Exploring Grey Literature on SSRN
SSRN
Exploring Grey Literature on SSRN
There has been a growing discussion in the academic community surrounding the concept of grey literature, a broad term that encompasses documents, data, research, and materials created outside of the traditional pathways of academic publication, and often for non-academic audiences. This work contributes to the information ecosystem by providing sources of knowledge that are timely and broad, filling in gaps in research and offering original data and insights that extend beyond the typical channels for academic publishing.
In practice, what does this look like? Grey literature includes various reports, conference proceedings, datasets, legal transcripts, working papers, dissertations, blog posts, policy documents, and a wide range of other work that expands the knowledge base and enriches modern scholarship.
The Purpose of Grey Literature
Traditional academic publishing involves peer review, a lengthy publication process, and such documents may not be widely accessible to those without academic library privileges. Grey literature may be released more quickly and is often directly accessible for all, allowing current research within a field to be shared in real-time. This provides the opportunity for dissemination of ongoing research, recent developments in policy and government, and relevant reports that help inform the academic discourse of the present and influence the development of research in the future.
Grey literature provides other benefits beyond its timeliness. The structure of the work itself provides the opportunity to fill in research and knowledge gaps. This can be through the release of up-to-date data, case studies, and reports that don’t fall within the scope of academic publications, or it can present preliminary findings that serve as complementary to previously published works. Grey literature captures perspectives that have a wider scope and therefore rounds out the scholarly record.
The accessibility and relevance of grey literature allows the work to have significance outside the world of academia. It helps inform policies, programs, and future academic research. Grey literature takes research and data and translates it into real-world impact.
Joshua Tucker, professor and researcher at NYU, shared his grey literature on SSRN. He was pleased to see that his report – which would not be included in traditional academic publications – had a presence on SSRN, generating additional attention and citations it wouldn’t have received otherwise. He shared with SSRN that, “This review of the literature was never intended to be an academic article. It was a report commissioned by the Hewlett Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation put it on its website. I thought people in the policy community were going to see it on the Hewlett website, but I’d love for people to see it in the academic community. I thought that maybe we’d get a few citations out of it, andto throw it up on SSRN, on a whim. And now it’s been downloaded over 40,000 times and continues to be cited all the time. In that sense,filled this really nice niche: we had something that we didn’t write to be an academic publicationweren’t going to send to journals. It’s a nice home for things that don’t have a natural fit.“
Grey Literature’s Place on SSRN
As a repository for early-stage research, SSRN provides a home for research in all stages of development. Work submitted to SSRN is made available quickly, creating an outlet for real-time research.
SSRN is a platform where research of many mediums can thrive. We define research broadly: presentations, infographics, case studies, white papers, proceedings, working papers, datasets, conference proceedings, informational guides, reports and more. They exist side-by-side, all with the objective of sharing knowledge at a global level. Because of this, SSRN is a great place for grey literature of all kinds. Even research that doesn’t take a traditional academic pathway can thrive on SSRN.
The Future of Research
The world changes quickly – with technology, faster than ever – and SSRN allows the flow of research to keep up with the changing times. The relevance and impact of research matters, and grey literature is a big contributor to that.
SSRN is where it starts; submit your research in real-time, bring work of any scale and any format, and contribute to the future of this evolving research and scholarship landscape.
Want to share your grey literature or other early-stage research on SSRN? Click here to submit your research today.
#exploring #grey #literature #ssrn
Exploring Grey Literature on SSRN
SSRN
Exploring Grey Literature on SSRN
There has been a growing discussion in the academic community surrounding the concept of grey literature, a broad term that encompasses documents, data, research, and materials created outside of the traditional pathways of academic publication, and often for non-academic audiences. This work contributes to the information ecosystem by providing sources of knowledge that are timely and broad, filling in gaps in research and offering original data and insights that extend beyond the typical channels for academic publishing.
In practice, what does this look like? Grey literature includes various reports, conference proceedings, datasets, legal transcripts, working papers, dissertations, blog posts, policy documents, and a wide range of other work that expands the knowledge base and enriches modern scholarship.
The Purpose of Grey Literature
Traditional academic publishing involves peer review, a lengthy publication process, and such documents may not be widely accessible to those without academic library privileges. Grey literature may be released more quickly and is often directly accessible for all, allowing current research within a field to be shared in real-time. This provides the opportunity for dissemination of ongoing research, recent developments in policy and government, and relevant reports that help inform the academic discourse of the present and influence the development of research in the future.
Grey literature provides other benefits beyond its timeliness. The structure of the work itself provides the opportunity to fill in research and knowledge gaps. This can be through the release of up-to-date data, case studies, and reports that don’t fall within the scope of academic publications, or it can present preliminary findings that serve as complementary to previously published works. Grey literature captures perspectives that have a wider scope and therefore rounds out the scholarly record.
The accessibility and relevance of grey literature allows the work to have significance outside the world of academia. It helps inform policies, programs, and future academic research. Grey literature takes research and data and translates it into real-world impact.
Joshua Tucker, professor and researcher at NYU, shared his grey literature on SSRN. He was pleased to see that his report – which would not be included in traditional academic publications – had a presence on SSRN, generating additional attention and citations it wouldn’t have received otherwise. He shared with SSRN that, “This review of the literature was never intended to be an academic article. It was a report commissioned by the Hewlett Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation put it on its website. I thought people in the policy community were going to see it on the Hewlett website, but I’d love for people to see it in the academic community. I thought that maybe we’d get a few citations out of it, andto throw it up on SSRN, on a whim. And now it’s been downloaded over 40,000 times and continues to be cited all the time. In that sense,filled this really nice niche: we had something that we didn’t write to be an academic publicationweren’t going to send to journals. It’s a nice home for things that don’t have a natural fit.“
Grey Literature’s Place on SSRN
As a repository for early-stage research, SSRN provides a home for research in all stages of development. Work submitted to SSRN is made available quickly, creating an outlet for real-time research.
SSRN is a platform where research of many mediums can thrive. We define research broadly: presentations, infographics, case studies, white papers, proceedings, working papers, datasets, conference proceedings, informational guides, reports and more. They exist side-by-side, all with the objective of sharing knowledge at a global level. Because of this, SSRN is a great place for grey literature of all kinds. Even research that doesn’t take a traditional academic pathway can thrive on SSRN.
The Future of Research
The world changes quickly – with technology, faster than ever – and SSRN allows the flow of research to keep up with the changing times. The relevance and impact of research matters, and grey literature is a big contributor to that.
SSRN is where it starts; submit your research in real-time, bring work of any scale and any format, and contribute to the future of this evolving research and scholarship landscape.
Want to share your grey literature or other early-stage research on SSRN? Click here to submit your research today.
#exploring #grey #literature #ssrn



