in the Monthly Catalog contract number index. All of the 536 field is currently (as of August 2016) indexed in the following CGP searches: WRD (all keywords), WNO (all notes), and in Advanced Search, searching in: All Notes, Technical Report Number, and Contract Number.

The 536 field should be formatted as follows:

Field 536 does not end with a mark of punctuation unless the field ends with an abbreviation, initial/letter, or other data that ends with a mark of punctuation.

710 – Added Entry: Corporate Name

For convenient reference, the following guidance is repeated, with a minor addition, from the above section, 110/710 – Corporate Name Authorized Access Point.

Non-federal bodies are given an authorized access point if they appear either: (a) on the bibliographic data sheet (often in the “Performing Organization” field) in conjunction with a corresponding contract, grant, or other funding number, or, (b) in a formal statement, such as a statement of responsibility, on the preferred source of information. No contract, grant, or other funding number is necessary, if the body’s name appears in a formal statement on the preferred source.

Sponsors are only given authorized access points when they also function as the author, issuing body, or publisher.

References

¹GPO Cataloging Guidelines, 2002. Fourth edition. U.S. Government Printing Office, page 176.