Grey Literature Overview
Lister Hill Library "Grey Literature Overview"
General Grey Lit Resources
Good Place to Start!
- Google ScholarLink from the Himmelfarb Library Database link to view full-text availability of articles. Includes theses, conferences and patents,
- Grey MattersGrey Matters: a practical search tool for evidence-based medicine.
- MEDNAR"Mednar accelerates your research with a search of authoritative public and deep web resources, returning the most relevant results to one easily navigable page. "
- OAIster Free searchProject of the Digital Library Production Service of the University of Michigan University Library. Contains a collection of freely available, previously difficult-to-access, academically oriented digital resources.
- OpenGrey RepositorySystem for Information on Grey Literature in Europe, is your open access to 700.000 bibliographical references of grey literature (paper) produced in Europe and allows you to export records and locate the documents.
- Science.govScience.gov searches over 45 databases and over 2000 selected websites from 14 federal agencies. This video (5:49) focuses on using Science.gov to find grey literature.
- ScirusScirus is a science specific search engine. It includes 410 million scientific items,including journal articles, scientists' homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information. You can limit to theses, conferences, patents, and more.
Clinical Trial Registries
Grey Literature
What is Grey Literature and why do you need it?
DEFINITION: (Synonyms: Gray literature or Fugitive literature)
“that which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers i.e. where publishing is not the main activity of the producing body” - GreyNet
WHY: When conducting a literature review or systematic review you should also search for grey literature on your topic for the following reasons:
- Reduces publication bias
- Incorporating unpublished trial data can change statistical rsults
- Inclusions
- Grey literature is often more current!
Thank you to University of Pittsburgh, Systematic Review Workshop for the contents on this page
Types of Grey Literature
- Census, economic, government (federal/state/local)
- Conference proceedings and abstracts
- Informal communications (phone conversations, email, meetings, etc.)
- Newsletters
- Patent
- Registered clinical trials
- Drug information
- Research reports (either completed and uncompleted)
- Technical reports
- Theses and Dissertations
- Blogs, Listserv archives,
- Web sites
- White papers
Institute of Medicine (IOM) Standards
IOM systematic review standards calls for grey literature searches to be conducted:
|
STANDARD 3.2 |
|
| 3.2.1 | Search grey literature databases, clinical trial registries, and other sources of unpublished information about studies |
| 3.2.2 | Invite researchers to clarify information about study eligibility, study characteristics, and risk of bias |
| 3.2.3 | Invite all study sponsors and researchers to submit unpublished data, including unreported outcomes, for possible inclusion in the systematic review |
| 3.2.4 | Handsearch selected journals and conference abstracts |
| 3.2.5 | Conduct a web search |
| 3.2.6 | Search for studies reported in languages other than English if appropriate |
Drug Regulatory Information
Dissertations
- Dissertations & ThesesDissertations and theses via Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global and Dissertations & Theses @ George Washington University. Full-text coverage 1743-present and citation coverage 1637-present.
Conference Proceedings
- Library and Archives CanadaLibrary Catalogs with Conference Proceedings
- British LibraryLibrary Catalogs with Conference Proceedings
- National Library of Medicine CatalogLibrary Catalogs with Conference Proceedings
- NRC Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical InformationLibrary Catalogs with Conference Proceedings
- WorldCatLibrary Catalogs with Conference Proceedings
Reports
- Guide to Community Preventive ServicesThe Guide to Community Preventive Services is a free resource to help you choose programs and policies to improve health and prevent disease in your community. Systematic reviews are used to answer these questions:
- Which program and policy interventions have been proven effective?
- Are there effective interventions that are right for my community?
- What might effective interventions cost; what is the likely return on investment?
