Grey Literature

Introduction to Grey Literature

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Time needed to complete this module: 15 minutes

Type of literature you can find, books, articles and grey literature table

Image from ScienceDirect on Twitter

Learning Objectives: 

  • Define grey literature.
  • Determine when it is appropriate to use grey literature.
  • Create search strategies for finding grey literature.

Grey literature types, blogs, reports, slides, thesis, websites

Image from Grey Literature Blog Post, Jennifer Baguss

Grey literature can take many forms, and it is sometimes difficult to determine exactly what constitutes grey literature. Generally, the term is used to describe any information that has not been commercially published like peer-reviewed journal articles or books. 

This can include, but is not limited to:

  • Government reports
  • Conference proceedings
  • Dissertations and theses
  • Policy documents
  • Unpublished trial data

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