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Grey Literature: Home

About grey literature

Grey literature is a term used to describe information and research produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels. It is either unpublished or has been published in non-commercial form from a variety of sources. Therefore, it is not necessarily findable using standard databases and search tools. Grey literature hasn’t been peer reviewed, but it may still be useful and reliable.

Using grey literature will help you:

  • access current information about emerging research areas
  • minimise publication bias in systematic reviews
  • discover raw data that is not available in traditional publications.

Using this guide

This guide will help you to:

  • identify grey literature sources 
  • understand how and why to use grey literature in your research 
  • review and evaluate grey literature 
  • apply creative search techniques for finding grey literature

Get help 

Get help from a librarian when you need support beyond what you can find in this guide. Bookings are available for students, educators, and researchers.