Searching the grey literature : where to look and what to expect Rose Relevo, MLIS, MS Oregon Health & Sciences University Effective Healthcare Program Scientific Resource Center

Grey Literature Data from clinical trials Trial Registries Regulatory Documentation Conference papers, abstracts, proceedings Other misc. resources

Trial Registries ClinicalTrials.gov metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) – ISRCTN Register (International) – NIH ClinicalTrials.gov – Action Medical Research (UK) – The Wellcome Trust (UK) – Medical Research Council (UK) – UK trials (UK)

Trial Registries ClinicalStudyResults.org – PhRMA database WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal – apps.who.ing/trialsearch/ – Australia, New Zealand, US, UK, Brazil, China, India, Korea, Cuba, Germany, Iran, Japan, Pan African, Sri Lanka, The Netherlands

What do you get from a trial registry Know that a study exists – Identify forthcoming publications – Window into publication bias – Future research needs Results Protocols Contact information

Tips “small” databases, searches can be simple EndNote import filter for ClinicalTrials.gov results

Regulatory Documentation – – Medical and Statistical Reviews – Cannot search by class, indication or presence of review – – 510(k) Premarket Notification – Need specific device names

Regulatory Documentation Health Canada Drugs and Health Products Database – – Product Monographs Authorized Medicines for EU – – Scientific Discussions

Tips FDA database NOT optimized for our purposes “searching” not quite accurate, “directed browsing” more accurate Delegate to well trained personnel Podcasts; biggest danger is spacing out

Conferences… Conference paper databases – CSA Conference Papers Index – Scopus – BIOSIS Previews – Papers and Proceedings First Specific conferences (key informants, technical experts)

Tips Access will vary by institution Simple searches usually sufficient Identify upcoming publications Compare to published versions Contact authors for more information

Other sources Specialized bibliographic databases Databases to identify meetings, funders and periodicals specific to the topic – BCM Meetings – NLM Gateway – meetings – DIRLINE – COS Funding – Grantsnet – Ulrich’s Grey Matters: a practical search tool for evidence- based medicine –

For more… Secure site: ResourcesResources/Grey Literature MaterialsGrey Literature Materials