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Grey Literature

What is grey literature?

Grey Literature is defined as materials and research produced outside the traditional commercial or academic publishing and distribution channels.

Why is it valuable?

This information is valuable as it can contain recent data (traditional journal articles or books generally have a long lead time before publication) or information that will not be available any other way. It is particularly useful where the topic involves issues found in the media.

Examples of grey literature include:

  •     Conference proceedings
  •     Government documents
  •     Newsletters
  •     Statistics
  •     Technical reports
  •     Theses and dissertations
  •     Blogs
  •     Maps

Grey literature can be a very important source in Education, but as with all sources, you need to evaluate what you find to ensure that it not only provides the information that you need, but that it is up to date and high quality.

Searching for grey literature can be more difficult than searching within databases - and it's possible that the information that you want is not available in a format or in a location that is accessible to you.

Finding grey literature

General search tips

  •     Be aware that searching will take time - there is no one perfect search string or strategy which will work in all sites or databases.
  •     You should use the usual Search Tips to assist in your searching (brainstorm for synonyms & alternative terms, quotation marks, truncation symbol, etc)
  •     Document your search terms and keep track where you have searched (and the results).
  •     Consider the context of the document or data that you are looking for as this will guide where and how to search. For example:
    • Who is most likely to have created the content?
    • For what purpose?
    • Is there likely to be regular versions and if so, how will you identify the most recent?
    • Who is the most likely audience?
    • Is it likely that discipline specific terminology or acronyms will be used?
  •     The Google Advanced search will allow you to limit your search to specific domains - this can be helpful if you are searching for materials from Government agencies (ie .gov.au) or Educational institutions (ie .edu.au). 
  •     The Sources box below will give you some starting points & hints to finding specific kinds of resources. 
  •     A good starting point for Australian content for Education is the Parliamentary Library's resource -  Vines, E. and Clark, S. (2024). School education: a quick guide to internet links. 

Sources

Federal Government Links

State and Territory Government links

Each State and Territory will have a Department responsible for Education (although the exact title changes with changes in government). Go to the relevant government portal such as sa.gov.au and then find the relevant Department link.
Victorian examples are given here.

Check the sites of individual schools as well as groupings of private schools. This could be an Australian body supporting specific religious schools or other independent schools. Some Victorian examples are given.

These can be a fantastic source for finding grey literature and they often include a link to the full text of the resource/report that is being launched. Check the 'usual' sources such as Government or school websites, but there are also databases that capture selected press releases (below).

Remember to think about the kind of resource that you are looking for, and bodies that it may have been created for or who may be a key stakeholder for the resource. See the policy tab for finding schools and school groupings.

Industry groups or special interest organisations could include teacher unions and Educational research or consulting firms.

 

Statistics are kept by a wide range of agencies, and maybe big picture or for a small subset (ie testing results). A selection of Australian and international bodies are linked to below - you may wish to also check the Statistics and research tab on this guide.  

Australian Agencies: 

International Agencies:

Theses and dissertations can be a very valuable source of grey literature. The Library has an entire Guide dedicated to finding LTU, Australian & New Zealand, and International Theses. Two particularly useful sources are below:

Using grey literature

Evaluating Grey Literature:

Grey literature can be a very important source in Education, but as with all sources, you need to evaluate what you find to ensure that it not only provides the information that you need, but that it is up to date and high quality.

Use the guidance in the Evaluating information section of Achieve@Uni to think through some of the potential issues with the resources that you find. Another very useful tool is the University of Newcastle's Resource Evaluation page.

Referencing Grey Literature:

Use the Academic Referencing Tool (ART) guide to APA7 to find the template for the resource type that most closely matches the resource that you wish to reference. If you encounter difficulties, contact the library.