Eastern Health Library Service: _Eastern Health Library Service_: Grey Literature

What is grey literature?

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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Librarian help

The library provides a literature search service as well as group and one-to-one database search training.

See the Library Events Calendar for registration and more information about upcoming live, online group training.

Google searching for grey literature

Google is a popular place to start looking for grey literature. Use these tips below to search more effectively in Google.

Don't overcomplicate your search. Try to keep your search simple.
Use search operators when searching in Google. See table below for a list of search operators.
Use filters
- site:
  - site:gov.au searches all Australian government websites
  - site:au searches all Australian websites
  - site:abc.net.au searches ABC News
- filetype:
  - filetype:pdf searches for PDF documents
  - filetype:ppt searches for powerpoint presentations
- before: or after:
  - before:2018 searches for results dated before 2018
  - after:2018 searches for results dated after 2018

Search operators & description

Examples

AND

Words are linked with AND by default so you don't need to use AND between your keywords.

The below search terms will bring back similar results:

clinical AND governance

clinical governance

Using OR would broaden your search to find results that include at least one of the keywords. Remember to use OR in capitals.

governance OR framework OR model

lumbar puncture OR spinal tap

Use the minus sign to exclude certain words in your search. Similar to the Boolean NOT operator.

smoking -vaping

transition to practice -nursing

" "

Use quotation marks for exact phrase searching.
"mental health awareness"

"mental health awareness"

"addiction to nicotine"

Have a go

Search the entire web

Search dataset only

Google Dataset Search

Grey literature databases

Alliance - As an international partner with WHO, Alliances products annual reports on health policy and system research.
Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO) - For public policy, practice research and resources from government, agencies, universities, research institutes, not-for-profits, and think tanks in Australia, New Zealand and beyond.
bioRxiv - Contains pre-print articles on biology
CABI Digital Library - For research and learning in agriculture, the environment and the applied life sciences.
Caresearch Grey Literature Database - a grey literature related to palliative care.
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Grey Matters - A free online tool for finding health-related grey literature that are not published commercially and which may be inaccessible via bibliographic databases.
EBSCO Open Dissertation - A collection of open dissertations managed by EBSCO.
Google Dataset Search / Google - A search engine for datasets and statistics via the Google platform
GreyGuide Portal - A portal for searching information on grey literature in Europe.
Healthcare Standards / Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Healthcare Reports / Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care - Search their Resource Library
Health and Welfare Reports & Data / Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Government
Key Health Statistics and Statistical Reports of Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics
National Grey Literature Collection / Funded by Health Education England
medRxiv - Contains pre-print articles on health sciences.
Open Access Theses and Dissertations / OATD.org - aims to be the best possible resource for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world - over 1,100 colleges, universities, and research institutions.
PROSPERO / National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - an International prospective register of systematic reviews, including unpublished systematic reviews.
Guidelines International Network (GIN)
Health Systems Evidence
Science.gov - A portal to search for U.S. government science information, including technical reports and other grey literature
The Patient Experience Library
Trip database - A clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care.
U.S. Health Data & Statistics / Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Further information on designing search strategies and documenting and reporting the grey literature search can be found here (Severn M, Mierzwinski-Urban M, Farrah K, Walter M, Spry C, Argáez C, 2023).

_Eastern Health Library Service_: Grey Literature