What is Grey Literature?
Grey literature refers to publicly available materials that are not formally published through commercial channels, such as government reports, theses, conference proceedings, policy papers, and technical documents. Your query mentions "reports," so I'll focus on strategies for searching those, while covering broader grey lit sources.
Key Strategies for Searching Grey Literature
To effectively search, use a mix of specialized databases, search engines, and institutional repositories. Grey lit is often not indexed in mainstream academic databases like PubMed or Google Scholar, so targeted tools are essential.
- Specialized Databases and Repositories:
- GreyLit.org: A free aggregator focused on U.S. government reports and technical documents. Search by keywords like "climate change reports" for environmental topics.
- OpenGrey: Indexes over 4 million entries from Europe, including reports, theses, and conference papers. Access via the INIST-CNRS platform; it's free but may require registration.
- ETD Repositories (e.g., ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global or NDLTD): Great for unpublished theses and reports. Many universities host open-access versions.
- World Bank Open Knowledge Repository: Excellent for global development reports; searchable by topic, region, or year.
- WHO IRIS or CDC Stacks: For health-related reports from international organizations.
- Search Engines and Tools:
- Google Scholar: Add "filetype:pdf site:.gov" or "site:.org" to filter for reports. Use advanced operators like "grey literature" + your topic.
- BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine): Indexes grey lit from 6,000+ sources; filters for reports and documents.
- Scopus or Web of Science: These include grey lit sections; check their "conference proceedings" or "reports" filters.
- Institutional and Government Sources:
- Search national libraries or agencies: U.S. (NTIS for technical reports, GPO for federal docs), UK (British Library), EU (EUR-Lex for policy reports).
- University repositories (e.g., via DART-Europe for European theses) often host departmental reports.
Tips for Effective Searching
- Keywords: Use broad terms like "report" + your topic (e.g., "COVID-19 impact report"). Include synonyms (e.g., "white paper," "working paper").
- Date and Language Filters: Grey lit can be timely; sort by publication date. Tools like OpenGrey support multiple languages.
- Citation Tracking: Once you find a report, use tools like CitedBy or ResearchRabbit to discover related grey lit.
- Systematic Reviews: If for research, follow guidelines from the Cochrane Handbook or RAMSES-II for reproducible grey lit searches.
- Challenges: Grey lit may not be peer-reviewed, so evaluate sources for credibility (author affiliation, date, methodology).
If you provide more details (e.g., topic, field like health/environment, or geographic focus), I can refine this with specific examples or links. For instance, are you looking for reports on a particular subject?