Foreword

A foreword is the section of a book, report, or another document that precedes its content and is written by the authority in the field other than the creator of the book's, report's, or document's content. In reports, the foreword is a conditional part of front matter; the foreword is included when background and context is needed. When the foreword is included, it functions as a part of report's descriptive metadata.

Description

The ANSI/NISO Scientific and Technical Reports standard details,

The foreword is a conditional introductory statement that presents background material or places in context a report that is part of a series. It is written by an authority in the field other than the creator of the report. The name and affiliation of the creator of the foreword follow the last paragraph. A foreword and a preface are not interchangeable, and the information in them is not redundant. If both are included, the foreword precedes the preface.