Spalding University Library: PSY-575: Research Methods: Grey Literature

What is Grey Literature

Gray literature is information (often scientific or technical) that is not available through the usual bibliographic sources such as library databases or indexes. It can be both in print and, increasingly, electronic formats. Grey literature is more likely to be found freely available on the web using Google, Google Scholar, Research Gate, orgranizational websites, among others.

Grey literature refers to the "grey areas" of publishing, think "in-between."
Grey literature is not formally part of "traditional publishing cycles. Producers include research groups, non-profits, universities and government agencies.
Grey literature is not widely disseminated. Often, infrastructure exists to disseminate this material efficiently.

Traditional Formats:

Theses and dissertations
Statistics and other data sources
Conference proceedings, poster presentations and abstracts
Research reports
Technical specifications, standards and annual reports
Drug information
Registered clinical trials

Emerging Formats:

Pre-published drafts available online
Blogs, podcasts and videos, social media
Institutional Repositories and Open Access
Digital Libraries

Grey Matters Grey Matters: a practical search tool for evidence-based medicine from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health.

Grey Literature Sources

Center for Disease Control Federal agency that seeks to prevent disease, disability, and injuries throughout the lifespan.
CDC Stacks CDC Stacks is a free, digital archive of scientific research and literature produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This online archive is composed of curated collections tailored for public health research needs. This repository is retained indefinitely and is available for public health professionals, researchers, as well as the general public. CDC Stacks provides access to current CDC research and literature such as the Open Access Collection. In addition, CDC Stacks offers a historical perspective that was previously not available, such as the first 30 volumes of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Conference Papers Index Conference Papers provides citations to papers and poster sessions presented at major scientific meetings around the world. Subject emphasis since 1995 has been in the life sciences, environmental sciences and the aquatic sciences, while older material also covers physics, engineering and materials science. Information is derived from final programs, abstracts booklets and published proceedings, as well as from questionnaire responses. Major areas of coverage include Agriculture, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Forestry, Biology, Environmental Science, Soil Science, Biotechnology, and Clinical Medicine.
GreyNet International
GreyNet further seeks to identify and distribute information on and about grey literature in networked environments. Its main activities include the International Conference Series on Grey Literature, the creation and maintenance of web-based resources, a moderated Listserv, a combined Distribution List, The Grey Journal (TGJ), as well as curriculum development in the field of grey literature.
Mednar Mednar is a free, publicly available deep web search engine that uses advanced federated search technology to return high quality results by submitting your search query - in real-time - to other well respected search engines. Mednar then collates, ranks and drops duplicates of the results.
OpenDOAR The Directory of Open Access Respositories- OpenDOAR is an authoritative directory of academic open access repositories. Each OpenDOAR repository has been visited by project staff to check the information that is recorded here. This in-depth approach does not rely on automated analysis and gives a quality-controlled list of repositories.
OpenGrey System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe. This is an open access to SIGLE bibliographical references of reports and other grey literature (GL) produced in Europe until 2005. Examples of GL include technical or research reports, doctoral dissertations, some conference papers, some official publications, and other types of grey literature. OpenSIGLE covers pure and applied science and technology, economics, other sciences and humanities.
ResearchGate ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators.
Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Respository The Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Respository is the realization of Sigma Theta Tau International’s goal to offer nurses, in all roles around the globe, online access to reliable nursing information that can be easily utilized and shared. Through the library’s complimentary Registry of Nursing Research database, individuals have access to search study abstracts and conference abstracts.
Science.gov Science.gov searches over 45 databases and over 2000 selected websites from 14 federal agencies.

Clinical Trial Registries

CenterWatch CenterWatch provides a variety of clinical research products and services: including clinical trials and results, drug approvals, study grants, news and analysis.
Clinical Collections
ClinicalTrails.gov ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details.
Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj)
Information about ongoing health services research and public health projects from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP)
Kaiser Family Foundation Kaiser serves as a non-partisan source of facts, information, and analysis for policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the public. The product is information, always provided free of charge -- from the most sophisticated policy research, to basic facts and numbers, to information young people can use to improve their health or elderly people can use to understand their Medicare benefits. They are a major producer of policy analysis and research. They serve as a clearinghouse house by collecting news and information on health policy.
National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR) Developed to serve the information needs of the health services research (HSR) community, HSR Information Central is a research portal of health services research resources providing numerous Internet links to data, funding announcements, reports, podcasts, discussion groups, and more. HSR Information Central is not an index of all health services resources on the Web. Rather, it contains selective links representing a sample of available information. Items are selected for their quality, authority of authorship, uniqueness, and appropriateness.

Drug Regulatory Information

European Public Assessment Reports
Freedom of Information Act
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
U.S. Food and Drug Administration