Finding Grey Literature

Work that has not been published in conventional books and journals is often referred to as grey literature. This term includes reports, working papers, theses and dissertations, newsletters, many official and governmental publications,  and conference papers. Grey literature is important because it can:

• Represent alternative perspectives.
• Provide information in research emerging, changing or interdisciplinary areas and  where there is little published evidence.
• Provide unique, specialised, or localised information not found elsewhere

Using Grey Literature in one way to counterbalance publication or reporting bias because of the alternative perspectives :

"Many scientifically valid studies, especially those with negative results may never be published. If your review is solely based on published literature, which tends to report positive results, your  conclusions are more likely to exaggerate.  In a lot of cases that exaggeration can be significant." University of South Australia Grey Literature Libguide

 Grey literature can often be difficult to track down. This guide will help you identify useful approaches for tracking down grey literature.