Libraries: Research Process: A Step-By-Step Guide: 2e. Grey Literature

What is "Grey Literature"?

"That which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers." (Fourth International Conference on Grey Literature, Washington, DC, October, 1999)

Grey literature includes:

Theses and dissertations
Conference papers and proceedings
Research reports
Government documents

Conference Papers and Proceedings

Conference papers and proceedings can be very difficult to find because they:

Can be published in different ways - as books, journal articles, abstracts
Take several years to be published or may not be published at all
May be deposited in an author or institutional repository

Education-line
This is a freely accessible database of the full text of conference papers, working papers, and electronic literature that support educational research, policy, and practice.
British Library
The British Library is a large repository of international conference proceedings. Some conferences include links to the contents page.
DOAR- Open Access Repository List by Organization
As well as providing a simple repository list, OpenDOAR lets you search for repositories or search repository contents. Additionally, we provide tools and support to both repository administrators and service providers in sharing best practice and improving the quality of the repository infrastructure.

Government Documents

Government documents are an important primary source of information on a wide range of issues. They can be found through a search of the library catalog and government websites.

USA.gov
The official web portal for the U.S. government.