Grey Literature in the Health Sciences

In some cases a search for grey literature will end with you finding references to some great information, but not having access to the full-text. Before purchasing access (or giving up), contact a librarian for help locating the full-text. It may be available at the library or it may be something we can borrow through interlibrary loan.

Instead of performing searches in general-purpose health science databases, such as PubMed, for keywords or subject headings, a search of the grey literature may involve first considering what types of organizations are likely to be interested in the same research questions you are investigating.  Consider:

• government agencies
• advocacy groups and private agencies
• industry, trade or professional organizations

There are many sources that list grey literature producing organizations in the health sciences, consider starting sources listed below. As you search, keep the following in mind:

• Once you have identified an organization of interest, you can generally locate publications on their website through their site's search box. Additionally, many organizations have specific sections of their site dedicated to publications and you may find what you are looking for more quickly by looking there first. 
• Your search strategy on an organization website will be broader than how you search for articles in an academic database. For example, you may search for "clinical practice guidelines" in a database, but search just for "guidelines" when looking for grey literature.
• Grey literature can also be located in some databases, in institutional and preprint repositories, as well as by searching for conference proceedings. More information on these sources and on finding particular types of grey literature can be found on the Sources page.

These sites provide directories of organizations that produce grey literature in the health sciences. The Encyclopedia of Associations is a general resource for organizations which may be relevant to your search.