- University of Michigan Library
- Research Guides
- Grey Literature
- Strategies for Finding Grey Literature
Grey Literature
What's on this page
This page provides strategies for finding grey literature. Grey literature is an important part of the evidence base for health services research but can be difficult to search in a systematic way. You'll find three core strategies for identifying this type of content. See the Grey Literature Research Guide for many other resources
#1 Going directly to organization l #2 Searching Portals Aggregating Grey Literature | #3 Google Advanced Searches
Strategy #2: Portals
Below are some resources that can help you identify organizations and/or search directly for grey literature.
- Overton.io This link opens in a new windowProvides the world’s largest collection of policy documents, guidelines, think tank publications and working papers.
- Dimensions Plus This link opens in a new windowBrings together various research-related data sources, such as grant information, books, journal articles, conference proceedings, and patents.
- Grey Literature Producing OrganizationsA list of grey literature producing organizations from the New York Academy of Medicine.
- Kennedy School of Government Think Tank SearchSearches more than 700 think tanks and research centers. searches the websites of institutions that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity. These sites are affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and businesses.
- NLM Digital CollectionsNational Library of Medicine's free online repository of biomedical resources including books, manuscripts, still images, videos, and maps. The content in Digital Collections is freely available worldwide and, unless otherwise indicated, in the public domain.
- Policy Atlas (Harvard Catalyst)Helps identify data sources that can be used for your policy-relevant research or to discover new sources for health data
- Policy CommonsPolicy Commons provides more than 2.8 million+ policy reports, briefs, analyses, and datasets from IGOs, NGOs, and think tanks.
Strategy #3: Google Advanced Searches
Google offers a great way to track down grey literature resources. Use the advanced search limits below to focus your search.
Limit to a domain:
- site:org
- site:gov
- site:com
Find Related Sites:
- related:urban.org
Limit to filetype:
- filetype:pdf (or doc, ppt)
Search for words in a URL:
- inurl:rand.org
Search for sites that link to site of interest:
- link to:academyhealth.org
Find quick information about a site:
- info:kff.org
Strategy #1: Going Directly to Organization's Website
Below are some top non-governmental organizations & federal agencies working in the health sciences. Since there is a seemingly endless number of organizations that produce grey literature, searching portals & using Google Advanced searches to identify names can be an effective way to find grey literature when you don't know where to begin.