Research & Instruction Librarian
About Grey Literature
Grey Literature is...
Typically research that is unpublished or published outside of traditional academic journal circuits.
Examples include:
- Government reports
- Conference proceedings
- Theses
- Preliminary progress reports
- Geological and geophysical surveys
- Newsletters and bulletins
Search tips for finding gray literature:
- Search the websites of corporations, institutions, or agencies that produce the kinds of literature you're looking for
- Try a site:gov search in Google
- For example, if you're looking for government reports about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, type Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Report:gov, as this will instruct Google to search for only domain names ending in .gov
Evaluating Grey Literature
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AACODS ChecklistDeveloped by Flinders University, this is a useful tool for appraising gray literature.
Find Grey Literature
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Dissertations & Theses @ University of South Carolina This link opens in a new windowCitations, abstracts, and usually the full text of dissertations and theses written by USC graduate students back to 1948.
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Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new windowCitations, abstracts, and often full text for dissertations and theses, primarily from North American institutions.
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EIS: Digests of Environmental Impact Statements This link opens in a new windowExtracts the key issues from government-released environmental impact statements.
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Scholar Commons This link opens in a new windowScholar Commons is an institutional repository to preserve, collect and disseminate the research and scholarship of the University of South Carolina. Contributions from authors include articles and books, documents, technical reports, presentations, conference proceedings, creative activities, master's theses, open-access dissertations and more.
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National Technical Reports Library (NTRL)Reports from the NTRL come from the Bureau of Land Management, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, and the military.
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Bureau of Land ManagementAccess reports on the Automated Fluid Minerals, Forest Resources, Mineral & Land, or Rangeland Administration. Each report will note if the areas included are public and/or indigenous.
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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via Science InventoryContains research products primarily from EPA's Office of Research and Development. Science Inventory records provide descriptions of the product, contact information, and links to available printed material or websites.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)By searching the NOAA website, you will find budgets, reports, posts, and data on various projects run by NOAA. For a more focused search, try the EIS database.
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National Park ServiceBy searching the NPS website, you will find reports on pilot projects, wilderness reports, and various monitoring projects.
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U.S. Department of EnergyDOE reports are found through the Office of Scientific and Technical Information database. Access documents as far back as 1940 and filter by document type.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe FWS Library provides the ability to search through collections published by the department. Search by keyword or general topic.
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U.S. Forest ServiceUse the search bar at the top to search by keyword. Reports are categorized as 'Publications', and Handbooks/Manuals are categorized as 'Directives'.
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Congressional Publications This link opens in a new windowComprehensive access to U.S. legislative information.
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Federal Register This link opens in a new windowLists U.S. federal agency announcements and information, such as presidential documents, agency meetings, grant opportunities, and proposed and final federal regulations.
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FDsys This link opens in a new windowProvides access to legislative, executive and judicial documents and publications, and current and historical documents databases from the Government Printing Office.
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HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowAn image-based collection of legal periodicals from various time periods.
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PAIS Index [Public Affairs Information Service] This link opens in a new windowIndex to political, economic, and social issues in international journals, books, government publications, and reports.
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United Nations Treaty Collection This link opens in a new windowOver 50,000 treaties and international agreements including information on the status of over 500 major multilateral treaties. Subject matter includes human rights, disarmament, commodities, refugees and the environment.
U.S. Geological Surveys
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United States Geological SurveyA scientific agency of the United States government, the USGS studies the landscape of the United States. USGS conducts research in the following disciplines: biology, geography, geology, and hydrology.
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USGS National Geologic Map DatabaseIncludes state geological surveys.
International Geological Surveys
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British Antarctic SurveyThe center for polar science and polar operations, addressing global issues and impacts of a changing climate. Access data, research papers, news and images.
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British Columbia Geological SurveyIncludes geoscientific information about mineral resources and mineral potential in the province. Access maps, publications, and geologic survey data of the rock and mineral resources of British Columbia.
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Geoscience AustraliaAustralia's official advisor on the geology and geography of the nation. Access data, interactive maps and 3D models, and research papers.