RasGuides: Evaluating Sources: Grey Literature

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels, Examples of grey literature include:

conference proceedings
white papers
government agency reports
working papers
policy statements

The quality can vary widely because they are published outside traditional publishing channels. Use the criteria and questions in the Evaluating Sources Quick Guide to evaluate the quality of these sources.

Evaluating Sources Quick Guide

Where to Find Grey Literature

Often, grey literature is not indexed in formal databases, which makes it difficult to discover. The library databases listed below include conference proceedings, theses, and dissertations. You can also find grey literature in Google Scholar. Learn more at our Google Scholar guide.

Google Scholar
Learn how to use Google Scholar to find credible sources for your coursework.

ERIC: The Educational Resource Information Center This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive source of articles from both practical and scholarly education journals. Also includes the most comprehensive source of "gray" literature in the field of education (reports, conference proceedings, activity guides & case studies).
IEEE Xplore
Provides access to full-text peer-reviewed journals, transactions, magazines, conference proceedings, and published standards in the areas of electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. It also provides access to the IEEE Standards Dictionary Online. Full-text available.
National Criminal Justice Reference Service This link opens in a new window
Offers justice studies information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It also includes the Dissertations & Theses @ Rasmussen University collection, which provides Rasmussen users access to published Rasmussen student papers from the DNP program.