Peering through the Review Process: Towards Transparency in Grey Literature Transparency in Grey Literature

• Published in: The grey journal Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 25 - 31
• Main Author: FARACE, Dominic J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam TextRelease 01.04.2011
• Subjects: Exact sciences and technology; Grey literature; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Library and information science. General aspects; Peer review; Publishing; Sciences and techniques of general use; Use and user studies. Information needs; Comparative analysis; Grey literature
• ISSN: 1574-1796

Now that grey literature is readily catalogued, referenced, cited, and openly accessible to subject based communities as well as net users, the claims that grey literature is unpublished or non-published have sufficiently been put to rest. However, now that grey literature has met these former challenges and entered mainstream publishing, it requires in the spirit of science to have a system in place for the quality control of its content. This new challenge has recently been spurred by the IPCC affair involving the use/misuse of grey literature and is now almost a daily topic in the world media. The purpose of this study will be to explore the degree to which grey literature is reviewed and to compare similarities and differences with formal peer review carried out in various degrees by commercial publishers. This study will further distinguish the review process implemented by grey publishers from that of mavericks and vanity press, where personal opinion and pure speculation run rampant. This study looks at the body of literature on peer review and its relatedness to grey literature. Key concepts and elements in peer review form the framework for a comparative analysis, and these are examined in light of guidelines on peer review submitted by publishers. In addition, alternative models for peer review found during the course of study are compared for their relevance to grey literature. Adapted from the source document.