Higher education research

Publication Date

11-17-2014

Subjects

Access to information, Copyright, Electronic publications, Information management, Information retrieval, Open educational resources, Policy analysis, Policy formation, Publishing industry, Resource materials. Grey literature, Unpublished materials

Abstract

The internet has profoundly changed how we produce, use and collect research and information for public policy and practice, with grey literature playing an increasingly important role. The authors argue that grey literature (i.e. materials produced and published by organisations without recourse to the commercial or scholarly publishing industry) is a key part of the evidence produced and used for public policy and practice. Through surveys of users, producing organisations and collecting services, a detailed picture is provided of the importance and economic value of grey literature. However, finding and accessing policy information is a time-consuming task made harder by poor production and management of resources and a lack of large-scale collection services able to host and make available relevant, high-quality resources quickly and efficiently. The paper makes recommendations for changes that would maximise the benefits of grey literature in the public interest and seeks feedback from readers to inform the final report of the research project.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Place of Publication

Hawthorn, Victoria

Publisher

Swinburne Institute for Social Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.4225/50/5580B1E02DAF9

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