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HS 399 Health Studies Capstone (Kelley): Grey Literature

What is Grey Literature

Grey literature is created by researchers and professionals in various fields, but is not created or controlled by commercial publishing (when publishing is not the primary activity of producing group).

The groups that produce grey literature may be government, industry, advocacy or other organizations that disseminate information in the form of reports or working papers rather than by publishing scholarly articles in journals.

Grey literature can be found in the form of:

  • reports (annual, research, technical, project)
  • conference papers, posters or proceedings
  • policy documents
  • working papers and preprints  (scholarly articles not yet published)
  • data sets
  • standards
  • translations
  • clinical trial data
  • fact sheets
  • dissertations, theses (always check to see if your professor will allow you to use these)
  • committee reports
  • webpages
  • and more

 

Locating grey literature can be a very different process than locating scholarly articles. More often than not, grey literature is not indexed in databases and so can be challenging to find.

Why is Grey Literature important?

Grey literature can be vital for developing a more complete view of research on a particular topic because:

  • It does not go through traditional publishing channels, grey literature becomes available faster and can provide a more up-to-date snapshot of the conversation.
  • There's no publisher-enforced limitation on length, these reports can be much more detailed than the journal literature.
  • Can provide access to alternative perspectives that may not be well represented in traditional publications.
  • They can help to offset issues related to publication bias such as:
    • positive result bias - study results that show a negative or no effect are published in scholarly journals less often than those that show a positive effect. Those negative results may be found by reviewing the grey literature.

It is often also freely available since it is typically not produced to be sold, like commercial publishing.

Tips for Finding Grey Literature

Possible Steps:

1. Ask yourself, What types of organizations are likely to create information, or be interested in my topic/research question?  You may already know of some from your preliminary research. Consider the following:

  • government agencies  (federal, state, local)
  • advocacy groups, private agencies, foundations
  • industry, trade, or professional organizations
  • academic centers and departments

2. Do a Google Search, using a few simple keywords related to your topic with the addition of:

  • Domain searching:
    • keyword site:org
    • keyword site:gov
    • keyword site:edu
      • Ex: mental health site:edu
    • you can also search a website through Google by adding site:url with your keyword. 
      • Ex: mental health site:fairfield.edu
  • You could try more Advanced Google Searching, like limiting to filetype to find pdfs, excel documents, etc.

3. Search the websites of the organizations you identified.This may be done by utilizing the site's search box. However, many organizations have specific parts of their site dedicated to publications. You may find what you are looking for more quickly by looking there first.

  • The strategy you use to locate literature on these sites will likely be broader than the strategy used to locate articles in a database. For example, you may search for "clinical practice guidelines" in a database, but search just for "guidelines" when looking for grey literature.

4. Visit the web sites listed on this page to help you find an organization or sources.

4. Try a Library database from one of our Research Guide (refer to the blue tab on this guide). Some databases may include various types of grey literature. If you are interested in searching only for grey literature, consider restricting the "publication type" in your search. These types can include: technical report, dissertation, patent, meeting paper, annual report or government publication, etc.

5. Ask a Librarian! Research librarians here at the DiMenna-Nyselius Library can help you brainstorm ideas and locate sources. See our Ask a Librarian page for all the ways to get help (appointment, chat, drop-in hours, email, etc.).

Evaluating Grey Literature

Because grey literature does not go through the peer review process, the quality can vary widely and sources must be evaluated carefully. The criteria you would use to evaluate grey literature are the same as those used to evaluate any kind of information. Consider:

  • Authorship. Not all grey literature will have a named author (or authors). If it does, you will want to consider whether the author or authors are knowledgeable in the field and whether they have any affiliations that might bias their views. If no authors are named, you will want to consider closely the source that produced the report. If there is no named author, which organization created the source? Research that organization.
  • Source of the Report. This information should be obvious and easy to locate. Oftentimes, its where you found . Or the
  • Transparency of Methods. It should be clear where data and other types of information came from, how it was analyzed and how the final report was compiled.
  • Currency. The date a report was issued should be easy to find. If a report is older, try to find a more recent version or an update.

The AACODS checklist, developed by Jess Tyndall, is a commonly used tool for evaluating grey literature:

  • Authority: Who is responsible for the content and are they credible?
  • Accuracy: Is the document supported by credible, authoritative sources?
  • Coverage: Does the document clearly state parameters that define their content coverage?
  • Objectivity: Is there bias? Is it easily detected?
  • Date: Can you find the date? For the content to inform your research it must have a date to confirm relevance
  • Significance: Does the document add something unique to the research?

 

Evaluating Web Sites

View the Assessing Websites tutorial on this guide (blue Tutorials tab).

Some additional suggestions:

  1. Open a new browser window and search for the source organization or website name to see what you can learn about its reliability from other sources.
  2. If you are unfamiliar with an agency or organization, you can check to see if it is listed in reputable directories of organizations. Ex: MedlinePlus

Your Grey Literature Search

  1. Clearly identify your topic or research question
  2. Identify your keywords or concepts
  3. Consider your scope
  4. Consider who cares
  5. Create a search plan
  6. Search  (may need to adjust scope and plan and search again)
  7. Document (get all info for citations)
  8. Consider what you couldn't find. Talk to your professor or a librarian.

Sources

We would like to acknowledge Penn Libraries libguide Grey Literature in the Health Sciences and Elon University's Center for Engaged Learning's Grey Literature website.