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Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies

Guide to Resources for Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies

Grey Literature

Grey Literature is a category that includes media, resources, documents, data, etc. that was not produced by traditional academic or commercial publishing systems, which is often referred to as White Literature. More simply put, if a resource was not published in an scholarly journal it is likely considered Grey Literature. Unlike White Literature, Grey Literature is not peer reviewed and is not typically published in books or scholarly journals. In fact, most Grey Literature today is distributed via digital formats as PDFs, web pages, blog posts and multimedia content. There is not a requirement for authors of Grey Literature to have substantial experience in the field they are writing in, as with academic publishing, but the best Grey Literature is written by authors or organizations who are well-known experts in the field

When evaluating information, it can be helpful to use the SIFT method below. 

  • STOP

    • Ask yourself what you really know about the claim, what you are looking at, and what feelings it invokes

  • INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE

    • What do we know about the source? 

  • FIND OTHER COVERAGE

    • Who else is talking about this?

  • TRACE THE CLAIM TO ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT

    • Where did this information come from?

Caulfield, M., & Wineburg, S. S. (2023). Verified : how to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online. The University of Chicago Press.

  1. Search using the "News" filter

    1. Enter the organization into the search bar. Once the search results appear, click on the "News" button on the top row.Google search for Planned Parenthood with the News filter highlighted
    2. You will now see recent news stories about the organization. This is a good way to find what they organization has done recently or if they are involved in recent controversy. 

  2. Advanced Search 

    1.  Setting up an advanced search is a great way to specify a search. Enter to your search terms, and then click the "Tools" option on top bar. Then click the "Advanced Search" option. 
    2. A screenshot of a google search showing how to get to the Advanced search bar
    3.  You will now see the screen below:

  3. Region or Language Filters

    1.  Use the Region or Language filter to find results that are published in specific region or language. This can be helpful in seeing results that are not from the USA.  
    2. Keep in mind that English search terms will bring up English search results! See the "Transliteration Searching" section of the "Practical Bibliodiversity: Finding and Using Non-English and Non-"Western" Scholarly Materials" guide for more information.

  4. Site or Domain Filter

    1. You can limit results by the site they appear on. For example, if we wanted to see results about how Reddit users view Planned Parenthood, we can limit the results to items from that site: 
    3. You will now only see items that are from Reddit

Finding Information on Organizations

Tips for finding information on silenced activists

Organization that track silencing of activist

Resources about the issue of silenced activists: 

 

Finding information on Feminist Thinkers or Activists