In addition to peer-reviewed journal articles, what other sources could you use to learn about your topic? What other sources would provide high quality, reliable, authoritative evidence on your topic? What other sources would provide a variety of perspectives on and experiences with the issue you are researching?

Adapted from Redden, M., & Newman, J. (2024, May 16). Exploring marginalized voices: Information literacy beyond the peer review paradigm [Presentation]. WILU 2024, Richmond, BC.

Literature Synthesis Matrix

In the body of your literature review, you will not simply summarize the literature you have found, but will also:

• synthesize
• analyze
• critically evaluate

A synthesis matrix is a tool that can help you keep track of your research and visualize connections among the literature. This can help with the synthesis and analysis.

📰 MRU Library subscribes to a large number of digital magazines and newspapers.

If you find a story online and are unable to read it without a subscription, you may be able to get access through the Library.

Go to the journal search in LibrarySearch and enter the title of the magazine or newspaper you are looking for.

🌐 What is Grey Literature?

Some examples of grey literature:

• Society annual reports, policy papers, practice guidelines, issue briefs, newsletters, government documents, speeches.

Grey literature includes research- and evidence-based documents that are written by academic or professional experts on topics relevant to their professions, clients, communities or society in general (and that are not formally published in a journal or book).

These documents are produced by various groups including government agencies, non-government/not-for-profit organizations, industry groups, think tanks, research centres, service agencies, and professional organizations.

• Note: The quality of this literature can vary a lot, so be sure to critically evaluate the sources you find. 

Why Do I Want to Use it?

• Grey literature tends to be more practice-oriented -- it reports on activities done by an organization or on the research they do, and is published with professionals, practitioners, and policy makers in mind.

• Grey literature can be published and shared online with little or no cost, so it is often widely accessible to everyone (if you know how to find it!).

• It can provide examples of best practices, guidelines, and recommendations for things like service provision, program design and implementation, policy development, and advocacy.

• Peer reviewed research is slow to produce and publish, and sometimes the most recent and relevant information is shared in a report rather than a journal article.

Where Do I Find it?

The Web is the best place to find these types of documents.

• Hint: it helps if you know some of the agencies or organizations related to your topic where you can start your search (browse these websites to help generate some ideas for the types of website you’re looking for). For example, the Edmonton Social Planning Council conducts research and analysis on social issues. They have links to reports and publications on their website.

You can also find grey literature in the Policy Commons database.

How Do I Search for it on the Web?

Often, these types of documents do not appear in the results of a basic Google search. 

Use advanced search techniques in Google to find reports and other documents that don't come up in a simple search (often because they are attached as PDFs rather than as part of the website content).

You can simply search the name of an organization or another relevant keyword, and include the word report.

Example:     indigenous child family canada report                                             

Example:     calgaryunitedway.org report

Hint: Search for the word report in the URL to find these specific types of documents

Example:     site:edmontonsocialplanning.ca inurl:report

Hint: Search for specific file types to find reports

Example (searching a specific website):    site:edmontonsocialplanning.ca type:pdf

Example (using keywords):   indigenous child family canada type:pdf

In this video, university professors offer advice for reading articles.

Top takeaways for reading journal articles:

• It takes time (more time than you think)! Give yourself time to read and re-read.
• It helps to print it out and mark it up with notes, annotations and highlighting.
• Article authors can use lots of jargon. Use additional resources (e.g. Google, subject encyclopedias) to look up terms and concepts that are unfamiliar.
• Use a reading strategy that works for you.
  • Visual learner? Start with the tables and charts in the results section.
  • Fear of numbers? Start with the introduction or discussion.
  • Your strategy might change for articles in unfamiliar subject areas.
• Be kind to yourself and have confidence in yourself! Remember that if you are struggling to understand parts of an article, the issue could be with the article, not with you! Don't be afraid to question, disagree, and be critical of what you're reading.

Questions to ask:

What what the research question and how did they answer it?

• What was the research goal? Why was it important?

• Is the research design and method appropriate to address the aims of the study?

• Is there an in-depth description of the methods, data collection, data analysis? 

What are the results and are they valid?

• Do the findings and discussion relate directly to the data? Does the data support the findings?

• Is there a discussion of potential bias?

• Was the study rigorous?

Will the results help my practice?

• What does this study add to what I already know? How does it related to policy, practice, or other literature? How can findings be transferred to other populations or contexts?