What is it?
“… information produced on all levels of government, academia, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body” -- ICGL Luxembourg definition, 1997; Expanded in New York, 2004
Examples include:
- annual reports
- conference proceedings
- theses and dissertations
- white papers
- online communities such as listservs and forums
- research reports
- technical reports
- newsletters, emails, blogs and social media
Who creates it?
Grey literature is created by researchers and practitioners in various fields. The groups and institutions that create grey literature may be government (including state and local), industry, NGOs, think tanks and research groups that disseminate information in the form of reports or papers rather than by publishing scholarly articles in journals.
Why use it?
Grey literature may be a valuable addition to your research by providing a fuller picture of your research topic. Grey literature may also be more current than other published material because it can be produced and shared quickly on the web rather than going through a peer-review process.
