Grey literature refers to any information that is not commercially published, and can include a wide range of material types, such as:
Knowing where to search for grey literature can be challenging. There are a variety of suggestions in the following library guide from Simon Fraser University: Grey literature: What it is & how to find it.
A good approach is to be strategic and target where appropriate grey sources might be located. For example, if you know of any government agencies, non-profits, professional associations, research institutes, and other organisations that may be producing content relevant to your topic, you may wish to search their website for any publications and reports.
Searching for grey literature will likely involve the use of a search engine such as Google, so it will be important for you to critically evaluate sources before including them in your research. For some tips on avoiding fake news and the spread of misinformation, review the information included in this guide about identifying Fake News.
For example, if I'm looking at the impact of food banks on food security in Canada, a Google search on food security food banks canada brings up many results, but I need to assess whether any of the results include credible grey literature. Here's an example of an annual report produced by Food Banks Canada, a national charitable organization that represents and supports more than 3,000 food banks and community agencies across Canada.
Also, review your course syllabus for grey literature sources, as your instructor may have identified some key grey literature sources related to the course content.
Canadian Community Health Survey (2020)
The CCHS is a cross-sectional survey that collects information related to health status, health care utilization and health determinants for the Canadian population. It includes information on a wide range of topics, including alcohol consumption, chronic health conditions, fruit and vegetable consumption, general health, use of health services, height and weight, injuries, physical activity, restriction of activities and smoking. It also provides information on the socio-demographic characteristics, the income and the labour force characteristics of the population.
To access previous years, click on previous release. To access the tabular data, or to customize the data by sex, geography, age, income or education, click on tables.
How Healthy Are Canadians? Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016
This report from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) seeks to determine the level of health of Canadians. To do so, we looked at whether progress on main health indicators has been achieved in the last 10 to 15 years.
This report is structured primarily around the four major "physical" chronic diseases included in the WHO Global Plan of Action, four risk factors (smoking tobacco, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating and harmful use of alcohol) and two risk conditions (obesity and hypertension).
Preventing and Managing Chronic Disease in First Nations Communities: A GUIDANCE FRAMEWORK Indigenous Service Canada, 2018
This Framework provides direction on objectives and actions to improve health outcomes. It identifies opportunities to improve the access of individuals, families, and communities to appropriate, culturally-relevant services and supports, based on their needs, at any point along the wellness to chronic disease health continuum.
Report from the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Canada Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018
This report describes the occurrence of asthma and COPD in Canada as identified through the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (CCDSS) from 2000-2001 to 2011-2012. The purpose of this report is to illustrate the burden of asthma and COPD in the Canadian population by reporting the prevalence, incidence, and mortality of these chronic respiratory diseases. Comorbidity with four other major chronic diseases and conditions is also reported.
Health at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators OECD, 2019
Health at a Glance compares key indicators for population health and health system performance across OECD members, candidate and partner countries. It highlights how countries differ in terms of the health status and health-seeking behaviour of their citizens; access to and quality of health care; and the resources available for health.