How to Find References

How to Find References

(1) Books

Books are systematic discussions of scientific research and production technologies, representing the author’s selection, analysis, synthesis, organization, and comprehensive summarization of extensive materials. Books are characterized by maturity, reliability, systematicity, logic, and completeness, making them an important source of information.

Books can be divided into two categories:

① Reading materials: textbooks, collections, monographs, popular science readings, etc.

② Reference materials: handbooks, encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, yearbooks, dictionaries, pharmacopoeias, etc.

(2) Journals

Journals are publications issued periodically or continuously. They generally have fixed names and a unified publication format, with at least one issue per year, each containing two or more papers by different authors. Journals are known for their large quantity, variety, broad content, short cycles, fast reporting, and up-to-date information, reflecting the latest scientific and technological developments domestically and internationally.

As such, journals rank first as a source of information. It is estimated that about 65% of information comes from journals.

Journals can be classified from different perspectives. Based on the scope of content coverage, they can be divided into comprehensive journals and specialized journals. From the perspective of content attributes, they can generally be categorized into academic, technical, communication, news, retrieval, and data types.

(3) Patent Literature

Patent literature is a legally published document that gathers the essence of inventions and creations, encompassing three major sources of information: patent technology, law, and economics. It includes the latest and most systematic scientific and technological information, forming a vast treasure trove of knowledge.

In a narrow sense, patent literature refers to patent specifications and inventor certificates. Broadly speaking, it also includes various documents related to patent applications and approvals that are not publicly released, as well as various retrieval tools published by patent offices, such as patent gazettes, patent abstracts, microform patent literature, and tape-based patent literature.

Patent specifications are the main body of patent literature and the most basic and primary original documents, serving as the ultimate goal of patent literature retrieval.

(4) Technical Reports

Technical reports are documents that report on the results or progress of research and development. They feature novel, detailed, specialized, and rich content, including various research方案的选择与比较, successes and failures, and are accompanied by大量的数据, charts,原始实验和调查记录.

The publication format of technical reports is unique, with each report自成一体, varying in length, having continuous numbering, simple binding, and irregular release dates.

Technical reports are essentially primary literature, with reporting speeds faster than other types of literature. However, the circulation of technical reports is generally controlled, with most being confidential and only a few公开或半公开发表.

Technical reports are generally categorized into technical reports, technical memoranda, technical bulletins, etc. Many are confidential and controlled in distribution, but公开的解密的报告也占有一定的比例.

Currently, there are approximately over 700,000 technical reports worldwide each year, among which the famous ones include the four major reports in the United States (AD reports, PB reports, NASA reports, AEC reports); the UK Aeronautical Research Committee (ARC) reports and UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) reports; French Atomic Energy Commission (CFA) reports; and the Federal German Aeronautical Research Institute (DVR) reports.

(5) Theses and Dissertations

Theses and dissertations refer to papers submitted by graduate students or graduates of higher education institutions or research units to obtain doctoral, master’s, or bachelor’s degrees.

Theses and dissertations primarily focus on the results of academic research围绕某一专题, providing detailed and systematic explanations of the context of issues, with a certain degree of originality. They hold reference value for teaching and research work.

Theses and dissertations are generally not publicly published, though a few are printed as separate volumes or summarized in journals. They form part of information resources.

(6) Conference Literature

Conference literature refers to papers or reports presented by scientists at domestic or international academic conferences, compiled into volumes and printed for publication by the conference organizers.

Conference literature reports the latest research成果 of scientists, discusses current academic issues, and exchanges and disseminates information on the latest advancements in technology.

Some papers represent the latest research levels in a particular discipline or专业 internationally or domestically. They are important documents for researchers to understand the scientific and technological levels, dynamics, and trends in various countries.

(7) Standard Literature

Standard literature refers to regulatory documents published in file form concerning standardized scientific and technological achievements. Standards fully utilize existing scientific and technological achievements,经过优选,统一,简化等过程, to make technical regulations on the quality, specifications, parameters, and inspection of products or components, proposing requirements and indicators that are “technically advanced, economically reasonable, and scientifically sound,” undergoing specific approval procedures, with clear applicable ranges and certain legal binding force.

Standards are the product of standardization. Standardization is an important technical and economic policy in our country and a crucial measure for organizing and managing modern production.

Standardization includes: product quality standardization, product specification standardization, product model serialization, and product component generalization.

Standard literature can be categorized by content into: basic standards, product standards, and method standards;

By scope of application into: international standards, national standards, professional standards, and enterprise standards;

By maturity level into: formal standards, trial standards, guiding technical documents, and standardization regulations.

(8) Technical Archives

Technical archives are technical documents recording various factual processes, including task books, agreements, technical and economic indicators, approval documents; research plans, schemes, outlines, and technical measures; relevant technical survey materials, design calculations, test items, records, data, drawings, etc.

This type of literature has significant use value and is characterized by confidentiality and internal control usage.