Grey Literature
Schnopfel J. (2010). Towards a Prague definition of grey literature
Grey literature:
- is not widely disseminated
- is difficult to find
- may contain more information as there aren't publication length stipulations
- can be produced and disseminated much faster than published literature
- is less expensive to access than traditional closed-access literature
- may not go through as rigorous of a peer review process
- is often not archived
Why Include Grey Literature?
Grey literature completes the picture of research on a particular topic. It is an important source for:
- recent results, data, and statistics
- counteracting publication lag (results may show up in conference papers and conference proceedings or as preprints months or years before they show up in peer-reviewed journals)
- mitigating positive result bias in your review of published literature
What Does Grey Literature Look Like?
There are many document types that are considered grey literature, including:
- policies or procedures documents
- guidelines
- conference proceedings, papers or posters
- dissertations and theses
- clinical trials
- leaflets and factsheets
