GGR305: Biogeography

Grey literature is any information that has not been published through traditional means and can include reports, working papers, newsletters, government documents, speeches, white papers, urban plans, and so on. It is often excluded from large databases and other mainstream sources.

Grey literature can also mean information that is hard to find as it is often produced by government and intergovernmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industry professionals to store information and report on activities, either for their own use or wider sharing and distribution, and without the delays and restrictions of commercial and academic publishing. For that reason, grey literature can be more current than literature in scholarly journals.

However, because grey literature (usually) does not go through a peer review process, the quality can vary a great deal. Be sure to critically evaluate your source.

To find grey literature try to think of who would be publishing this information. Consider think tanks, government agencies, non-profits, professional associations, research institutes, and other organizations, based on the research you have already done.

Paper distribution of the Government of Canada publications ceased in April 2014. Canadian federal government Information is now available in electronic format only. Many Canadian provincial and municipal government information is also available on the internet. Use the Google custom search box above as a place to start and also take a look at the Canadian Government Information Research Guide and the Foreign Government Information Research Guide

There is some grey literature in Google Scholar — mainly theses and dissertations in institutional repositories. Be sure to access Google Scholar via the Library's website to ensure you see the "Where can I get this?" links that will take you to the full text the University of Toronto offers.