Searching the Grey Literature

A Handbook for Searching Reports, Working Papers, and Other Unpublished Research

By (author) Sarah Bonato

Publication date:

13 June 2018

Length of book:

278 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

239x159mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781538100639

Searching the Grey Literature is for librarians interested in learning more about grey literature. If you have ever been asked for a grey literature search but didn’t know where to start, this book will help you craft your search successfully. If you are an expert searcher but find that your library patrons are unfamiliar with the vast body of grey literature, this book may be a useful teaching aid. Those that are both new arrivals and established professionals in the field of librarianship will learn much about grey literature from reading this book, and hopefully acquire new search skills and knowledge. Although a wide range of different types of librarians or information professionals may find the content of this book useful, those working in the areas of health or social science will benefit the most from the book’s content.

Searching the Grey Literature discuss different aspects of grey literature, including an introduction to grey literature, the value of grey literature, search sources for grey literature and how to conduct needs assessment before beginning a grey literature search. Search techniques for identifying grey literature documents, selecting and evaluating grey literature search sources and best searching practices are also discussed in detail.


Until a uniform set of standards for locating grey literature is created, the information contained in this book should provide a welcome stopgap by suggesting best practices, methods, and approaches. The subject matter of the book should have wide appeal but may be of particular interest to anyone in the health and social sciences fields, and especially anyone involved in creating systematic re-views.