"Grey literature" means documents that are not formally published books or articles. It typically means reports by governments, non-profit advocacy/foundation groups, and the like, but in education can also mean lesson plans, curriculum standards, and other direct teaching materials.
Finding grey literature:
- Canadian government reports:
- Use the Canadian government Google Custom Search Engine maintained by the librarians at Carleton University
- Council of Ministers of Education, Canada - has links to all provincial education departments, as well as numerous publications in full text
- ERIC
- The ERIC database's "ED" items are primarily grey literature. In the limiter box "Journal or Documents", limit to "Documents" (primarily US-produced items). Many recent ED items are available online with full text.
- For older items: the Library has ED microfiche from May 1994 to 2004 (when the series ended). Ask at the services desk for help accessing it. For microfiche from April 1994 or earlier, use Interlibrary Loan and include the ED# in the "notes" field.
- US Department of Education's "What Works Clearinghouse" has hundreds of "best practice" reports based on scientific evidence
- Canadian Teachers' Federation - numerous reports and position papers, primarily about the conditions of teachers as employees, some areas restricted to members only
- Google - aside from the materials above, you may have luck finding grey literature using regular Google. Check the credentials of the sources carefully. Ask a librarian if you need help figuring out whether a source is suitable for your research.
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