UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: Political Science: Find Grey Literature

Finding Grey Literature

Grey literature are documents distributed outside of commercial publishing and typically not peer reviewed. Grey literature can be created by think tanks, research institutes, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), professional organizations, and more. Examples are:

working papers
white papers
reports
policy briefs
conference proceedings
theses and dissertations
pre-prints

It can be hard to find grey literature because there is not one centralized place to search for them. You can find grey literature:

On a specific organization's website under sections like "Our Work", "Publications", "Research", "Resources" or "Library"
Using a database listed below, like CIAO
Using a targeted Google search

CIAO - Columbia International Affairs Online
CIAO, Columbia International Affairs Online provides research in the field of international affairs, including full-text documents such as working papers and policy briefs. CIAO is also widely-recognized source for teaching materials including original case studies written by leading international affairs experts, course packs of background readings for history and political science classes video.

Policy Commons
Policy Commons indexes content from over 300 IGOs and 6,000 NGOs, as well as content from think tanks, research centers, projects, cities, government bodies. Basic access and usage of Policy Commons is free (registration required).
PolicyArchive
PolicyArchive is a comprehensive digital library of public policy research containing over 30,000 documents. PolicyArchive is an innovative, new digital archive of global, non-partisan public policy research. It makes use of the power, efficiency, and economy of modern Internet technology to collect and disseminate summaries and full texts, videos, reports, briefs, and multimedia material of think tank, university, government, and foundation-funded policy research.
Eldis
Eldis supports free and open access to useful and relevant research on global development challenges. Eldis is hosted by the Knowledge, Impact and Policy team at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK but our services profile work by a growing global network of research organisations and knowledge brokers.
Comparative Agendas Project (CAP)
Created at the University of Texas - Austin, CAP enables scholars, students, policy-makers and the media to investigate trends in policy-making across time and between countries. TheTrends Tool makes it easy for researchers to explore all of the available data series, country-by-country or for multiple countries at once. The Datasets/Codebooks page allows students of the policy process to download any datasets to examine in greater depth, or to integrate them with data series from other sources.
SocArXiv
Open archive of the social sciences that provides a free, non-profit, open access platform for social scientists to upload working papers, preprints, and published papers, with the option to link data and code. SocArXiv papers are moderated before appearing.

Google Search Tips

Use the advanced search techniques for Google outlined below to target your search and find reliable sources. Learn more on how to refine Google searches.

Use boolean operators in the search bar or the advanced search function
Search within specific URL domains using the site: function.
- site:.gov searches U.S. government websites
- site:.edu searches websites affiliated with higher education institutions
- site:.org searches websites with the .org domain, which can include non-profit organizations but not all of those organizations publish research

Search within specific website URLs using the site:function. Do not use a space between the punctuation.
- site:aclu.org searches within the aclu.org website
Search for specific file types, like pdf, which is the primary format of published reports
- filetype:pdf

Find Think Tanks

Resources on evaluating think tanks.

Think Tank Search - Harvard Kennedy School
A Google Custom Search of more than 1200 think tanks and research centers.
Brookings
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC.
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress is an independent, nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action.
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.
Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) - Rutgers University
CAWP offers fact sheets, graphics, research reports, and other information organized both by topic and by level of office.
Hoover Institution - Stanford University
With its eminent scholars and world-renowned Library and Archives, the Hoover Institution is a public policy think tank that seeks to improve the human condition by advancing ideas that promote economic opportunity and prosperity, while securing and safeguarding peace for America and all mankind.
Institute for Research on Poverty - University of Wisconsin
IRP is a nonpartisan research institution dedicated to producing and disseminating rigorous evidence to inform policies and programs to combat poverty, inequality, and their effects in the United States.
Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.
Tribal Law and Policy Institute
The Tribal Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) is a 100% Native American operated non-profit corporation organized to design and deliver education, research, training, and technical assistance programs which promote the enhancement of justice in Indian country and the health, well-being, and culture of Native peoples.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
CBPP is a nonpartisan research and policy institute that advances federal and state policies to help build a nation where everyone — has the resources they need to thrive and share in the nation’s prosperity. CBPP combines rigorous research and analysis, strategic communications, and effective advocacy to shape debates and affect policy, both nationally and in states.
Resources for the Future
RFF’s mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement.
MDRC
MDRC is committed to finding solutions to some of the most difficult problems facing the nation. They design interventions, evaluate existing programs using the highest research standards, and provide technical assistance to build better programs and deliver effective interventions at scale. They serve as an intermediary, bringing together public and private funders to test new policy-relevant ideas, and communicate what we learn to policymakers and practitioners.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment generates strategic ideas and independent analysis, supports diplomacy, and trains the next generation of international scholar-practitioners to help countries and institutions take on the most difficult global problems and safeguard peace.

Find Public Policy Organizations

Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, established in 1993, is a communication policy center that addresses the role of communication in politics, adolescent behavior, child development, health care, and civics and mental health, among other important arenas.
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago
The Harris School of Public Policy has sought to enhance the University of Chicago's role in shaping and understanding public life by conducting policy-relevant research and preparing talented individuals to become leaders and agents of social change.
Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University
The Health Policy Institute is a multi-disciplinary group of faculty and staff dedicated to conducting research on key issues in health policy and health services research.
Institute for Women's Policy Research
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that engages in research and dissemination to shape public policy and improve the lives and opportunities of women from diverse backgrounds. As a nonpartisan organization, the independence of our research is essential to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and quality. IWPR seeks to ensure these standards through internal and external peer review processes. In most cases, reports receive one to two external reviews; some shorter products receive external review as well. All publications are reviewed by in-house researchers not involved in their production.
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin
The LBJ School of Public Affairs is the only public policy school tied to a top-tier research university, a presidential library, a state capital, and a foreign border. It is committed to improving the quality of public service in the United States and abroad at all levels of governance and civic engagement.
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) is a research organization committed to scholarship that helps address the real-world challenges facing governments and businesses in the United States and around the world. SIEPR's mission is to create and promote evidence-based knowledge about pressing economic issues, leading to better-informed policy decisions that will measurably improve the lives of all people.
Northwestern Institute for Policy Research
The Institute for Policy Research (IPR) is an interdisciplinary public policy research institute founded in 1968 at Northwestern University. Our mission is to stimulate and support excellent social science research on significant public policy issues and to disseminate the findings widely—to students, scholars, policymakers, and the public.
Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy, University of Minnesota
The Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy illuminates gender-based disparities through research, teaching, and public engagement.

Find NGOs and IGOs

Think Tanks and N.G.O. Alphabetical Index
Worldpress.org’s index of international think tanks and research organizations.
IGO Search
This unique free service allows you to search the websites of all intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), comprising over 3000 bodies including the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, etc.
Worldwide NGO Directory
Access information on NGOs in over 170 nations.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Our work is guided by international human rights and humanitarian law and respect for the dignity of each human being.
UNESCO Digital Library
UNESCO Digital Library provides access to publications, documents and other materials either produced by UNESCO or pertaining to UNESCO’s fields of competence.
World Bank
The World Bank has published over 200,000 documents to increase understanding of development policies and programs. These reports, working papers, and documents, along with the primary data on which they are based, are available online at no cost.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Library (OECD)
OECD publishes its recommendations, analysis and data on OECD iLibrary to help inform policy makers, researchers and analysts to implement the best possible responses in their countries. OECD iLibrary’s Books, Papers, and Statistical content provide the foundation for international planning and research projects delivered on an award-winning platform following solid and reliable standards.