"That which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers." (Fourth International Conference on Grey Literature, Washington, DC, October, 1999)
Gray literature includes:
Conference papers and proceedings can be very difficult to find because they:
Government documents are an important primary source of information on a wide range of issues. They can be found through a search of the library catalog and government websites.
Research reports contain the results of research projects, investigations, and surveys, and are usually published by the funder or the body undertaking the research.
They can be found by searching the websites of subject associations and research organizations, in addition to the library catalog and databases.