Marine Science: Other Information Sources (Grey Literature)

Grey Literature

Grey literature is material not published commercially and not always available through major databases or search engines.

It can be high quality and may be a great source of up-to-date, local, or alternative information for certain subjects.

Sometimes, grey literature is the only source of information for specific research questions.

Grey literature may not go through peer-review, and its authority must be evaluated.

Examples of grey literature:

• theses
• lectures
• data sets
• conference papers
• technical/research reports
• maps

Giustini, D. Finding the Hard to Finds: Searching for Grey Literature (2012 Update)

Searching for Grey Literature in Databases

• Most databases include various types of grey literature along with publisher-controlled literature.
• If you are interested in searching only for grey literature, consider restricting the "publication type" in your search.

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