A technical report (also: scientific report) is a document that describes the progress or results of technical or scientific research, or the state of a technical or scientific research problem. Such reports are often prepared for sponsors of research projects.

Technical reports are today a major source of scientific and technical information. They are prepared for internal or wider distribution by many organizations, most of which lack the extensive editing and printing facilities of commercial publishers. Unlike other scientific literature, such as scientific journals and the proceedings of some academic conferences, technical reports rarely undergo comprehensive independent peer review before publication. Where there is a review process, it is often limited to within the originating organization. Scientific literature is the totality of publications that report original empirical and theoretical work in the sciences and social sciences. ... Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ...

Many organizations collect their technical reports into a formal series. Reports are then assigned an identifier (report number, volume number) and share a common cover-page layout. The entire series might be uniquely identified by an ISSN. ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ...

A registration scheme for a globally unique International Standard Technical Report Number (ISRN) was standardized in 1994 (ISO 10444), but was never implemented in practice. It aimed to be an international extension of a report identifier scheme used by U.S. government agencies (ANSI/NISO Z39.23). Logo of the International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO or iso) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies. ... The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit standards organization that serves as a facilitator for the standardization work of its members in the United States. ... The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) is a United States non-profit standards organization that develops, maintains and publishes technical standards related to bibliographic and library applications. ...

References

• International Standard ISO 5966, Documentation — Presentation of scientific and technical reports
• International Standard ISO 10444:1994, Information and documentation — International standard technical report number (ISRN)
• Draft American Standard NISO Z.39.18-200X, Scientific and technical reports – Preparation, presentation and preservation
• American Standard ANSI/NISO Z39.23, Standard technical report number format and creation