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.

For a more comprehensive list of what constitutes grey literature, see this list from GreyNET.

ODU Library Databases

Academic Search Complete
1887 - present (Restricted to VIVA/ODU)
Provides a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary database with full-text and peer-reviewed journals as well as indexing and abstracts for monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887 and searchable cited references for nearly 1,000 journals.
COVE (Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education)
Coverage varies (Restricted to ODU)
COVE (Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education) is a scholar-driven open-access platform that publishes both peer-reviewed material and student projects. It functions as more of an instructional tool than a data source. Read or annotate unpublished but “vetted” and pre-formatted primary material. You can also upload your own texts for annotation. It provides a safe, password protected space where you and your students can annotate texts for class or publication.
The COVE FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) can be found here. And, the Teacher Guide can be found here.
ERIC (EBSCOhost)
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.

Federal Education Resources

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
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.

Virginia Education Policy

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)
SCHEV is the state's coordinating body for higher education. It makes public policy recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly.
Virginia Department of Education
VDOE is the administrative agency for the commonwealth's public schools. Their site contains data, policy, standards, guidelines, and more.

Centers, Institutes, and Other Organizations

Center for Child and Family Policy
Provided by Duke University, CCFP studies outcomes for child outcomes, tests interventions, and provides research and education on child and family-related topics.
Consortium for Policy Research in Education
CPRE brings together education experts from a variety of institutions to provide knowledge and research that informs education policy.
Educational Policy Institute
A non-profit, non-partisan think tank that exists to inform policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders on issues related to educational opportunity and equity.
Education Commission of the States Policy Tracker
ECS is a nonprofit that tracks education policy. Users can search and browse by state, and can access PDFs of policy.
Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan think tank that conducts public polling, demographic research, content analysis, and other social science research.

Websites and Open Access Resources

Consortium for Policy Research in Education Scholarly Commons
Repository for scholarly, peer-reviewed research provided by CPRE.
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
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.
Open Grey
Open Grey is a European database that includes technical and research reports, dissertations, conference papers, and other types of grey literature.

Dissertations and Theses

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

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.

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.