Grey Literature for Health Sciences

Contact Information

For more information, contact the Health Sciences Library.

613-562-5407
bibliorgnlibrary@uottawa.ca

Changer

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature is defined as information "produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing" Greynet

Here are some example of Grey Literature:

  • Reports (Annual, Government, Technical, etc.)
  • Research papers
  • Theses and dissertations
  • Patents
  • Statistics
  • Clinical Trials
  • Conference Proceedings
  • and more

Why is Grey Literature important? Why should I look for it?

Ignoring literature that is valuable but not commercially available may introduce a methodological bias in conducting research. This bias could seriously undermine the results of such research since it would not be considered exhaustive.

Pappas, C., & Williams, I. (2011). Grey literature: Its emerging importance. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 11(3), 228-234. doi:10.1080/15323269.2011.587100