Grey literature is material not published commercially or indexed by major databases. It includes information produced by government, business, academia, not-for-profits, and industry.
Grey literature complements published literature. It can be important in systematic reviews if negative studies are not being published. Grey literature such as conference abstracts or posters and theses can provide information on in-process work. Some types of studies such as audits and quality improvement studies may not be attractive to commercial publishers but can provide information on local contexts and populations.
As with all sources of information it is important to appraise the quality and applicability of grey literature reports using verified assessment tools. Grey Literature in the CareSearch database has not being reviewed prior to inclusion to capture as much 'hard to find' literature as possible. So, it is important that users consider the quality and applicability of retrieved database items. AACODS is a widely supported approach to evaluation and appraisal of grey literature. The AACODS checklist was created by Flinders University Medical Library specifically for the evaluation of grey literature. AACODS stands for:
A - Authority
A - Accuracy
C - Coverage
O - Objectivity
D - Date
S - Significance
Page created 13 May 2019