• Search multiple ProQuest databases at one time, removing duplicate records. Click on "Change" (blue, top row). Check boxes.  "Use selected databases."
• ProQuest search examples (slides).
• ProQuest (40+) databases include NTIS (1964+ technical research reports); Aerospace Database (1962+ journals, conferences, technical reports); Materials Research (1965+); ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I (1861+); GeoRef (1693+); BioOne (1998+); ABI/INFORM Complete & Archive (1905+ combine two business databases); PAIS (1914+ public affairs); General/business: ProQuest Telecommunications, ProQuest Computing, etc.
• National Technical Information Service (NTIS) database. NTIS indexes U.S. federally sponsored technical research reports such as from the Departments of Defense, Energy, NASA, and other federal agencies. NTIS coverages the years 1964 to present.
• ProQuest NTIS search example. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/4camb.pdf .
• Try searching the NTIS database before requesting items through interlibrary loan (theses, dissertations, papers).  Search author last names ("or") and important title keywords.
• Most technical reports are available in microfiche on the 2nd floor east, or available in electronic format.  A few selected reports are listed in the Catalog; selected locally loaded reports are in the new Catalog (VUFind) or in the locally loaded selected Government Reports Repository.  Government websites have selected full text reports. GT students and faculty/staff can request the purchase of missing reports for the Library's collection (ask the Special Formats and Maps staff to verify that the Library does not own the microfiche report).
• Library's Technical Report Collection Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• Microfiche. The Georgia Tech Library holds over 2,500,000 microfiche technical reports, located on the 2nd floor East. The period from 1960 to 2007 is the most heavily represented, although older reports dating from 1900 are available. Ask the 2nd floor east staff for assistance in locating the microfiche reports.  Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• PDF copies and print enlargements and email scans can be made from the 2nd floor east microfiche technical reports.
• NTIS indexed microfiche technical reports are shelved on the 2nd floor east by the NTIS "Accession Number."  Other reports may be shelved under the "Report Number."
• Some NTIS records have an extra "check digit" (last digit of report number) that must be ignored. Example: ADA1425156(displayed) --  ADA-142-515 (actual number; how it is shelved)
• Watch for irrelevant zeros (may appear after agency code, at the beginning of report numbers). Example: AD0782944 (displayed) -- AD-782-944 (actual number; how it is shelved)
• Microfiche technical reports indexed by non-NTIS databases might be shelved on the 2nd floor east by the Report Number listed in the "Report Number" field.
• The largest areas in the Library's microfiche technical reports collection include AD, ADA, DE, N, PB , TI and Y technical research reports.
• Print and Electronic. Selected technical reports are in the Catalog. Selected locally loaded reports are listed in the Catalog (Finder/VuFind). Government websites have selected full text reports.
• Purchase.  For individual technical reports that are not currently held in the Georgia Tech microfiche collection, a request (bette.finn@library.gatech.edu) may be made to add a title to the Library's collection. This service is free of charge for Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff.  Ask the Special Formats & Maps Department, 2nd floor east, to verify that the Library does not own the microfiche report.
• Government sites have selected full text.  Department of Defense/DTIC, Department of Energy/DOE, ETDE World Energy Base, Environmental Protection Agency/EPA, NASA, NACA.   Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• Major Indexes for Technical Reports
• Unclassified Georgia Tech research project reports from GTRI and academic departments. For recent Georgia Tech project reports not listed in the Catalog, contact Records Management.  Recent Georgia Tech project reports are available electronically, or in Records Management remote storage.  Many older Georgia Tech project reports are in the General Collection and Archives (two copies).  Selected GT project reports are available in the Catalog "Internet"/"Electronic Version" "Get fulltext copy" field.
• Format. View the records in "Full format." The NTIS brief format currently does not contain the technical report number (AD#, DE#, N# etc.). View the full format NTIS record, which will contain the needed technical report number, full conference information, etc.
• "My Research" -- documents added to a folder --  Use "Brief citation, abstract, indexing" -- Citation Style: "Standard ProQuest" -- Full Format records will include needed report # and conference information
• Vital information such as DOIs and conference/report information are often only available in the "Full format."
• Do NOT "Limit to" -- "Peer Reviewed" or "Full Text" or "Scholarly Journals."  NTIS, Aerospace, Materials, Georef can not limit to full text. NTIS indexes technical reports. Aerospace Database indexes technical reports. Aerospace Database and GeoRef index conferences. ProQuest Dissertation Abstracts indexes only dissertations or theses.
• Restrict by field name, such as
• TI(title)
• SU(thesaurus descriptor)  Thesaurus subject heading. Terms differ from database to database. Advanced Search "Look up Subjects."
• AU(author).  Advanced Search "Look up Authors" -- author name format differs by database
• AB(abstract)
• AF(affiliation field for first author or corresponding author, in non-NTIS databases; when available). NTIS does not contain an AF= field.
• Not all records contain an Author Affiliation field.
• For Advanced search, use "All fields (no full text) – ALL" to search all bibliographic fields, but not full text
• IF(keywords/identifiers) Warning --> Note: this may not limit correctly
• Browse. "Advanced Search" ; drop down menu, choosing author or subject or publication title. Browse: "Look up Authors"  "Look up Subjects" (thesaurus terms differ by database)  "Look up Publications." A browsable index is an alphabetical listing of terms used in a specific field of a database.
• Conferences/Proceedings.  Conferences can be cataloged in the Catalog as either monographs (books, with an unique monographic title, a specific date and specific location) or as serials (similar to journals; all conferences listed in one single record). View "Full format," instead of Short.  Ask us for help.
• Truncate with asterisk (*)
• Truncation expands a search term to include all forms of a root word, e.g., patent* retrieves patent, patents, patentable, patented, etc.
• Unlimited number of characters within a word, e.g., behavi*r retrieves behaviour or behavior.
• Truncation is allowed when using the near/n or pre/n proximity operator.  Truncation character (*) - one * for many characters
• Use the truncation character at the beginning (left-hand truncation), the end (right-hand truncation), or in the middle of search terms.  Examples:  nurse*  ;    colo*r     ;    *old (use left-hand * sparingly)
• The ? represents a single character; two ?? represent exactly two characters; three ??? represent exactly three characters, and so on. Use within or at the end of a word, e.g., wom?n finds woman as well as women, and carbon fib?? finds carbon fiber or carbon fibre.
• Proximity operators.  Proximity searches limit the number of words between your search terms. Truncation is permitted with proximity operators.
• Exact phrase "quotations"  such as   "life after death"
• near/n -- two search terms, in any order, within "n" number of words apart
• pre/n -- one search term that appears within "n" number of words before a second term
• Default operator is AND
• Examples:   (radar or antenna*) near/2 (infrared)  ;   TI(cryptolog* and VLSI) and AU(sherman)   ;   YR(2005-2009  ;    "life after death"
• Thesaurus (subjects). Broader terms.  Related terms. Thesaurus terms differ from database to database. NASA Thesaurus; Copper Thesaurus; Engineered Materials Thesaurus; GeoRef thesaurus; Metallurgical Thesaurus.
• Combine previous searches. "Advanced Search"  "Recent searches"  "Combine searches" -- Combine Searches enables you to combine results from two or more searches from the current search history, or combine the results of current searches with new search terms. Use Boolean Operators "AND" or "OR" to combine searches.
• Examples:  (1 AND 3) OR "6"  ;   (3 OR 2) and new term  ;  (1 AND 3) OR (1 AND 2)  ;  3 NOT treatment
• "Find It @ GT"does not work for technical reports even when they are in our technical reports collections. "Find It @ GT" often does not work for conference proceedings, even when the conferences are in the Catalog.
• Although the Library owns a very large collection of microfiche technical reports on the 2nd floor east, only a few selected technical reports are in the Catalog and therefore reports can seldom link using "Find It GT."  The Catalog and Government websites have selected full text reports.
• "Find It GT" works for most (but not all) "journal articles."  Note that aggregator databases (ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Factiva, Lexis Nexis, GaleGroup, etc.) can have selective full text e-journal coverage and embargo date restrictions.  Always check the Classic Catalog print "Library has:" field for journal publication years (General Collection, Recent Issues, Storage), watch for journal title changes (separate records; Continues, Continued by, Split into), and check "Electronic Version" "Available from" notes.  Separate Classic Catalog records exist for print and electronic journal volumes  (electronic records may be listed before the print records); a few records combine print and electronic holdings into one record.
• Many older and some joint IEEE and IEE/IET papers are not in IEEE Xplore, but are owned by the Library and are cataloged in the Catalog.  IEEE Xplore covers 1988 to present and selected papers before 1988.
• "Find It GT" will often fail for technical reports, conferences, and patents, even though they are owned by the Library.  Conduct a manual search in the Classic Catalog, and check the Library's reports and patents collections.
• DOI.  "Detailed record" format only. Try copying and pasting the "DOI:" number (such as DOI: 10.2514/1.31522) into the eJournals "Have a ...DOI you'd like to find? Try the Citation Linker" -- "DOI" blank box, for electronic subscription collections such as IEEE Explore, SPIE, AIAA, ScienceDirect, PROLA or SPIN.
• Display options; Advanced Search.  "Items per page" (20 50 100)
• "Sort results by" --  "Relevance"   "Date (most recent first)"
• Alert.  Click the "Create alert" icon above the results list to create a scheduled alert email that will deliver new documents that match your search as they become available in ProQuest.
• "Save search" and "Create alert" applies to only one search statement line.  Advanced search "Recent Searches"
• "My Research" -- Save, manage, and organize the content and supporting materials, such as saving documents to a folder.  Can add a Message to an alert, and add Notes to a saved search.
• "Limit to:" -- "Date range."

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