working and occasional papers | conference papers | reports

Description: Research data and communication that has not (and may never) make it to formal publication and appears as conference papers, reports for various audiences (including funding sources), working papers, Web pages, etc.


Types of semi-formal communication

Working and occasional papers
Documents such as briefs, essays, white papers, rough notes, calculations, or drafts, assembled or created and used in the preparation or analysis of other documents.

Conference papers
Papers prepared for and presented at professional conferences, conventions, or symposia. These may vary from descriptions of research-in-progress to fully articulated essays or presentations on topics related to the central focus of a research project.

Reports
There are, of course, many kinds of documents called "reports." Here we refer to accounts of research that do not reach formal publication in peer-reviewed literature or books. For example, funding agencies typically require a report, even when the research is discontinued because it is faulty, insignificant, or unnecessary. They may retain copies of the documentation for this research to provide context for further research or make use of raw data gathered.


  • These tend to be works-in-progress, snapshots of research as it proceeds, not fully-fleshed-out analyses.
  • These sources allow researchers to expand on areas of their work that do not fit neatly into their current project but demand further exploration at another time or by other scholars.
  • Reports to funding agencies are frequently archived by the agency and may contain data useful to other research and not available elsewhere.
  • May be difficult to locate.
  • Conference papers are not always published, and those that are do not always include for publication all papers presented at a given conference. Titles of collected papers may vary from the name of the actual conference, as well.
  • Some papers may be found linked to the presenter's personal or professional Web page as part of their curriculum vita or resume.
  • Funding agency reports may be inaccessible, especially in the private sector, such as corporate research & development departments. 

Selected resources for finding semi-formal communication

Working and Occasional Papers
University departments, institutes, and other agencies make working papers available through Web sites.

Arctic Research Consortium of the United States
"formed in 1988 to identify and bring together the distributed human and facilities resources of the Arctic research community ... ARCUS is a non-profit corporation consisting of institutions organized and operated for educational, professional, or scientific purposes."
Explore ARCUS online publications >>

Conference Papers and Presentations

Newsnet
See bimonthly issues for announcements of upcoming conferences and calls for papers.
Explore Newsnet in Suzzallo Periodicals DK1 .A3814 >>

Directory of Published Proceedings, Series PCE: Pollution control/ecology (1974-1980 )
Harrison, N.Y. : InterDok Corp
Explore Directory of Published Proceedings in the Natural Sciences reference department >>
Explore Directory of Published Proceedings, Series SEMT: Science/engineering/medicine/technology in the Engineering or Natural Sciences reference departments >>

UW Libraries Catalog
The Libraries Catalog is the database that contains records describing the entire collection of the UW Libraries. This includes books, journals, magazines, videos, computer software, microfilms, newspapers, government reports, etc. A typical keyword search for conference proceedings may include any specific known elements of the conference: name of the city, sponsoring body, year, key concept around which the conference was organized, number of the conference (e.g. "44th Annual ..."), etc.
Search UW Libraries Catalog >>


 Reports

GPO Access
The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Explore GPO Access >>

NTIS
(1964 - present): Indexes and abstracts U.S. government-sponsored research, development, and engineering reports and analyses distributed by the National Technical Information Service. Includes a broad range of engineering, technology, and scientific subjects, but has significant reporting on sociological topics.
Search NTIS >>


 Institutional repositories

The extremely high prices of many publications have made it increasingly difficult for libraries to subscribe. This has driven some librarians and researchers to seek other outlets closer to home for their work. Online institutional repositories are databases of written work created by faculty research and compiled by libraries or other agencies within an institution for access by their communities. Some of this work may be made available to other institutions and researchers, typically for a fee.

DSpace™
DSpace is a digital library system to capture, store, index, preserve, and redistribute the intellectual output of a university’s research faculty in digital formats.
Explore DSpace at the University of Washington >>
Explore DSpace@Erasmus at Erasmus Universitët Rotterdam >>

Funding agencies

Foundation grants to individuals on CD-ROM
The Foundation Center in New York, NY.
Explore this database from Suzzallo Library's reference department on the 1st floor. >>

Regard
Many organizations in many countries fund research. This one is in the United Kingdom.
Search the Regard database >>

Search help >> Research 101 >>

Use the Catalyst Portfolio Tool to build your own bibliography of semi-formal REECAS sources >>