Types of State of the Art Reports
The state-of-the-art reports can be grouped into three categories (for the sake of convenience).
- Reviews and Surveys;
- Advances and Progresses; and
- Trend Reports.
The difference between these categories of reference sources is marginal. They cover topics of current significance of a particular rapidly advancing field of a subject. They bring together articles pertaining to diverse aspects of a particular field at intervals for a diverse audience. They publish critical articles and surveys, based on published literature, research in progress and patterns in development. They are addressed to specialists in the field, viz;
- Scientists, engineers and professionals engaged in research and development activities;
- Managers, economists and business entrepreneurs engaged in small and large scale business, marketing, commerce, and industries;
- Technicians, supervisors .and communicators; and
- Policy makers in government.
The authors designated to write these articles are internationally known experts. They present in a nutshell the results of research and summaries of technical writings and make it intelligible and interesting for specialists in the field. They have played major role in the advancement of the subject they review. They use a variety of styles for presenting the new development