USP 301 - Introduction to Community Development: Organization Research
What is Grey Literature?
Watch this two-minute video for a brief introduction to grey literature from Western University.
Government and Other Grey Literature Sources
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IssueLabContains free access to case studies, evaluations, white papers, annual reports, issue briefs, and numerous other materials addressing the world's social problems that include aging, crime and safety, government reports, nonprofit and philanthropy, race and ethnicity, and transportation.
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GPO MetaLibSearches multiple U.S. Federal Government databases that retrieve reports, articles, and citations while providing direct links to selected resources available online.
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Index to Current Urban DocumentsContains reports generated by local government agencies, civic organizations, and metropolitan and regional planning agencies for major cities in the United States and Canada.
Urban Studies Databases
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Urban Studies AbstractsProvides indexing and abstracts for urban affairs, community development, and urban history. Some additional content may be freely available during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Related Guides
Community-based Grey Literature
In researching the community organization, you will want to find a variety of sources. You will want to read information produced by the organization itself. Examples of such information are:
- newsletters
- email blasts
- annual reports
- other publications available via an organization's website.
You might also want to look for any reports about the organization's work in local news sources. The Newspapers box on this page provides some resources to discover local news.
Finally, consider conducting research about any social problems the organization purports so address or solve. Information on social problems can often be found in the research literature, but also in grey literature. Reports and white papers from government task forces or think tanks will support this research. See the links in the Government and Other Grey Literature Sources box as starting points.
Newspapers
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Ethnic NewswatchIncludes current newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and community publications of the ethnic, minority, and native presses. Includes scholarly journals on ethnicities and ethnic studies. Provides full text in English and Spanish.
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Independent VoicesThis is an open access digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals.
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Newspaper SourceProvides selected full text of regional and national newspapers in the U.S., as well as international newspapers. Also contains television and radio news transcripts.
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U.S. Major DailiesProvides full text access to: The Chicago Tribune (1985-present), The Los Angeles Times (1985-present), The New York Times (1980-present), The Wall Street Journal (1984-present), and The Washington Post (1987-present). Closed captions are available. Interactive transcripts are available for many, but not all, titles.
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Google NewsSearches newspapers, newsfeeds, and other sources. Check out the advanced Google search techniques.