Reading between the lines: A comparative analysis of exclusion versus inclusion of grey literature on conventional literature search results when developing a research question.

This comparative analysis demonstrates how the inclusion of grey literature changes the understanding of an issue and influences the formation of a research question. Due to various resource constraints, researchers commonly choose a conventional literature search of academic and peer-reviewed journals to search for previous work conducted on the proposed issue. Grey literature is not routinely included as part of this process. Grey literature is information that would not be published in mainstream scientific/peer-reviewed journals, and conventional repositories or otherwise accessible when conducting a literature search. The definition is one that is constantly being redefined and it includes unpublished materials like policy reports, research studies from organizations and community-generated information. This comparison demonstrates the significant implications and contextual value added to the process of research question development through the inclusion of grey literature pertaining to the issues of HIV incidence, harm reduction, and segregation of HIV-positive prisoners in Canada.