Research Guides: Information Literacy: 13. Grey Literature

Grey literature is defined as “information produced on all levels of government, academia, business and industry in electronic and print format 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). It is not found in traditional scholarly journal publications.

Grey literature encompasses many different types of resources:

Blogs, bulletins, clinical trials, conference proceedings, dissertations, fact sheets, government documents & reports, informal communication, interviews, market reports, newsletters, patents, pamphlets, policy statements, research data & reports, standards, statistical reports, social media, surveys, theses, technical reports, tweets, white papers, and working papers.

Here are a few ways grey literature is important to academic scholarship:

Grey literature can be more current than scholarly articles; it may not go through a review process, which allows information to be more quickly disseminated.
Grey literature often contains unique information that is not found in mainstream commercial publications, but can be found in specialized research such as unpublished studies, reports and statistics.
Grey literature can sometimes constitute primary source material.

Keep in mind that grey literature should be evaluated for currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose, just like any other type of information. Check out our Evaluate Resources Guide for more information.

Government websites (e.g. Oregon Health Authority)
Agencies (e.g. World Health Organization – International Agency)
Academic institutions (e.g. John Hopkins Medical Research Center)
Institutional Repositories (e.g. Willamette University Academic Commons)
Non-profit organizations (e.g. Children's Wish Foundation)
Professional organizations (e.g. American Library Association)
Research centers (e.g. Cato Institute)

This short video (2:39 minutes) by The Western University (Ontario, Canada) gives a very brief and clear description of grey literature.

Information Literacy

Willamette University Libraries