The definitions of grey literature (or gray literature) can be wide-ranging. The International Conference on Grey Literature (ICGL), the primary source for scholarly research disseminating the topic of grey literature, proposed this definition in 2010:
"Grey literature stands for manifold document types produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats that are protected by intellectual property rights, of sufficient quality to be collected and preserved by libraries and institutional repositories, but not controlled by commercial publishers; i.e., where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body" (Bonato, 2018).
Grey literature refers to information that falls outside the mainstream of published journal and monograph literature, and which is not controlled by commercial publishers. Grey literature is usually is not widely disseminated or promoted and may not be peer-reviewed. Grey literature can sometimes be more current than traditional sources, but the quality may be variable and all sources must be critically evaluated. Searching the grey literature provides comprehensiveness and may help minimize publication bias as negative result trials or null trial results are less likely to be published in journal literature but can often be found in grey literature.
Grey literature can include:
Bonato, S. (2018). Searching the grey literature. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Evaluating Grey Literature:
Some grey literature sources to consider:
Common sources of grey literature in healthcare:
Searching the Literature: A Guide to Comprehensive Searching in the Health Sciences: Grey Literature From University of Toronto Libraries.