LibGuides: Graduate Research In Education: Grey Literature

What is Grey Literature?

Grey Literature is all of the research that has been done that is not published in a peer-reviewed journal or book. In education, grey literature is often data sets, statistics, assessment results, dissertations and conference proceedings. It can also include brochures, lesson plans, personal communication, and much more. Grey literature is important for in-depth study and research.

Places to Search for Grey Literature in Education Research

ERIC
ERIC is a great place to search for grey literature. ERIC includes many types of research, including conference proceedings, dissertations, brochures, lesson plans, grant reports, government documents, and more.

National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics is the primary federal entity for collecting data related to education. Using this resource, you can find data sets, assessment data, survey data, and much more.
What Works Clearinghouse
A government-funded resource for best practices research in education.
ODU Digital Commons
Use the ODU Digital Commons as a gateway to search across all bepress repositories. This is a good way to search for student research, dissertations, and open access publications that may not appear in commercial databases.
Google Scholar
Grey literature can be found by doing a Google Scholar search, however it is sometimes more difficult to sift through than some of the other sites. There will also be duplication between what you find in Google Scholar and what you find in other places. Check out our help guide for Google Scholar for search tips! http://guides.lib.odu.edu/googlescholar

LearnTechLib
EdITLib contains research on topics related to educational technology. In addition to peer-reviewed articles, it includes many conference proceedings and dissertations.

Open Grey
Open Grey is a European database that includes technical and research reports, dissertations, conference papers, and other types of grey literature.

Dissertations

Dissertations & Theses @ ODU
1861 - Present (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Allows you to access the citations and abstracts of all ODU student dissertations and theses, as well as the full text in PDF format, when available.

Dissertations can be a great source for looking at methodologies, up and coming research, and to find comprehensive bibliographies.

Open Access Theses & Dissertations
OpenThesis
WorldCat
Search for dissertations in WorldCat by typing in your topic, then limiting results to Dissertations using the options on the left-hand side. Request what you need through ODU Libraries' Interlibrary Loan.