Grey literature is "Information produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body."
Grey literature is can include reports, policy literature, working papers, newsletters, government documents, speeches, white papers, urban plans, unpublished trial data, dissertations, patents, blogs, and so on.
This information is often produced by organizations "on the ground" (such as government and inter-governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry) to store information and report on activities, either for their own use or wider sharing and distribution, and without the delays and restrictions of commercial and academic publishing. For that reason, grey literature can be more current than literature in scholarly journals. However, because grey literature does not go through a peer review process, the quality can vary a great deal. You must critically evaluate these sources.
Schnopfel J. Towards a Prague definition of grey literature. Presented at: Twelfth International Conference on Grey Literature: Transparency in Grey Literature. Grey Tech Approaches to High Tech Issues. Prague, 6-7 Dec 2010, Czech Republic. pp.11-26. Available from: http://archivesic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/sic_00581570/document
During your research you'll encounter many different kinds of journal (or serial or periodical) publications. Some are more suited to a certain project than others; for example, when writing a research paper, you will need to consult scholarly journals. Other journals may be useful, too. For example, a popular source might give you insight into what people are thinking about a given subject right now. The key is to be able to identify what type of source you're looking at and use it accordingly. Check out this table to learn some key differences between these three common types of journal publications.
| Scholarly or Academic | Trade or Professional | Popular | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To disseminate research and scholarly discussions among scholars (faculty, researchers, students) in a discipline |
To inform about business or industry news, trends, or products |
To inform, entertain, persuade, or elicit an emotional response; to make money |
| Content & Language |
Research results/reports; reviews of research (review articles); book reviews Highly specialized; includes specialized vocabulary and jargon that is readily understood by researchers in the field, but not an average reader |
Articles about a certain business or industry Specialized; includes jargon that is best understood by professionals in the field. |
Current events; general interest articles General language is used; articles may be read and understood by most people. |
| Scope | Specific, often narrow and in-depth | Specific to a profession or industry | Broad overviews |
| Authorship | Scholars, professors, researchers, and professionals. Their credentials are usually identified. | Professionals in the field; maybe be a journalist with subject expertise. | Generalists, including bloggers, staff writers, and journalists. Authors are not always attributed in popular sources. |
|
Review / Editorial Oversight |
Editorial board made up of other scholars and researchers; usually peer-reviewed | Staff editor | Edited by in-house editors or not edited at all |
| Sources / Citations | Sources are always cited and referred to following a specific academic style; acknowledging the work of past scholars is essential to academic integrity. | Trade articles may or may not cite their sources--this will generally depend on the given field and the individual publication. | No formal citations included; may or may not informally attribute sources in text |
| Audience | Specialists in the subject area. This includes students, professors, and other researchers. | Business or industry professionals and interested non-specialists. | General readers. These sources don't require any special background knowledge or training. |
| Design* | Mostly text; may have black and white figures, graphs, tables, or charts; few advertisements. | Some text; photographs; some graphics and charts; advertisements targeted to professionals in the field. | Some text; glossy, color photographs; easy to read layout; lots of advertisements. |
| Examples | AJP: American Journal of Psychology; Journal of Popular Culture; JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association; Harvard Business Review; Nature; American Economics Review |
Monitor on Psychology; Advertising Age; Pharmaceutical Executive; Inc.; Chemical Week; The Banker |
Psychology Today; Rolling Stone; Men's Health; Business Week; Scientific American; The Economist |
* The article's design may change when accessed through the library databases. For example, advertisements may not be visible.
Denison Libraries, 100 W College, Granville, Ohio 43023 Phone: 740-587-6235, email: reference@denison.edu In order to view PDF documents, you will need to have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your computer