• Technical Reports held at UCLA Library
• Technical Report Databases
• General Description of Technical Reports
• How to Identify a Technical Report

The following excerpts are from Centennial Science & Engineering Library Page. U of New Mexico. 1 April 2003 http://zoobert.unm.edu/newcsel/handouts/Technical_Reports.pdf
For a detailed description of technical report literature see -
Subramanyam, Krishna. Scientific and Technical Information Resources.
SEL/EMS Reference Stacks T 10.7 S93 1981

"Technical reports are documents that generally contain results of research and development supported by government grants or contracts. There are also private and corporate sponsored research reports. Although they are not usually formally refereed, they are an important form of scientific and technical information and communication. They made their first impact during World War II; since then their production has increased tremendously. The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) currently adds over 71,000 technical reports to the database every year. Technical reports are often written as a requirement of a contract, they are a permanent record of publicly supported research, and they are an efficient means of disseminating information back to scientists and engineers and to the general public. In early years, reports were published and disseminated largely in paper format. In the 1960's and 70's it became common for reports to be disseminated in microfiche, and now, it is becoming common for technical reports to be disseminated in electronic form.

Several characteristics of most reports will help track down the location of a report. These include: personal author(s), corporate author(s), issuing agency, title, publication date, contract or grant number, report number(s), order or accession number, number of pages, releasing agency, and distribution limitations, if any. The report number is the most important identification feature of a report. Report numbers usually consist of alphanumeric characters that designate some or all of the following: originating or contracting agency, series, accession number, subject classifications, form, date, and security classification. Reports often are assigned more than one report number.
e.g., ADA-88-1098: AD=Dept of Def; A=Unclassified,Unlimited; 88=1988; 1098=the 1098 th in a series."