This guide provides recommendations, guidance and resources for medical grey literature, including how to find grey literature, grey literature sources, evaluating grey literature, and putting it into practice.
Grey literature is produced by non-traditional publishers. It is published largely online and is often not peer-reviewed. By its nature, grey literature is beyond the reach of commonly used clinical databases such Medline and PubMed. Examples of grey literature include government reports and policies, conference presentations and papers, issues papers and white papers, research and industry reports, theses and dissertations, trial data, statistics and surveys.
Comprehensive search
To search for specific types of grey literature -- such as clinical trial data or government publications -- click through to the other tabs in this box to find lists of relevant online portals and databases.
Quick search
Depending on the nature of your research, you may not always need to conduct a comprehensive grey literature search. For a quick search, consult the table below. To expand your search beyond the below sites, visit the corresponding tabs in this box for more places to search.
If you need to find... | Top site(s) for a quick search |
---|---|
Clinical guidelines | |
Government publications |
|
Trials |
|
Conference presentations |
|
Theses & dissertations |
|
Statistics |
General
Research repositories
Specialty
News media
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
Australian
International
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
Before searching for government documentation you will need to identify relevant authorities, agencies and stakeholders. This is important step due to the breadth of government and agency information. Useful directories include:
Once you have identified the relevant bodies, targeted website browsing/searching is likely to be the best approach.
Google Tips: use shortcuts "site:.vic.gov.au" or "site:.gov.au"
Victorian government & agency websites
National government & agency websites
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
For an extensive list of clinical trials registries, visit Finding Clinical Trials, Research Registers and Research Results.
Australian
International
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
Australian
The National Library's Trove system provides links to Australian theses (if they are available digitally). Records are provided for hard copy theses and dissertations. To search:
Thesis and dissertations may also be available from the institutional repositories of Universities. The Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (AOASG) provides a list of repositories in Australian and New Zealand Universities.
International
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
Australian Statistics
International Statistics
Most grey literature is freely available. When there is a cost for accessing material, check Trove (from the Australian National Library) or contact us at library@monashhealth.org and we will endeavor to locate the item for you.
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