Semi-formal communication : reporting research-in-progress

working papers | conference papers | preprints and galley proofs | reports

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


Types of semi-formal Sociology communication

Working 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.

Preprints and galley proofs
Preprints and galley proofs are drafts of articles and books respectively that have not yet been published. As peer review and editing take quite some time (publication delay is at least several months and sometimes exceeds a year), preprints (like conference papers) are sometimes the medium of choice to communicate current results within an academic community. Typically, only the publisher and author have access to these types of manuscripts.

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.

STRENGTHS———
  • 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.
CONSIDERATIONS—
  • 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. 

Examples of finding aids for semi-formal Sociology communication

Working Papers
University Sociology departments, institutes, and other agencies make working papers available through Web sites.
Explore Working Papers, Department of Sociology, Oxford University >>
Explore Center for Culture, Organization and Politics, UC Berkeley >>

Conference Papers and Presentations

Directory of Published Proceedings (1965- )
Resulting material from 280,000+ conferences, congresses, meetings & symposia.

Index to Social Sciences and Humanities Proceedings (1979- )
[Philadelphia] : Institute for Scientific Information
Explore this source in Suzzallo Library reference department >>

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.


Reports

GPO Access UW access only
The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government.

NTIS UW access only
(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.

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.

ResearchWorks™
A digital repository of University of Washington research. ResearchWorks is a digital library system to capture, store, index, preserve, and redistribute the intellectual output of a university’s research faculty in digital formats.

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. >>

Society Today
Many organizations in many countries fund research. This one is in the United Kingdom.
Browse the Economic & Social Research Council's Society Today publications database >>

Search help >> Research 101 >>

Use RefWorks to build your own bibliography of semi-formal Sociology sources >>