NU LibChat Widget

Ask Us

Can't find what you need? Submit a ticket through email, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Email Us

What is grey literature and how do I locate it?

Grey literature is literature produced by government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers.

Types of grey literature include:

  • theses and dissertations
  • conference papers and proceedings
  • reports (such as white papers, working papers, internal documentation)
  • government documents
  • technical notes and specifications
  • proposals
  • datasets/statistics
  • policies/procedures
  • patents
  • unpublished trial data
  • regulatory data
  • speeches
  • urban plans
  • test instruments
  • pre-prints
  • company information
  • social media
  • websites
  • and many more!

You can find a full list of grey literature types at http://www.greynet.org/greysourceindex/documenttypes.html.

Note that grey literature has not gone through the peer review process, and, therefore, the quality varies.

For additional information about grey literature and how to locate it, see our Grey Literature Guide.




Still need help?

Didn't get the answer you needed? Contact a librarian through email, phone, SMS, or chat for personalized assistance!