Shades of Grey

Grey (or gray) literature is defined as work “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.”¹ It’s generally a term for literature (and other media) not published in traditional research publication venues such as scholarly journals.

Grey literature is often self-published and usually not peer-revied. However, grey literature should be an important consideration during your research process. As noted by Pappas and Williams, “although not considered a scholarly form of publication, grey literature is often produced by experts in the field.”² Types of work considered to be grey literature are thesis papers, reports, policy documents, whitepapers, and government data.

Research & Education Librarian Devon Olson³ outlines that grey literature does the following:

• Provides a glimpse into what organizations are working on right now
  • without peer review, organizations can publish reports immediately after writing them
• Gives you an idea of what is going on outside of academia
  • non-profit and advocacy organizations, government, hospitals and clinics, all are more likely to publish about their newest programs in a report than an academic journal article
• Illuminates what is important to society at large
  • patient values are 1/3 or evidence-based practice

Devon, Research & Education Librarian Megan Denis, and Online Resources & Services Librarian Jessica Gilbert Redman will be providing a free virtual workshop on Tuesday, Sept 15 via Zoom. Join them to learn more about how and why to search for grey literature or contact your librarian for tips on searching grey literature!

References

1. Paez, Arsenio. “Gray literature: An important resource in systematic reviews.” Journal of evidence-based medicine vol. 10,3 (2017): 233-240. doi:10.1111/jebm.12266.
2. Pappas, Cleo, and Irene Williams. “Grey Literature: Its Emerging Importance.” Journal of Hospital Librarianship, vol. 11, no. 3, July 2011, pp. 228–34. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxylr.med.und.edu/10.1080/15323269.2011.587100.
3. Olson, Devon. (2026, August 28). Grey Literature. Public Health. University of North Dakota. https://libguides.und.edu/c.php?g=91173&p=11372572