SOC 1020W: Contemporary Social Issues: Food, Society & Environment - Tzankova

Sources

Climate and Environmental Studies

Social Science and Public Policy

Business/Corporations/Company/Industry

1.  Use quotes around phrases

2.  Use the "Quick Filters" if you want just books, articles, etc.

3.  If you need peer reviewed sources, apply that filter

4.  Use "Format" for other types of sources such as newspaper articles, book chapters, etc.

5.  Use the date limiter

A complete list of limiters can be found on the left hand side of the screen below "Refine your results".

 The image shows a screenshot of a library database search for

What is gray literature? Grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels, and can include reports, policy literature, working papers, newsletters, government documents, speeches, white papers, urban plans, and so on.  Many of our databases have "format" or "source" filters for gray literature such as "reports"  

You can also use Google to find gray literature.  

 

To find grey literature, try keywords such as report, "think tank," "white paper," policy, statistics, or limiting by domain to (.org, .edu, .gov)

screenshot of google search for "climate change" "policy brief"

 screenshot of google search for "climate change" site: .org        

Scholarly

News

Trade

Gray Literature

Scholarly articles publish original research on events related to a specific discipline written by professors, researchers, or professionals. These articles are written by an expert for other experts in the same field and generally go through a process called "peer review," in which they are vetted by other experts. Scholarly sources typically include references to other sources (bibliography) and are written with the assumption that the audience already has significant background knowledge in the topic.

Written by journalists. Events as they actually happened, reflect how people view a topic at a particular time, report on research for the lay person, provide stats, experts. 

Trade articles are about news, trends, best practices, and products for a specific industry or profession trade source is written by a professional in a particular industry or by a journalist with expertise in that area. Trade sources often assume the reader has some familiarity with topics, they generally are more accessible by a layperson than scholarly sources.

Grey literature is information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels, and can include reports, policy literature, working papers, newsletters, government documents, speeches, white papers, urban plans, and so on.  Many of our databases have "format" or "source" filters for gray literature such as "reports"