Before you begin your research, it is important to understand the distinction between documents and publications. Documents are created for internal use, although they may be made public. Documents tend to look different from materials that are formally published. They are often softbound, stapled together or a single sheet of paper. They usually have the IGO masthead and a document classification number at the top of the page. Documents are especially useful to scholars who are studying the organization.
Publications are created specifically for external consumption: to inform policy-makers, scholars, and the general public about the overall goals of the organization. Publication can take the form of yearbooks, reports, statistics, conference proceedings and periodicals.
UN documents have unique identifiers called document symbols. UN Document symbols include both letters and numbers. The first component indicates the organ to which the document is submitted or the organ which is issuing the document. For more information see "UN Document Symbols" by the Dag Hammarskjold Library