What is grey literature? Why would I need it and where would I find it?

Grey literature includes reports and proceedings, theses, government documents, brochures, and pamphlets. These types of publications are often overlooked by indexing services such as PubMed. Using grey literature helps to minimize publication bias in systematic reviews.

Grey literature can be found in some databases and in specialized search engines. A few places to start are:

• Cochrane Library
• New York Academy of Medicine Grey Literature Report
• Science.gov
• Google and Google Scholar
• Scirus

Take a look at our guide on Grey Literature in the Health Sciences for resources, strategies, and more on finding and using grey literature in health sciences research.

Keyword(s):
grey lit;

Last modified on March 26, 2013@ 11:10 AM by Nicole