We want to hear from you. You're viewing the newest version of the Library's website. Please send us your feedback!
Grey Literature is ...
any literature or document that has not been published through traditional academic sources.
Why is it useful?
- Grey literature sources, such as conference proceedings or pre-print articles, can be used to identify academic research on very current research topics that have not yet been published in academic journals or books, such as Covid-19 research studies
- Some research is conducted by government and health organizations which do not typically publish within academic journals and therefore cannot be found through traditional academic research databases.
Plan Your Search!!!
Prepare a search plan before you begin to collect and screen documents. Use this template to organize and document your search results.
Overviews of Grey Literature
The sources below offer an overview of grey literature and relevant sources.
- Grey Literature ReportOverview of grey literature publications in health services research and public health.
- Grey Matters: a practical search tool for evidence based medicineCADTH's online resource for grey literature searching.
- Public Health Grey Literature Sourcesa list of Canadian and International resources and organizations compiled by the OPHLA
Health Statistics
- Statistics & Data GuideUW Research Guide by subject
- CIHI - Canadian Institute for Health InformationCIHI provides data and analysis on Canada's health system and the health of Canadians
- National Center for Health Statistics [U.S.]The NCHS is the primary U. S. Federal Government organization responsible for the collection, analyses, and dissemination of health statistics.
- OECD Health StatisticsProvides a central data collection of comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD countries.
- WHO Global Observatory (GHO) dataA data warehouse that collects, stores and displays information on chronic diseases and their risk factors for all WHO member states.
Government Publications
- Canadian Government InformationUW Research Guide by subject
Customized Government Search
Canadian, US and International Government Documents Search - code courtesy of MADGIC, Carleton University
Non-governmental Organizations (NGO) and Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO) Searches - code courtesy of GODORT
- Canadian Research IndexDatabase of Canadian government and research publications. Some results are full text and others are on microfiche
- Canadian Prevention Policies DirectoryAccess thousands of Canadian healthy public policies focused on cancer and chronic disease prevention.
Health Organizatons
- Canadian Best Practices PortalThe Portal links to resources and solutions to plan programs for promoting health and preventing diseases for populations and communities
- Healthevidence.orgA collection of systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions.
- Effective Public Health Practice ProjectA collection of knowledge syntheses including systematic reviews created to inform the planning and delivery of public health services in Canada
Determine the prominent organizations in your research field and search the website for a list of publications, reports, analyses
- Public Health Grey Literature Database (Ontario)A Grey Literature Repository compiled by the Ontario Public Health Libraries Association
The Internet: Google
Often, Google can be the best tool to search for documents and reports published on the web. When recording your search methods, it is important to document the search terms used and the date the searches were performed.
Google Advanced will combine or exclude search terms, limit results by region, file type, i.e. .pdf (helpful when limiting to reports), domain (i.e. .gc.ca)
Google Scholar will only retrieve documents from academic and professional sources. Note: You will have to browse through a lot of journal articles to find the grey literature reports.
COVID-19 Grey literature sources
- CADTH COVID-19 Grey Literature ResourcesChecklist of organizations providing COVID-19 content
- Covid-19 ResourcesWilfrid Laurier Library guide
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Guide, Ontario Medical AssociationResources from international healthcare organizations, focusing on original content, such as Evidence/Research Summaries, Synopses of Articles, and Guidance
- WHO COVID-19 DatabaseWHO database of scientific findings and knowledge on COVID-19, majority of items are published journal articles. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying literature from around the world.
- COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews, NCCMTRepository of completed and in-progress COVID-19 rapid reviews
- COVID-19 Ontario Government Communications, Ontario Medical AssociationLive feeds of government COVID-19 communications in the public domain
- Canadian government information, UofT research guideCanadian government resources on a range of COVID-19 topics
- COVID-19 Virtual Library of Health Data and Evidence (Canada)searchable collection of national surveillance and research data and evidence about the wider health impacts of COVID-19 in Canada
Canadian Indigenous Health Databases and Resources
- First Nations Information Governance Centrenational reports and publications
- American Indian Newspapers200 years of Indigenous print journalism
Library guides