Grey Literature

To locate conferences try searching: 

• Key organisations or association websites  
• Web search for topic e.g. :megafauna (conference OR symposium OR meeting OR congress OR convention)  
• Conference directories e.g. AllConferences.com 

Conduct a topic database search and limited to conferences  

Many databases contain citations of conference papers. Here are some suggestions.  

Tip: Limit results to conferences  

ACM Digital Library  

Includes the complete collection of Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) publications - journals, conference proceedings, magazines, newsletters, and multimedia titles. Also applicable to Humanities topics including a computational/statistical analysis component.  

IEEE Xplore   

Full text access to scientific and technical content published by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and its publishing partners. Includes journals, conference proceedings, standards and books.  

Informit Search   

Multidisciplinary content including health, engineering, business, education, law, humanities and social sciences. Searches 95 databases covering a wide range of topics including health, engineering, business, education, law, humanities and social sciences.Sourced from publishers, associations and peak professional bodies and aggregated in full text, bibliographic and media databases. 
 
Informit Search Help  

A multidisciplinary database which includes coverage of arts, business, education, health, history, literature and language, science and technology and the social sciences.

Scopus   

Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature including scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Focus is on the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.  

Sociological Abstracts   

Covers international literature of sociology and related disciplines in social and behavioral sciences. Can limit to peer reviewed.  

Web of Science   

Web of Science is a multidisciplinary index to the journal literature of the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Web of Science searches the following indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (CPCI-S), Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Current Chemical Reactions (CCR-EXPANDED), Index Chemicus (IC).

Trove

• Go to the Advanced search page.
• Enter your search terms.

1. Select the Thesis option from the Format menu.

2.          From the results page you can see the theses under Books. Select view ... results to see all your results.

3.          Many of the theses are available online. Select the View online option to find the fulltext.

Find help: How to find original Australian research in Trove

Proquest

1. Go to the Advanced search page.

2. Enter your search terms

3. Select the source type Dissertations & Theses

Government and Parliamentary publications typically include; Hansard, government agency annual reports, legislation and regulations.

Specialised websites that hold Government and Parliamentary publications:

GovPubs

The Australian Government Publications Guide details Government publications holdings in Australian State libraries, and is maintained by the National Library of Australia (http://www.nla.gov.au/govpubs/)

Australian Federal Government Publications

Australian Government agencies regularly release a number of publications including:

Annual reports

·     Australian Government gazettes

·     Budget statements

·     Commonwealth legislation

·     Parliamentary publications

·     Style manual

·     Government publishing

You can search for current government publications on the websites of individual agencies (https://www.australia.gov.au/about-government/publications)

Non-Government Reports and Publications

Trove

Trove, an initiative of the National Library of Australia, connects content from libraries, galleries, archives, museums, and other research and collecting organisations and repositories across Australia.

Trove's collections are divided into the following categories:

Digitised newspapers

·     Government Gazettes

·     Digitised newspapers

·     Journals, articles and data sets

·     Books

·     Pictures, photos, objects

·     Music, sound and video

·     Maps

·     Diaries, letters, archives

·     Archived websites (1996 - now)

·     People and organisations

·     Lists

A more comprehensive list of partners who contribute To Trove's collections can be accessed via Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/system/counts

Clearing Houses

Clearing houses are repositories for literature organised by a wide range of bodies with the main collective aim of providing a service or access to a collection of literature, data or works. These collecting groups can include (and are not limited to) individuals, libraries, universities, not-for-profits, governments, and more.

 You can use your search engine to help you discover clearing houses.

Try this search:

“[your broad subject area] and Clearinghouse”

Typing in “Archaeology and clearinghouse” returned the following result:

https://archaeologyeducationclearinghouse.wordpress.com/ (accessed 26/6/2018)

This clearing house’s mission statement describes their clearinghouse as:

The AEC is an affiliation of professional archaeological not-for-profit organizations and agencies whose goals are:

To facilitate the sharing of educational resources, skills, and expertise to those publics engaged in interpreting, educating about, and otherwise exploring past human lifeways.

To advocate for, and generate public stewardship of, our endangered cultural resources.

Google Scholar

You cannot rely on Google Scholar alone for your grey literature search, however, it is a very powerful addition to your grey literature arsenal. Google scholar will return grey literature results and peer review paid subscription journal results.

Using Google Advanced Searching

Search engines or search boxes on government and nongovernment websites may not yield the results are are expecting or hoping to see. There can be a number of reasons for this; however, it is often because the website was not specifically designed for efficient document searching. To increase your accuracy and get the most out of a document search, you can use Google Advanced Search to restrict your results to specific websites, file types and more. 

PDF is one of the most common formats of Grey Literature documentation. 

1.   Go to Google & Type “google advanced search”

2.   Enter your search term in the main section and write PDF in the “file type” section

3.   Click on Search

You can also use google advanced to search within a specific website for publicly available content:

4.   Go to Google & Type “google advanced search”

1. Enter your search term in the main section and enter the website you wish to search in the “site or domain” section
2. Click on Search

You can also add operator stings to the above searches own search topics.

For example: site:health.gov.au filetype:pdf (wellbeing OR well being) (elderly OR senior OR "older adults")

Statistics

Statistics are an important source of data and can be found in a multitude of places. 

When looking for statistics on a particular topic your first port of call should be specific institutions and organisations relating to that topic. 

e.g. If looking for information on international health statistics you should look at the World Health Organisation and the World Bank

Watch the video: Finding Statistics

Australian Statistics

ABS other agencies guide links to other Statistical Agencies & related sites - compiled by the ABS

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (select publications as topic)

Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources contains statistics on food - Search publications

Australian Department of Education (search documents - includes statistics on higher education)

Australian Department of Employment links to statistics on employment and the Australian job market

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade links to trade statistics

Australian Department of Home Affairs links to migration and population statistics

Australian Department of Industry and Science

Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

Australian Education International includes statistics on international students

Australian Government Actuary includes life tables available under publications tab

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare includes statistics on Australian health related topics

Reserve Bank of Australia includes statistical releases that relate to key data produced by the Bank

Australian Data Archive (ADA) holds over 6000 datasets from more than 1500 projects and studies from 1838 through until the present day

Key International Statistics

UNECE Statistical Database: The Statistical Division of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) plays a central role in coordinating international statistical activities between the countries of the UNECE region and beyond.

World Bank: With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.

Trial registries 

• Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR)
  The ANZCTR is an online registry of clinical trials being undertaken in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.
• Clinical Trials.gov (United States)
  ClinicalTrials.gov is a database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world.
• Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
  A bibliographic database that provides a highly concentrated source of reports of randomized controlled trials. Records contain the list of authors, the title of the article, the source, volume, issue, page numbers, and, in many cases, a summary of the article (abstract). Access is not available outside Australia.
• Current Controlled Trials
  Allows users to search, register and share information about randomised controlled trials.
• EU Clinical Trials Register (EU-CTR)
• National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Group
  The NCIC Clinical Trials Group is a cooperative oncology group which carries out clinical trials in cancer therapy, supportive care and prevention across Canada and internationally.
• National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network
  Provides part of the infrastructure that allows high-quality clinical research to take place in the NHS
• WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform
  The main aim of the WHO ICTRP is to facilitate the prospective registration of the WHO Trial Registration Data Set on all clinical trials, and the public accessibility of that information.

Clinical guidelines are acknowledged to be the highest level of evidence in Evidence Based Medicine.  They are defined by the Institute of Medicine (2011) as "statements that include recommendations, intended to optimize patient care, that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options"

Clinical or practice guidelines can be located in many places.  Some suggestions are shown below

Image: Wikimedia Commons/ CFCF CC     

Consensus report, Institute of Medicine. Clinical practice guidelines we can trust. March 23, 2011. http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Clinical-Practice-Guidelines-We-Can-Trust.aspx    

Australian Guidelines

• Australia's Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal (NHMRC)
  This Portal has been developed to help Australian clinicians and policy-makers access clinical practice guidelines via a single entry point. The site links only to Australian clinical practice guidelines.
• Cancer Council Clinical guidelines
• Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Australian Psychiatric Association
• Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) Guidelines
• Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Clinical Guidelines
  The RACGP produces clinical guidelines on a wide range of topics to assist GPs in their work. Also included are links to externally produced guidelines that are endorsed by the RACGP.
• Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Beyond Blue clinical guidelines

International Guidelines

• National Guideline Clearinghouse
  A comprehensive database of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines produced by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (USA), in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
  UK-produced guidelines, advice, quality standards and information services for health, public health and social care.

Canadian Medical Association - Clinical Practice Guidelines

Archives are special, organised collections of unpublished material. Archive is also the term used for the institution holding the collection.

Organisations, companies, and members of the community often donate their own 'archives' to add to the information about social, community and political life that is collected for researchers and future generations.

Archives can be found in government institutions, universities or private organisations.

Public Records: South Australian and Australian archival records 

• State Records of South Australia (SRSA)
  SRSA holds the government archives of South Australia, covering state and local government administration within South Australia. The State Records collection holds many maps, plans, registers, films and photographs, in addition to thousands of documents dating from the earliest days of European settlement to recent times. http://www.archives.sa.gov.au/
  SRSA also houses the South Australian branch of the National Archives of Australia.
• National Archives of Australia (NAA)
  The National Archives of Australia (NAA) can be accessed from each state and territory in Australia.  The local NAA branch in South Australia is physically accessible via State Records of South Australia (SRSA).
• State Library of South Australia (SLSA)  [editing]
  In addition to traditional library resources, the Sate Library of South Australia holds Archival and special collections preserving South Australian heritage and Australiana records, business records, church records state heritage. 
• South Australian Museum (SAM)
  South Australian Governemnt research and collecting institution; holding collections in the Biological Sciences, Humanities, Mineral sciences, Palaeontology, and Information resources including the Ara Iritja project, Library and Archives. http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collections/information-resources
• South Australian Museum Archives 
  The specialised knowledge contained in the Museum’s archives contributes to a better understanding of Indigenous culture, geological diversity and biodiversity.
  http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/collections/information-resources/archives
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) 
  AIATSIS is Australia's largest and most recognised research, collections and publishing organisation of indigenous Australian material. The Collection is includes films, photographs, Audio, audiovisual, print and other resource materials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies. AIATSIS aims to promote and raise awareness of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories.
  https://aiatsis.gov.au 
  • State Records Authority of New South Wales
  • Queensland State Archives
    Use the indexes for easiest access.
  • State Records of Victoria
    Use the indexes and special lists for easiest access.
  • Tasmanian Archives Online
    Use these guides to records for easiest access.
  • State records office of Western Australia

  Archival collections contain unique records and, as a result, access is generally tightly controlled. Archives often have special storage conditions and expert staff to organise and preserve the items and guidelines about what they collect and who can see the material. Locating primary material Librarians and archivists create finding aids in order to provide information about the arrangement, content and context of an archival collection. Many finding aids are available online through the website of the institution where the material is located. Some institutions may have provided detailed information about their archival collections in an online searchable database. Also, institutions can contribute details of their archival holdings to Trove, the National Library of Australia’s single search gateway (in Trove this material is referred to as ‘Diaries, Letters, Archives’).

  National Film and Sound Archive 

  • Collection guides
    Explore Australia's audio-visual heritage and get an overview of the collection with these guides.
  • Basic search
    Explore the collection with a simple keyword, phrase, or subject search.
  • Advanced search
    Filter your simple search by date, format and more.
  • Video collection
    Many films and clips from the NFSA are available to stream via Kanopy.
  • Oral history collection
    Personal recollections of careers in film, TV, radio or recorded sound.
  • Flickr photostream
    Find images from the archive online.
  • NFSA Soundcloud sets
    Find audio recordings from the archive online.
  • Trove 
    An aggregator of content from libraries, museums, archives and other research organisations. Includes digital resources relating to Australia including newspapers, books, photos, maps, diaries, letters, etc.

Public Records

Public records from other state archival authorities 

A patent is a legal document, which is often the first (or only) publication of information on a new area of research. It is a government-granted right to exclude others from exploiting your invention, for a specific time period. It must disclose, in some detail, the nature of the invention. Details disclosed by an existing patent may save you from undertaking unnecessary research.    

Australian Patents 

• IP Australia
  IP Australia provides information on all areas of intellectual property, and will allow you to search databases containing patents.

International Patents 

• United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
  The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows free searching for USA granted patents.
• World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
  A global forum for intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation
• PATENTSCOPE
  Provides access to international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications in full text format on the day of publication, as well as to patent documents of participating national and regional patent offices.
• The Lens
  A not for profit organisation that provides universal access to patent information
• eSpaceNet Patent Search
  Contains patent applications issued by both the European Patent Office (EPO)

"Standards are published documents setting out specifications and procedures designed to ensure products, services and systems are safe, reliable and consistently perform the way they were intended to. They establish a common language which defines quality and safety criteria" (Standards Australia)

Standards can be located through the databases below:

SAI Global 

Full text access to the complete collection of Australian Standards (AS). NOTE: To view/download documents, Standards Australia now require users to register and create an account using your Flinders email address. You will be prompted to register/sign-in when attempting to view/download a standard

IEEE Xplore 

Full text access to scientific and technical content published by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and its publishing partners. Includes journals, conference proceedings, standards and books.

The hidden web

Searching the internet is not as easy as just doing a search in Google.

A significant amount of information on the web is unindexed and cannot be found through standard search engines.  This is known as the deep (hidden or invisible) web.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Ap470 CC

This is not the same as the dark web, used by hackers and criminals.

This hidden information includes: 

• Non-HTML files (PDF files, etc.)
• Databases or archives within websites
• Sites requiring registration or login
• Dynamically created Web pages
• Interactive tools (calculators, etc.)

Hints for accessing hidden information 

• Use research clearinghouses!
• Put the word database or archive in your Google query e.g. megafauna database
• You will get a list of spaces that you can then search within, not the papers itself
• Check websites of key organisations, government departments and institutions
• Academic profiles can contain information and links to unpublished works
• Use a deep web search engine

Research Clearinghouses

Research clearing houses or directories are web spaces created by institutions or organisations to compile information on their area of interest.  These repositories contain a vast wealth of materials and are key to searching grey literature. 

Do a search for your broad topic and the word clearinghouse in Google. e.g. archaeology clearinghouse

Deep Web Search Engines 

• BizNar: Deep Web Business Search
  BizNar targets a range of specially selected databases and search engines for business related resources
• CiteSeerX
  Focused primarily on the literature in computer and information science.
• E-Print Network: Energy, Science, and Technology
  E-prints are scholarly and professional works electronically produced and shared by researchers
• Infoplease
  Databases, electronic journals, almanacs, electronic books, thesaurus, atlas, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, and directories of researchers.
• Internet Archive
  Includes the Wayback Machine containing archived websites, no longer available elsewhere.
• MedNar: Deep Web Medical Search
  Searches for medical resources. Search results include government sites, medical societies and some commercial databases
• The National Security Archive
  This is a non-governmental resource for unclassified security documents
• OAIster
  OAIster is a union catalog of millions of records that represent open access resources. Includes resources housed in academic repositories.
• OpenGrey
  Open access to 700.000 bibliographical references of grey literature (paper) produced in Europe
• Science.gov (USA)
  Searches over 60 databases and over 2200 selected websites for science information and research
• Scitation
  Scitation offers all things physics
• Voice of the shuttle
  A directory for of online resources on literature, the humanities, and cultural studies.
• WolframAlpha
  Aims to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything
• WWW Virtual Library
  The oldest catalogue on the web - categorised into topics