Grey literature refers to research that is unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form. It is generally produced by industry or government bodies, private companies, charities, non-profit organisations, special interest groups, think tanks, professional associations, businesses, universities and more. Much grey literature is now freely available on many websites, and some databases include grey literature.
Examples of grey literature are:
- conference papers/conference proceedings
- theses
- clinical trial registers
- guidelines
- newsletters
- pamphlets
- reports
- fact sheets
- bulletins
- government documents
- surveys
- interviews
- informal communication (e.g. blogs, podcasts, email)
Grey literature is useful for developing a more complete view of research on a particular topic or for producing systematic reviews.
Common sources for grey literature are Google and grey literature websites. Searching the wider internet will require you to use quite different search techniques to those used in databases. You will likely need to try several different searches to find materials that suit your research. You may even need to look for specific organisations or industry bodies, etc, and then search within their websites rather than searching across the wider internet.
Note: If you are a Health and Medical Studies researcher, please see our Grey literature for health guide for advice on locating grey literature in key medical databases and sources.
