Introduction to Grey Literature
Grey literature is any material published outside of mainstream book and journal publishing. This includes most webpages, government documents, theses, corporate documents, reports, conference proceedings, online handbooks and manuals, and much more.
Conference Proceedings
If you are aware of the major conferences covering your topic, you can directly search the conference websites. The following databases also include some conference proceedings:
- EMBASE EMBASE (1974 to the present) is a medical database which covers a wide range of journals in the biomedical sciences. EMBASE is particularly useful for locating drug information, as it indexes many drug journals not covered by MEDLINE. PLEASE NOTE: Our EMBASE license allows for only four simultaneous users.
- Web of Science Core CollectionTo search just conferences, use the Conference Proceedings Citation Index
- BIOSIS Previews BIOSIS Citation Index adds citation analysis functionality to BIOSIS Previews. This analysis is more specific in focus than that provided within the BIOSIS Previews database, and useful for researchers who wish to limit citation analysis to Life Sciences publications. BIOSIS Previews combines the content from Biological Abstracts (Journals) and Biological Abstracts/RRM (Reports, Reviews, and Meetings).
Other resources
- Grey Lit Search LogA basic template that you may use (and modify if you wish) to help you to keep track of your searches.
Theses
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index Also known as:|Dissertations and Theses Global|. Includes contributions from North American graduate schools and European universities. Coverage begins with the first U.S. dissertation accepted in 1861. UofA theses and dissertations are included from 1954 through 2014, with full text available for many, but not all, titles. NOTE: UofA no longer contributes content to this database.