Alajajian 2018

Appraisal of: Alajajian S, Ho T. Optimizing the identification of grey literature: a rapid review. Peel Health Library, Region of Peel. 2018 Jan.

Reviewer(s): 

Melissa Severn

Monika Mierzwinski-Urban

Full Reference: 

Alajajian S, Ho T. Optimizing the identification of grey literature: a rapid review. Peel Health Library, Region of Peel. 2018 Jan. https://www.peelregion.ca/health/library/pdf/rapid-reviews/optimizing-indentification-grey-literature.pdf 

Short description: 

The objective of the study was to determine methods, tools, or processes to optimize the identification of grey literature for public health decision-making. From a search of published and unpublished literature the authors identified three components of effective grey literature searching: planning the search, executing the search, and managing the search.

 Planning grey literature searches involves identifying potential search sources, search terms, and limits.

 Executing grey literature searches consists of searching a variety of sources and implementing a mix of search techniques, such as hand-searching, search permutations, and data saturation.

 Managing grey literature searches ensures the search is efficient and transparent with the use of reporting standards for systematic reviews and spreadsheets for tracking where and how information was identified.

The authors state that implementing this new search process will improve the effectiveness of grey literature searching.

Limitations stated by the author(s): 

None stated.

Limitations stated by the reviewer(s): 

Non-English language publications were excluded from the review. Relevant articles may have been missed due to the very focused database search that was used in this rapid systematic review. Citations are not provided to link the included studies to the findings in the Synthesis of Findings section of the report.

Study Type: 

Single study

Related Chapters: 

Tags: 

• Grey literature

• Documenting

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