“Practice-Ready” Papers

What is a Practice-Ready Paper?

A practice-ready paper is defined as a paper in which the research results presented and discussed make a contribution to the solution of current or future transportation problems or issues for practitioners. Practice-ready papers are identified by TRB's standing committee after the paper has been submitted for presentation at the TRB Annual Meeting or for publication in the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.

History

The standing committees in the Design and Construction Group have been identifying and cataloging practice-ready papers since 1998. The standing committees in the Operations and Preservation Group joined the effort in 2009. Beginning in 2010, all Groups in the Technical Activities Division identify practice-ready papers. This effort was designed, initiated, and expanded to help practitioners to more easily find those papers which may be of most immediate interest to them. From the beginning, designating papers as practice-ready has been very well received.

Accessing Practice-Ready Papers

Practice-ready papers that are accepted for presentation at TRB's Annual Meeting are highlighted in Annual Meeting's Compendium of Papers DVD.  In addition, TRB's website included links to abstracts of practice-ready papers sorted by year and subject area.  In 2010, TRB automated the process of finding practice-ready papers by launching its Practice-Ready Papers (PRP) database.  The PRP database allows practitioners to find the full text of papers without having to refer back to an Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD.  The database includes a search by keywords, title, author, index term, subject area, and date of publication.  The PRP database includes practice-ready papers back to 2006.  Links to abstracts of practice-ready papers produced between 2005 and 1998 are still available on TRB's website and can be accessed below.

What Makes a Paper Practice-Ready?

The committee chair is responsible for making the final decision on which papers are practice-ready, using the following guidelines:

• The paper must be recommended for presentation at the Annual Meeting. (Publication in the Transportation Research Record is not a requirement.)
• The research results presented and discussed in the paper should be ready for immediate implementation or with minimal additional research or implementation effort.
• The paper should contain guidance on additional effort required for implementation.
• The research should make a major contribution to the solution of current or future problems or issues.

Benefits that can be derived from implementation of the research should be evident - for example, cost savings, increased safety, or improved environmental impact.

The number of papers identified as practice-ready can vary widely by subject area. In some subjects there may be only a few papers or none, while in other subjects there may be a large number of papers that meet these criteria.

Catalog of 2005 to 1998 Practice-Ready Papers

The catalogs of TRB Annual Meeting practice-ready papers listed below were prepared only by standing committees in the Design and Construction Group.  These years are not included in papers highlighted by TRB's Practice-Ready Papers database.

2005 Practice-Ready Papers
2004 Practice-Ready Papers
2003 Practice-Ready Papers
2002 Practice-Ready Papers
2001 Practice-Ready Papers
2000 Practice-Ready Papers
1999 Practice-Ready Papers
1998 Practice-Ready Papers

Each entry in the catalogs includes the abstract of the paper and contact information for the authors to facilitate interaction between practitioners and the researchers.

The majority of papers included in these catalogs are only available on the Annual Meeting CD/DVD. A small percentage of the papers are also published in the Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board series. Each year, these papers are also identified on the Annual Meeting Interactive Program.