In general, grey literature publications are non-conventional, fugitive, and sometimes ephemeral publications. They may include, but are not limited to the following types of materials:
- reports
- pre-prints,
- preliminary progress and advanced reports,
- technical reports,
- statistical reports,
- memoranda,
- state-of-the art reports,
- market research reports, etc.,
- theses,
- conference proceedings,
- technical specifications and standards,
- non-commercial translations,
- bibliographies,
- technical and commercial documentation,
- and official documents not published commercially (primarily government reports and documents) (Alberani, 1990).
Alberani V, Pietrangeli PDC, Mazza AMR (1990). The use of grey literature in health sciences: a preliminary survey. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 78(4): 358-363.
How do scholarly articles differ from "grey literature"?
- Typically published much faster then scholarly articles
- Has no formal peer-reviewed process
- Doesn't usually have a comprehensive literature review
- Often the "official author" is an agency or organization rather then an individual