Tackling the Grey Literature: Tips and Tricks for Uncovering Elusive Material

1. Tackling the Grey Literature: Tips and Tricks for Uncovering Elusive Material Session Presenters: Yongtao Lin & Marcus Vaska May 29, 2008

2. Session Outline • Grey Literature: Definition, Features, History • Importance and Impact of Grey Literature • Types of Grey Literature • Searching for Grey Literature • Grey Literature in Action! http://library.ucalgary.ca/branches/hsl-greyliterature/index.php

3. Grey Literature: Definition • ”the information and resources that do not categorically fall into what is available via standard traditional or commercial publishing channels.” International Journal on Grey Literature

4. Grey Literature: Definition “publications with little or no distribution” Auger CP, Auger CP, Use of reports literature. Information sources in grey literature. 3rd ed. Projected Date: 9412 ed. London ; New Providence, NJ: Bowker-Saur; 1994.

5. Grey Literature: Metaphor “the unsung hero, the foot soldier, the foundation of the building” Mason MK. Grey Literature: Its History, Definition, Acquisition, and Cataloguing. 2008; Available at: http://www.moyak.com/researcher/resume/papers/var7mkmkw.html. Accessed April 15, 2008.

6. Grey Literature: Features • Rapid publication • Variable formats (flexible) • Detailed • No peer review • No commercial source • Limited distribution (in most cases)

7. Grey Literature: History • Evolved as a genre in the 1920s • Recognized in the 1970s • Accepted as a necessary component of effective literature searching in the 1990s

8. Importance and Impact of Grey Literature • “Virtually everything we read outside of journals and books can be considered grey literature.” Coonin, B. Grey Literature: an Annotated Bibliography. 2003; Available at: http://personal.ecu.edu/cooninb/Greyliterature.htm. Accessed May 16, 2008. • Over the past 15 years, conferences on grey literature (GL) have been held around the world, discussing the impact of grey literature on the Information Society

9. Importance and Impact of Grey Literature • Although not considered to be a scholarly form of publication, grey literature is produced by experts in the field, and “serves scholars and lay readers alike with research summaries, facts, statistics, and other data that offer a more comprehensive view of the topic of interest.” • Outten, C. Gray Literature. 2008. Available at: http://www.csulb.edu/library/subj/gray_literature/. Accessed May 16, 2008 • Interest in grey literature has grown, impacting a number of areas, including: • Distance education • Accessing information instantaneously

10. Grey Literature: Library Catalogue • Fundamental resources on grey literature retrieved by searching the library catalogue (a type of grey literature in itself!) • T10.7 .A93 1994Information sources in Grey literature 3rd ed.  Auger, Charles P. (Charles Peter) • Available at MacKimmie Library, University of Calgary • The grey journal (Online) • Available through University of Calgary Library catalogue • ZA4230 .S73 2004 Effective Information Retrieval from the Internet: an Advanced User’s GuideStacey, Alison; Stacey, Adrian • Available at University of British Columbia Library (interlibrary loan)

11. Grey Literature in Print • Theses and Dissertations • Conference Proceedings • Newsletters • Reports • Government Documents • Informal Communication (telephone calls, meetings) • Translations

12. Grey Literature in the 21st Century • Informal Communication (e-mail, chat, blogs, listservs) • Digital Libraries • Search Engines • The World Wide Web!

13. Why Grey Literature in Health? • “Published trials tend to be larger and show an overall greater treatment effect than grey trials. This has important implication for reviewers who need to ensure they identify grey trials, in order to minimize the risk of introducing bias to their review.” From: Hopewell S, McDonald S, Clarke M, & Egger M. (2007) Grey literature in meta-analyses of randomized trials of health care interventions. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2.

14. Searching for Grey Literature • Challenging to locate and obtain • Original cataloguing required • Access: search engines typically index only 16% of the available web contents • Invisible deep Web

15. How to Find Grey Literature in Health • Conducting exhaustive literature reviews • Knowledge of publishing trends • Knowledge of sources of information • Knowledge of major U.S. and Canadian agencies Source: “Top Skills Needed to Find Grey Literature in Health”, May 13, 2006: http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/googlescholar/archives/2006_05.html

16. Finding Grey Literature: Where Else to Look • Bibliographies and reference lists • Search by hand • Contact the author/organization of a particular publication • Browse and search an organization’s website (keep a list)

17. Searching for Grey Literature • Theses and Dissertations • ProQuest Dissertations and Theses • Research DatabasesProQuest Dissertations and Theses • Theses Canada Portal • Research DatabasesTheses Canada Portal • Index to Theses • Research DatabasesIndex to Theses (ASLIB)

18. Searching for Grey Literature in the Medical Field • Government Resources • Calgary Health Region • [http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/] • Public Health Agency of Canada • [www.publichealth.gc.ca] • National Institutes of Health • [http://www.nih.gov/] • World Health Organization • [http://www.who.int/en/]

19. Searching for Grey Literature in the Medical Field • Reports/Registries/Associations • Alberta Cancer Registry • [http://www.cancerboard.ab.ca/CancerAlberta/AlbertaCancerRegistry/] • American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR): Diet & Cancer • [http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dc_home] • World Cancer Research Fund • [http://www.wcrf.org/] • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) • [http://www.cdc.gov/] • Union of International Associations • [http://www.diversitas.org/db/x.php?dbcode=pr&go=s]

20. Searching for Grey Literature in the Medical Field • Clinical Trials/Clinical Guidelines • The Community Guide • [http://www.thecommunityguide.org/] • ClinicalTrials.gov • [http://clinicaltrials.gov/] • CMA Infobase (Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines) • [http://mdm.ca/CPGSNEW/CPGS/index.asp]

21. Searching for Grey Literature in the Medical Field • Databases/Evidence-Based Recommendations • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews • Research DatabasesCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews • Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials • Research DatabasesCochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials • Cochrane Health Promotion and Public Health Field • http://www.ph.cochrane.org/en/index.html

22. Grey Literature in Action!Colorectal Cancer • role of calcium and Vitamin D in preventing colorectal cancer • Proquest • Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada • National Cancer Institute • World Health Organization • ClinicalTrials.org • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews • Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials

28. Grey Literature in Action!Colorectal Cancer: Reports/Registries/Associations • Alberta Cancer Registry • American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR): Diet & Cancer • World Cancer Research Fund • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) • Union of International Associations

29. Grey Literature in Action! Search Exercise: Breast Cancer • Mammography Utilization in Canadian Women Aged 50 to 69.

30. Sources of Information • Proquest Dissertations & Theses • Canadian Cancer Registry • Canadian Cancer Society • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials

31. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6VqCgNGvmn7TTY4oYS1Qvw_3d_3dhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=6VqCgNGvmn7TTY4oYS1Qvw_3d_3d

32. The End • This concludes today’s session. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you! • Yongtao Lin • E-mail: yolin@ucalgary.ca • Phone: 521-3285 • Marcus Vaska • E-mail: mmvaska@ucalgary.ca • Phone: 220-5319