Grey literature refers to information sources that are beyond the reach of traditional bibliographic databases. Examples of grey literature include theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, government reports, data and statistics, newsletters, technical reports, standards & clinical guidelines, recommendations, presentations and lecture notes. As grey literature comes from varied sources, it can be typically hard to find.
Grey literature is described as ‘highly desirable’ in the evidence landscape (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2022, see 4.3.5). Grey literature provides a broader perspective on research topics than that provided with only an academic focus. Therefore, it helps reduce publication bias (Paez, 2017) in reviews.
Further reading:
Paez A. (2017). Gray literature: An important resource in systematic reviews. Journal of evidence-based medicine, 10(3), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12266
Mahood, Q., Van Eerd, D., & Irvin, E. (2014). Searching for grey literature for systematic reviews: challenges and benefits. Research synthesis methods, 5(3), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1106
If you are looking for academic papers and advice on how to search in electronic databases, check out our Literature Searching Guide.
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