<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
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Tuesday, April 06, 2004  

Gray Literature: Resources for Locating Unpublished Research by Brian S. Mathews
http://snipurl.com/5i3b

Gray or grey literature has long been considered the proverbial needle in the haystack. It is commonly defined as any documentary material that is not commercially published and is typically composed of technical reports, working papers, business documents, and conference proceedings. The greatest challenges involved with these items are the process of identification, since there is limited indexing, and acquisition, since availability is usually marred with uncertainty. Added to this is the absence of editorial control, raising questions about authenticity and reliability. Yet despite these considerations, gray literature is continually referenced in scholarly articles and dissertations and therefore remains an issue that academic librarians must contend with. While the search for these eclectic materials is not new, the development of the Web has increased opportunities. Gray literature is now freely available on many Web sites and is selectively indexed by numerous commercial database vendors. Many organizations and individuals are also providing access to their works online. While all these factors present a new optimism, they also raise expectations that everything is available quickly, if not instantly, creating unrealistic perceptions.

Included in this section are Web sites that aid in understanding the nature of gray literature as well as various search tools. The focus is upon freely available resources that offer some full-text coverage. While the majority of these selections concentrate upon scientific and technical literature, other resources have been included to illustrate the wide range and variation of gray literature. This will be added to Academic Resources 2004 Internet MiniGuide and has been added to Research Resources Subject Tracer™ Information Blog and Deep Web Research Subject Tracer&trade' Information Blog. [ [C&RL News, March 2004 Vol. 65, No. 3 ]

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:05 AM
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