GreyLit

J. Conrad Dunagan Library: Grey [or Gray] Literature

This page is heavily based on Gray Literature: Resources for Locating Unpublished Research which appeared in College and Research Libraries News, March 2004, pp. 125-128. [links updated, 6 July 2007]

[Gray literature] is commonly defined as any documentary material that is not commercially published and is typically composed of technial reports, working papers, and conference proceedings. The greatest challenges . . . are the process of identificaltion, . . . . Added to this is the absence of editorial control, raising questions about authenticity and reliability. Yet despite these considerations, gray literature is continually referenced in scholarly articles and dissertations and therefore remains an issue [in scholarly communication].

Included in this [page] are Web sites that aid in understanding the nature of gray literature as well as various search tools. The focus is upon freely available resources that offer some full-text coverage. . . .

About Grey Literature

The Role of Grey Literature in the Sciences: a concise overview of grey literature; also iimpact of grey literature on sciences
TextRelease: Grey Literature Program and Conference Bureau: provides information about the International Conference on Grey Literature

Directories

NY Academy of Medicine: Grey Literature Page: focuses on grey literature resources from the medical field
Virtual Technical Reports Central: University of Maryland Libraries; offers a large listing of grey literature-producing institutions; along with technical reports also offers some pre-prints, reprints, and e-prints

Scientific and Technical Reports: Government Resources

Agricultural Online Access (AGRICOLA): a database administered by the National Agricultural Library; provides access to records of articles, chapters, reports, and reprints on all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines
Energy Citations Database (ECD): designed by the Department of Energy; covers the areas of physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science; provides limited full-text; indexes books, articles, reports, and conference papers back to 1948
GrayLIT Network: provides information on technical reports generated through federally funded research; a meta-search portal the site includes archives from the Defense Department reports collection, the DOE Information Bridge, EPA Reports, and a selection of NASA reports
NASA Technical Reports Server: a search tool which provides comprehensive access to the numerous NASA report archives; site provides indexing back to 1917 as well as some full-text coverage
NTIS: National Technical Information Service: comprehensive resource for federally funded scientific, engineering and business-related information; indexes over 2 million publications back to 1990; some full-text access
Scientific Network and Information Network (STINET): access to citations of unclassified defense research; many avaialbe in full-text; indexing back to 1974
Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS Online): 500,000 records in transportation-related fields; sources include books and articles as well as some full-text research studies, technical reports, and conference papers
U.S. Patent Database: provides full-image access to all U.S.-granted patents back to 1790; full-text searching back to 1976; full-text of published applications

Other Scientific and Technical Report Resources

CiteSeer: Scientific Literature Digital Library: site aim is the improvement of the distribution of scientific literature; indexes over 600,000 full-text documents; includes features which allow for citation analysis, reference linking, awareness tracking, and more
METReS: UK-based; MAGIC Engineering Technical Reports Service [METReS] a collaborative system for the collection, storage, and use of engineering grey literature; has a citation database of over 220,000 international technical reports; also gathers and organizes relevant news feeds
MathSearch: access to more than 200,000 documents on academic mathematics and statistics; includes the full-text of some technical reports, working papers, etc.
Spires High-Energy Physics (HEP) Database: comprehensively indexes over 500,000 articles, papers, pre-prints, and technical reports; most of the materials are available in full-text; coverage extends back to 1974

Information Technology Reports and Resources

HP Labs Technical Reports: provides access to technical reports authored by HP researchers; indexing back to 1990 with high proportion of full-text materials
IBM Research: Technical Paper Search: provides access to article citations and technical reports authored by the IBM Research community; indexing back to 1987; some full-text materials
Microsoft Research: Technical Reports Apple Developer Connection: each site provides access to computer science publications, technical reports, and projects authored by Microsoft researchers or Apple researchers
Networked Computer Science Technical Library (NCSTRL): accesses an international collection of computer science research reports and papers; database is designed for education use and is a collaborative effort between academic, industrial, and government research laboratories
ZDNet Whitepapers: provides a full-text digital library of technical white papers, Webcasts, and case studies on various IT-related topics; site requires a free registration to view materials

Miscellaneous Resources

Clinical Medicine and Health Research NetPrints: provides access to a full-text archive for medical researchers to post their completed clinical studies
Cogprints.org: self-archive which provides material relevant to the study of cognition in the areas of biology, psychology, linguistics and philosophy; site includes full-text access to articles, chapters, technical reports, and conference papers
E-Print Network: a meta-search engine for scientific e-print resources; enables federated searching of more than 30 major databases and servers
GNU E-Prints Archvies: provides a listing of more than 100 online archives using e-print software, including many academic institutions
GreyNet Listserve: international moderated list which seeks to facilitate dialog and communication between persons and organisations in the field of grey literature; in addition to the electronic lists the site includes information about the International Conference Series on Grey Literature

Page Created: 12 July 2007
Page Created: 24 March 2004
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