What Is Science.gov?

Updated

Science.gov is a U.S. government gateway that lets you search scientific and technical information published by federal science agencies. It is useful when you need authoritative research results, agency reports, or technical data and want to search across many government sources at once rather than visiting each agency site individually. The site describes itself as providing access to millions of authoritative scientific research results from U.S. federal agencies, and it is governed by Federal Agency Members.

What you can find there

Science.gov aggregates science information produced by U.S. government science agencies, including research and development results. In practice, that means it points you to material such as:

  • Research findings and technical reports from federal agencies
  • Scientific and technical datasets and publications
  • Agency-produced information across scientific disciplines

Because the content originates from government agencies, it is generally intended as authoritative source material rather than user-generated commentary.

Who runs it

Science.gov is governed by Federal Agency Members — a group of federal science agencies that oversee the gateway. This governance structure is why the content is tied to U.S. government science agencies rather than a single publisher.

Who it is for

  • Researchers and students who need citable government science sources
  • Librarians and educators directing people to authoritative scientific information
  • Professionals looking for federal R&D results in their field
  • General public seeking reliable science information from government sources

How to use it

  1. Go to science.gov.
  2. Enter your search terms in the search box.
  3. Review results, which draw from the participating federal agencies.
  4. Follow links to the originating agency or document for the full source.

The main advantage is a single search across many agency collections instead of repeating the same query on each agency's website.

What it is not

Science.gov is a gateway to government science information, not a publisher of new research and not a general web search engine. Its scope is limited to material from U.S. federal science agencies. If your question falls outside government-produced science content, another source will fit better.