When you think of research publications, you probably imagine conventional publications such as peer-reviewed journal articles and stacks of thick textbooks. However, thousands of pages of research are published every year that never make it into these publications. Have you heard of grey literature? Grey literature is the term for information published outside of conventional channels. It can include reports from organizations and government agencies or the grants they have funded, dissertations and theses, clinical trials registries, and more. Grey literature can play an important role in research by contributing data or information which might not appear in conventional publications, including small but promising studies or studies that have negative results.

As you search the REHABDATA database, you may find these included in your search results. Our collection includes more than 20,000 publications which can fall into the grey literature category. The Original Research collection consists primarily of reports, guides, manuals, and other papers generated by NIDILRR-funded studies over more than 40 years. It also includes material produced by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations or the grants they fund. Doctoral dissertations and masters theses are included in here, too. Don’t pass them by too quickly! They could add value to your background research or literature reviews (and don’t forget to properly cite what you find).

Some tips for searching NARIC for grey literature:

• Original Research items are indexed in REHABDATA with Accession Numbers that begin with the letter O, like O20675, a report that presents information from a NIDILRR-funded study that aimed to gauge the workforce development issues for direct support professionals (DSPs) in the state of New York through multi-method analysis.
• Use the REHABDATA Advanced Search page to search for final reports, technical reports, dissertations, or other types of grey literature.
• You can also start a search in the Program Database for current and completed NIDILRR-funded projects – each record includes a list of publications we’ve indexed.
• Contact an information specialist for help in exploring REHABDATA!

Are you looking for more grey literature sources? Try these databases:

• Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) includes thousands of reports, briefs, and other research related publications.
• The World Health Organization and its partner agencies and organizations publish reports, guides, guidelines, and much more.
• The ERIC database focuses on research and development in education. This collection includes many reports, dissertations, manuals, and other grey literature.
• The National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials (NCRTM) focuses on employment and vocational rehabilitation research and development, and includes many reports, guides, manuals, and other examples of grey literature.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed research, such as statistical reports, guidelines, and research summaries.
• OpenGrey.eu houses information on grey literature published in the European Union, with more than 700,000 records currently indexed.

We strongly recommend working with a librarian to explore grey literature resources. Your local public, university, or medical library will have access to subscription databases, as well as open sources, and can help you expand or narrow your search to find just the research information you’re looking for.