Looking for comprehensive evidence to strengthen your research?

Grey literature — such as government reports, theses, and conference papers — plays a crucial role in systematic and scoping reviews by providing additional sources of information not typically found in academic journals.

Join this workshop to learn how to identify, access, and effectively incorporate grey literature into your research.

What will we cover?  

1. Sources for grey literature  
2. Purpose and value of grey literature
3. Search strategies for grey literature
4. Harvesting and managing search results
5. Evaluating search results

In this workshop, we will explore strategies for searching websites that are not easily accessible through standard search methods. We will also demonstrate website scraping techniques and how to search a database using its API.

Who can attend?

• Researchers and research master’s students

How can you prepare for the workshop?

• Select a published systematic or scoping review that includes a search for grey literature.

• Create a search summary of the review, including:

  • The process: How were grey literature sources identified?
  • The sources: What grey literature sources were used (e.g., reports, theses, conference papers)?
  • The search strategy: Describe the strategy for at least one source, including search terms, databases, and the number of references.

This exercise will help you understand how grey literature is integrated into research and contribute to a more focused workshop discussion.

Questions?

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or specific topics you’d like covered!:  norma.foetsch@ru.nl