Grey literature refers to both published and unpublished research material that is not available commercially.

It includes, among other materials:

• conference papers/conference proceedings
• theses
• newsletters
• reports
• fact sheets, bulletins
• government documents
• surveys

These resources can be difficult to track down because they are often not indexed or formally published. Issued by agencies, corporations, government, departments, and research groups as opposed to mainstream publishers, grey literature fills in a lot of gaps that are not covered in the regular literature. While it is often not peer-reviewed it may be the only place you find the information.

For grey literature on specific subjects search for "grey" in our research guides.