What is “gray” literature?
Gray literature is generally material for professional or lay audiences that is often difficult to find because it is disseminated outside the traditional peer-reviewed journal or scholarly book. Librarians have called this literature “ephemeral” or “fugitive” because it often appears only fleetingly. Materials include conference papers, research reports, policy statements, standards, newsletters, magazines, newspapers, brochures, fact sheets, annual reports and more.This literature is diverse, ranging from brief consumer education materials to very substantive, rigorously researched, and lengthy documents. Some are peer reviewed and some are not. The work of many researchers is found in gray literature well in advance of any formal, peer-reviewed publication. Some researchers do not submit their work to scholarly publications; consequently, the results of their research can be found only in the gray literature.
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