Searching the grey literature : where to look and what to expect

Rose Relevo, MLIS, MSOregon 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)

http://www.controlled-trials.com/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

• Drugs@FDA– http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/drugsatfda/– Medical and Statistical Reviews– Cannot search by class, indication or presence of review

• Devices@FDA– http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/devicesatfda/index.cfm

– 510(k) Premarket Notification– Need specific device names

Regulatory Documentation

• Health Canada Drugs and Health Products Database– http://webprod3.hc-sc.gc.ca/dpd-bdpp/index-eng.jsp– Product Monographs

• Authorized Medicines for EU– http://www.ema.europa.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– http://www.cadth.ca/resources/grey-matters

For more…

Secure site:Resources/Grey Literature Materials

relevo@ohsu.edu