What is Grey Literature?

Some examples of grey literature:

• Society annual reports, policy papers, practice guidelines, issue briefs, newsletters, white papers, 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 widely, 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, the general public, 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, so sometimes the most recent and relevant information is shared in these types of reports rather than journal articles.

This short video from Western University explains what it is and why it's useful.