The MTBE bibliography is searchable using a free-text search using the reference itself and keywords chosen to allow subject searches. Search keyword categories include abiotic transformation processes, biotic transformation processes, transfer processes, transport processes, environmental occurrences, and a miscellaneous section, which covers scientific study methods and broader fields of study. Each of these main categories is divided into sub-headings to further facilitate a search. References may appear under more than one of the search headings if they discuss more than one topic.
Citations retrieved by a search are in standard USGS bibliographic format.