Why it's important to use grey literature
As noted in Bonato (2018), grey literature offers advantages that commercially published items do not for evidence synthesis.
- Global representation - Commercially published information often has a Northern and Western Hemisphere presumed default. Global representation from the Global South and East are exceptions in commercial publication. Searching grey literature makes information from a variety of locations and cultures available.
- Emerging technologies and processes - Commercially published literature has a lag time behind the emergence of new technologies and consensus. Grey literature can emerge more quickly because it doesn't have to wait for a publication cycle.
- Evidence-based practice - Documents highlighting best practices tend to be published as reports, not as scholarly journal articles (outside of evidence synthesis publications.)
- Counter publication bias - Including grey literature counteracts the positive bias of commercial publications. Grey literature is more likely to include null or negative outcomes.
- Not behind a paywall - Researchers have the same access to most kinds of grey literature, regardless of economic or information resources at hand.
- Diverse perspectives - Grey literature is created in a variety of cultures, institutions, and researchers. For historical minority researchers, grey literature provides an opportunity to overcome gatekeeping that commercial publication institutionalizes.
- FREE
Citations
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences by ISBN: 9780849397127Publication Date: 2009-12-17Available in print or as an online subscription, this third edition of the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciencesreflects the growing convergence among the several disciplines that concern themselves with information and the cultural record. Covered are archives, museum studies, informatics, information systems, knowledge management, records management, document and genre theory, bibliography, and social studies of information, in addition to library and information science. It addresses these related disciplines in a way that demonstrates the unities across the fields while also recognizing their uniquely distinguishing characteristics. Composed of the contributions of major researchers and practitioners and exploring the cultural institutions of more than 30 countries, this major reference presents hundreds of entries extensively reviewed for accuracy. Containing more than 70 percent new material, this edition also includes classic articles of historical or theoretical importance from prior editions. Also Available Online This Taylor & Francis encyclopedia is also available through online subscription, offering a variety of extra benefits for researchers, students, and librarians, including: Citation tracking and alerts Active reference linking Saved searches and marked lists HTML and PDF format options Contact Taylor and Francis for more information or to inquire about subscription options and print/online combination packages. US: (Tel) 1.888.318.2367; (E-mail) e-reference@taylorandfrancis.com International: (Tel) +44 (0) 20 7017 6062; (E-mail) online.sales@tandf.co.uk
Searching the Grey Literature by ISBN: 9781538100639Publication Date: 2018-06-13Searching the Grey Literature is for librarians interested in learning more about grey literature. If you have ever been asked for a grey literature search but didn't know where to start, this book will help you craft your search successfully. If you are an expert searcher but find that your library patrons are unfamiliar with the vast body of grey literature, this book may be a useful teaching aid. Those that are both new arrivals and established professionals in the field of librarianship will learn much about grey literature from reading this book, and hopefully acquire new search skills and knowledge. Although a wide range of different types of librarians or information professionals may find the content of this book useful, those working in the areas of health or social science will benefit the most from the book's content. Searching the Grey Literature discuss different aspects of grey literature, including an introduction to grey literature, the value of grey literature, search sources for grey literature and how to conduct needs assessment before beginning a grey literature search. Search techniques for identifying grey literature documents, selecting and evaluating grey literature search sources and best searching practices are also discussed in detail.
