Sources of Literature

Peer-Reviewed Literature

Peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in the field and are typically found in scholarly journals. The goal of peer review is to assess the quality of articles before publication in a scholarly journal. Before an article is considered appropriate to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, it must undergo an intensive review process. During this peer-review process, reviewers will:

• Evaluate the article for quality
• Check the article for accuracy
• Assess the validity of the research methods and procedures

Gray Literature

Gray literature is unpublished literature or literature that has been published in noncommerical forms. 

Examples of gray literature include:

• Government reports
• Policy statements 
• Theses and dissertations
• Conference proceedings
• Research reports
• Geological surveys
• Newsletters and bulletins