HLTH 402: Disability Studies: Issues, Research & Policy

Grey literature is the term used to describe literature that is not formally published as a book or journal article.

It is produced by all levels of government, academia, NGOs, associations and professional organizations. For example, Statistics Canada: Reports on Disability and Accessibility in Canada.

Grey literature includes:

• Conference proceedings
• Dissertations and theses
• Governmental or private sector research
• Association websites
• Ongoing or unpublished clinical trial data
• Statistical publications
• Internal reports or working papers

Use grey literature to:

• Supplement your search. 
• Discover references to published literature that your database search might have missed.
• Discover current and emergent research.
• Find detailed information on programmes and policies.
• To ensure that all voices are represented.

Grey literature is often excluded from library databases. Please note, that there is some grey literature in Omni. For example, government information and theses.

Below are some ways in which you can find grey literature sources:

• Conference Proceedings: Web of Science, Embase and Medline/PubMed
• Theses and Dissertations: Finding Theses and Dissertations
• Government Documents: Government Information (Health); Custom Google Search
• Canadian Government and Non-government organizations: Canadian Electronic Library 
• Targeted Website Browsing/Search (i.e., one website at a time) of identified authorities or stakeholders on your subject: Google
• Google Scholar