Applying Systematic Review Search Methods to the Grey Literature (Case Study)

the Environmental Sciences LibGuide at the University of Ottawa  emphasizes the importance of establishing a search strategy at the outset, not only when consulting databases, but when perusing grey literature as well: "searching for grey literature is complex and the number of results one retrieves can be overwhelming if you have not set strict parameters from the get-go." (Langlois, 2017).

The following case study on school-based breakfast programs in Canada exemplify Langlois' statement.

Comments

  1. Dean GiustiniMay 21, 2017 at 10:41 AM

    The UOttawa subject guide and the Godin et al (2015) article are terrifically informative. What I think is important for me as a takeaway, and as a Canadian grey literature specialist, is that it is very important to search for and identify/locate grey literature in two phases: 1) to determine the approximate size of the relevant grey literature and 2) to locate relevant local, provincial and federal (i.e., Canadian!) information to inform research. Then, estimate the time it will take to search for grey literature, determine the costs associated with that searching, and determine the best approach in conjunction with the research team.

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  2. Marcus VaskaMay 23, 2017 at 9:24 AM

    Thank you Dean for your comments. I do like the 2-phased approach you've proposed for tackling grey literature requests - certainly applicable for the searches I receive. A number of times, I've been asked to look into the applicability of a certain tool/standard introduced in health care to a cancer-specific setting (i.e. RE-AIM framework). The article citations received from the mainstream databasescertainly mention and/or reference the framework, but it's often the grey literature that actually contains a copy of the tool used (especially, I find, when limiting to Canadian studies)

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