This is a quick reference for finding grey literature in medicine & health fields.
When conducting evidence synthesis such as systematic or scoping reviews, incorporating grey literature into the search strategy can help ensure comprehensiveness and minimise bias.
A grey area
Grey literature often requires searching in a range of sources, depending on the type of resource you are trying to find.
There may be resources beyond this guide that are useful for your topic area.
Consider the organisations, departments or groups that would be publishing information related to your field.
Key grey literature resources
Here are examples of Australian government departments and organisations which provide grey literature resources:
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Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (AIHW)Australia's national agency for information and statistics on Australia's health and welfare.
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Department of Health, Disability and Ageing topicsHealth, ageing and sport information from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing organised into topic areas.
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National Centre for Immunisation Research & SurveillanceNCIRS aims to inform policy and planning for immunisation services in Australia and to support initiatives in the surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases, including disease surveillance, vaccine coverage and immunisation adverse events.
Here are examples of international organisations and repositories which provide grey literature resources:
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WHO | IRISIRIS is the World Health Organisation's Institutional Repository for Information Sharing. The database provides access to all World Health Organisation publications.
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World Bank documents & reportsCollection of more than 181,463 World Bank operational documents and working papers. Includes international health and related disciplines.
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International HTA DatabaseProvides access to bibliographic information about ongoing and published health technology assessments commissioned or undertaken by HTA organisations from around the world. A valuable source for identifying grey literature as much of the information it contains is only available directly from individual funding agencies.
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OECD publications This link opens in a new windowProvides access to an extensive range of books, journals, working papers, podcasts, reports, policy briefs, statistics and data across 17 thematic collections including economics, industry, education, agriculture and more. With global coverage across over 100 OECD member countries, the content is particularly useful in the areas of international economics, development, and global governance, aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Global Health Observatory (GHO)Guide to health and health-related epidemiological and statistical information available from the World Health Organization. Health statistics for the 194 WHO Member States, based on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Grey literature by type
Databases that include trials
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Cochrane Library This link opens in a new windowIncludes the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), a rich database of bibliographic reports of randomized controlled trials. CENTRAL compiles RCT records from PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, clinicaltrials.gov and the WHO ICTRP based on specific searches.
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EMBASE This link opens in a new windowThis major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexes international journals in the following relevant fields: drug research, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, and public health. Includes trial records from ClinicalTrials.gov.
Trial registers
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Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR)An online public registry of clinical trials. The ANZCTR is the only Primary Registry in the WHO Registry Network in Australia/New Zealand.
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ClinicalTrials.govUS National Library of Medicine database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world.
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International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP)Aims to provide a single point of access to information about ongoing and completed clinical trials from around the world.
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Dimensions This link opens in a new windowA linked research data platform that includes research publications, funding information, clinical trials, datasets, patents and policy documents. Select ‘Policy documents’ after searching.
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Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO)Current and historical policy and reports.
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Scopus This link opens in a new windowBroad coverage of scientific, technical, medical and social science literature. Select 'Preprints' after running a search.
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Web of science This link opens in a new windowA large multidisciplinary database and citation index with a strong focus on science and technology disciplines. Select 'Preprint Citation index' to search preprints.
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PubMed This link opens in a new windowWidely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. Includes MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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EMBASE This link opens in a new windowThis major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexes international journals in the following relevant fields: drug research, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, and public health.
Psychological tests and measurement tools are either published or unpublished. Many published tools are proprietary and require purchase from the test publisher.
The School of Psychology does have a Test Library that is available to Psychology Master coursework and PhD students as well as to qualified staff from the school. Please note that the Test Library is not part of the UNSW Library.
You can also try searching in databases such as:
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PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowCovers professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines. Includes PsycARTICLES and PsycBOOKS from the American Psychological Association (APA).
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CINAHL: cumulative index to nursing and allied health literature This link opens in a new windowThe definitive reference tool covering journal literature for nursing and allied health disciplines.
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PubMed This link opens in a new windowWidely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. Includes MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
More grey literature sources
Tip: Make Google search smarter
Google advanced search allows you to search by domain, file type, and other beneficial limits for searching grey literature.
For example, to find grey literature available from Australian government websites in PDF format:
- Enter relevant keywords for your topic
- Then add .gov.au to the domain field and select the pdf file type.
Explore further sources
Grey matters is a searchable and extensive list of grey literature sources developed by The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).
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