apa grey literature

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

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Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

• Italicize report titles
• First word of the title and first word of the subtitle capitalized
• Capitalize proper nouns
• Every other word is lower case
• Shorten long URLs or DOIs: When a DOI or URL is long or complex, you may use shortDOIs or shortened URLs if desired. Use the shortDOI service provided by the International DOI Foundation ( https://shortdoi.org/ ) to create shortDOI.
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APA 7th Referencing

• Reports & Grey Literature

APA 7th Referencing: Reports & Grey Literature

• In-text referencing
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What is grey literature, referencing formats.

Grey literature is defined by GreyNet International (2019) as "multiple document types produced on all levels of government, academics, business, and organization in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body" ("GreyNet's business report" section, para. 2).

Grey literature includes a variety of different reports, including government, technical and research reports, as well as press releases, codes of ethics, grants, and policy and issues briefs (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 329).

The basics of a reference list entry for a report:

• Author or authors.  The surname is followed by first initials. The Author may be a government or corporate entity.
• Title of report (In italics . Include the report number in brackets where relevant)
• Publisher information (if the author and the publisher are the same, omit the publisher)
• The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7 spaces.

Example:  

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017).  Childhood education and care  (No. 4402.0). https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]         /Lookup/4402.0Main+Features1June%202017?OpenDocument

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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: Government Websites & Publications, & Gray Literature

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Government Websites, Government Publications, & Gray Literature

Tips on citing APA 7th edition references for Government reports and Gray (or Grey) Literature (p. 329-331): 

• Gray literature (or grey literature: either spelling is correct), is generally unpublished research that can include government reports, research reports, theses, dissertations, poster sessions, conference sessions or proceedings, etc... While gray literature is not considered scholarly (or technically peer-reviewed) it is still an important source of information because it is produced by researchers and practitioners in the field. It is often data, summaries, facts, statistics, or other information from current and ongoing research (Weintraub, 2000). (Paraphrased from Weintraub, I. (2000). The role of grey literature in the sciences .  https://web.archive.org/web/20080212130534/https://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/access/greyliter.htm ) 
• Government reports often contain a publication number or report number. Make sure to add this information after the title of the document in parenthesis.
•  As in all other APA 7th edition citations, if the publisher is the same as the author (which can often be the case for government reports and gray literature), you do not include the publisher in the source area of the reference. 
• If an agency or corporation is the author, the names can be abbreviated after the first in-text citation. For example, a first citation from the National Institute of Mental Health would be (National Institute of Mental Health, 2018), and all remaining citations would be (NIMH, 2018). 

Reference Example 1:

National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute. (2016).  The heart truth for African American women: Take action to protect your heart fact sheet (NIH Publication No. 16-5066). US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health .  https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/all-publications-and-resources/heart-truth-african-american-women-take-action-protect

In-text Citation (Paraphrase):

(National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2016) - first citation

(NHLBI, 2016) - all subsequent citations

In-text Citation (Direct Quote):

(National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute [NHLBI], 2016, p.8) - first citation

(NHLBI, 2016, p. 8) - all subsequent citations

Reference Example 2:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017, June 16). Clinical growth charts .  https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017) - first citation

(CDC, 2017) - all subsequent citations

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016, para.3) - first citation

(CDC, 2016, para.3)  - all subsequent citations

• APA 7 Government Website Examples A PDF with three examples of different types of government websites and how to correctly add reference entries for them in your paper.

Carrie Forbes, MLS

Page References

Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (7th Edition). Please refer to Chapter 10: Reference Examples, pp. 329-331 for more information. 

Helpful Tips

If you are citing a report, issue brief, or any other type of document issued with a number, include the type of document and number of publication in parenthesis directly after the title.

Example from page 329 of APA Manual:

National Cancer Institute. (2018).  Facing forward: Life after cancer treatment  [NIH Publication No. 18-2424]. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/life-after-treatment.pdf

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
• Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
• Student Paper Elements - Title Page
• In-text Citation Basics
• In-text Citation Author Rules
• Citing Multiple Works
• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
• Secondary Sources
• Periodicals
• Books and Reference Works
• Edited Book Chapters and Entries in Reference Works
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Conference Sessions and Presentations
• Dissertations and Theses
• Data Sets and Software
• Tests, Scales, & Inventories
• Audiovisual Works
• Audio Works
• Visual Works
• Social Media
• Webpages & Websites
• Basics & Formatting
• Avoiding Plagiarism

Reports & Gray Literature

Reports, like journal articles, usually cover original research, but they may or may not be peer-reviewed. There are many kinds of reports, including:

• Government reports
• Technical reports
• Research reports

Gray literature includes reports, but also:

• Press releases
• Codes of ethics
• Policy briefs
• Issue briefs

It is optional–but often helpful–to describe these types of gray literature in square brackets after the title.

When the publisher is the same as the author, omit the publisher from the source element.

Reports & Gray Literature Template

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization

• The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher.
• If multiple agencies authored a report together, join the names with an ampersand, using commas to separate the names of three or more agencies.

National Cancer Institute. (2014).  Understanding breast changes: A health guide for women  (NIH Publication No. 14-3536). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/breast-changes/understanding-breast-changes.pdf

Sexual Misconduct Response Centre. (2018-2019).  2018-2019 Annual Report . The Department of the National Defence, Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/reports/2019/smrc-2019-annual-report-en.pdf

Parenthetical citations:  (National Cancer Institute, 2014; Sexual Misconduct Response Centre, 2018-2019)

Narrative citations:  National Cancer Institute (2014) and the Sexual Misconduct Response Centre (2018-2019)

Report by Individual Authors at a Government Agency or Other Organization

Hunt, K. S., & Dumville, R. (2016).  Recidivism among federal offenders: A comprehensive overview . United States Sentencing Commission. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2016/recidivism_overview.pdf

O'Connor, S. (2017).  Fentanyl: China's deadly export to the United States . U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission. https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/USCC%20Staff%20Report_Fentanyl-China’s%20Deadly%20Export%20to%20the%20United%20States020117.pdf

Parenthetical citations:  (Hunt & Dumville, 2016; O'Connor, 2017)

Narrative citations:  Hunt and Dumville (2016) and O'Connor (2017)

Report by a Government Agency, Published as Part of a Series

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018).  Australia's health 2018  (Australia's Health Series no. 16. AUS 221). https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/7c42913d-295f-4bc9-9c24-4e44eff4a04a/aihw-aus-221.pdf.aspx?inline=true

Blackwell, D. L., Lucas, J. W., & Clarke, T. C. (2014).  Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012  (Vital and Health Statistics Series 10, Issue 260). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_260.pdf

Parenthetical citations:  (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018; Blackwell et al., 2014)

Narrative citations:  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2018) and Blackwell et al. (2014)

Report by a Task Force, Working Group, or Other Group

• Capitalize the name of the task force or working group wherever it appears in the reference because it is a proper noun.

British Cardiovascular Society Working Group. (2016).  British Cardiovascular Society Working Group report: Out-of-hours cardiovascular care: Management of cardiac emergencies and hospital in-patients . British Cardiovascular Society. http://www.bcs.com/documents/BCSOOHWP_Final_Report_05092016.pdf

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2019).  Ninth annual report to Congress on high-priority evidence gaps for clinical preventive services . https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Name/ninth-annual-report-to-congress-on-high-priority-evidence-gaps-for-clinical-preventive-services

Parenthetical citations:  (British Cardiovascular Working Group, 2016; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2019)

Narrative citations:  British Cardiovascular Working Group (2016) and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2019)

Annual Report

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2017).  Agency financial report: Fiscal year 2017 . https://www.sec.gov/files/sec-2017-agency-financial-report.pdf

Parenthetical citation:  (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017)

Narrative citation:  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2017)

Code of Ethics

American Nurses Association. (2015).  Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements . https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

American Psychological Association. (2017).  Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct  (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Parenthetical citations:  (American Nurses Association, 2015; American Psychological Association, 2017)

Narrative citations:  American Nurses Association (2015) and American Psychological Association (2017)

Press Release

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2020, January 2).  FDA finalizes enforcement policy on unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes that appeal to children, including fruit and mint  [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-finalizes-enforcement-policy-unauthorized-flavored-cartridge-based-e-cigarettes-appeal-children

Parenthetical citation:  (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2020)

Narrative citation:  U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2020)

Ghatak, S. (2019).  Immunization testing system  (U.S. Patent No. 10788482). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://rb.gy/ik0fb0

Kurk, D. J. (2022).  Mechanical seizing and locking clamp device  (U.S. Patent No. 11458596). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://rb.gy/ik0fb0

Parenthetical citation:  (Ghatak, 2019; Kurk, 2022)

Narrative citation:  Ghatak (2019) and Kurk (2022)

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ACAP LEARNING RESOURCES

Reference in APA 7

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Reference Elements: Reports, Policies & Grey Literature

Author, a. a., & author, b. b. (date). title of report in italics (report no. #) [description]. publisher name. https://xxxxxxx.

Use to cite government, technical and research reports as well as codes of ethics, discussion papers, media releases etc. Where the author and publisher are the same, do not include the publisher. Use the most specific agency as the author and the parent agency as the publisher. Any parent agency not included in the author information is to be included as the publisher name. Describing the type of grey literature in square brackets whilst not necessary can still be helpful for the reader. See Section 10.4 of the APA Publication Manual for more examples.

• REFERENCE LIST EXAMPLES
• IN TEXT EXAMPLES

Government Reports

Department of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island Partnerships. (2016-2017). Annual bulletin for Queensland’s discrete Indigenous communities. Queensland Government. https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/publications-governance-resources/discrete-indigenous-communities-key-indicator-reports

Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland. (2020, January). Corruption in focus: A guide to dealing with corrupt conduct in the Queensland public sector . https://www.ccc.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/Docs/Publications/CCC/Corruption-in-focus-Guide-2020.pdf

Australian Productivity Commission. (2018, August 18). Rising inequality? A stocktake of the evidence [Research Paper]. https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/rising-inequality

Koleth, E. (2010, October 8). Multiculturalism: A review of Australian policy statements and recent debates in Australia and overseas (Research paper no. 6 2010-11). Parliament of Australia. http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1011/11rp06#_Toc275248115

Non-Government Organisations and Agencies

Phoenix Australia Centre for Posttraumatic Health. (2013). Australian guidelines for the treatment of acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Phoenix-ASD-PTSD-Guidelines.pdf

Mission Australia. (2017). Aging and homelessness: Solutions to a growing problem  [Position statement]. https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/publications/position-statements/ageing-and-homelessness-solutions-to-a-growing-problem

Individual Authors

Kelly, J. F. (2012, March). Social cities . Grattan Institute. https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/137_report_social_cities_web.pdf

Dudgeon, P., Walker, R., Scrine, C., Shepherd, C., Calma, T., & Ring, I. (2014). Effective strategies to strengthen the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people . Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/effective-strategies-to-strengthen-mental-health-w/contents/table-of-contents

National Environmental Science Program. (2019). I ndigenous collaboration for Australia’s environmental science [Brochure]. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. https://www.environment.gov.au/science/nesp/publications/indigenous-collaboration-australia-environmental-science-brochure

Fact Sheets

Department of Health. (2020, April 01).  Coronavirus (COVID-19) – frequently asked questions [Fact sheet]. Australian Government.  https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/04/coronavirus-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions.pdf

Parenthetical Style

The report states "absences which were unexplained ranged from 6% for students at Northern Peninsula Area State College, to 87% for students at Aurukun State School" (Department of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island Partnerships, 2016-2017, p. 12).

Balancing traffic, pedestrians and commercial interests can be challenging (Kelly, 2012).

Poverty has remained high despite economic growth (Australian Productivity Commission, 2018).

Narrative Style

The Department of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island Partnerships (2016-2017) cites unexplained absences that "ranged from 6% for students at Northern Peninsula Area State College, to 87% for students at Aurukun State School" (p. 12).

Kelly (2012) highlights the challenges of balancing traffic, pedestrians and commercial interests.

The Australian Productivity Commission (2018) provides evidence that poverty has remained high despite economic growth.

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APA 7th Referencing Style Guide

• Reports & grey literature
• Referencing & APA style
• In-text citation
• Elements of a reference
• Format & examples of a reference list
• Conferences

Reference format

Code of ethics, press releases, waitangi tribunal reports.

• Figures (graphs and images)
• Theses and dissertations
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• Films, TV & video
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• Computer software, games & apps
• Lecture notes & Intranet resources
• Legal resources
• Personal communications
• PowerPoint slides
• Social media
• Specific health examples
• Standards & patents
• Websites & webpages
• Footnotes and appendices
• Frequently asked questions
• Reports include annual reports, government reports, technical reports and research reports.
• Grey literature includes press releases, codes of ethics, grants, policy briefs and other unpublished research.
• It is optional, but sometimes helpful, to describe the type of material in square brackets after the title
• If the publisher is the same as the author, omit the publisher from the source element

Find how to cite in text on the  In-text citation  page.

Annual report, government report, reports from a database.

• For works from databases with limited circulation (e.g. Passport, ERIC,  MarketLine, etc.) and requiring a login to access, provide the name of the database and the URL of the database homepage when the publication is original and is only available in that database. APA Manual s. 9.30, pp. 296-297

Print report

Online report   .

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APA Citations (7th ed.)

• General Formatting
• Student Paper Elements - Title Page
• Professional Paper Elements - Title Page
• In-text Citation Basics
• In-text Citation Author Rules
• Citing Multiple Works
• Personal Communications
• Classroom or Intranet Resources
• Secondary Sources
• Periodicals
• Books & Reference Works
• Edited Book Chapters & Entries in Reference Works
• Reports & Gray Literature
• Conference Sessions & Presentations
• Dissertations & Theses
• Data Sets & Software
• Tests, Scales, & Inventories
• Audiovisual Works
• Audio Works
• Visual Works
• Social Media
• Webpages & Websites
• Artificial Intelligence
• Basics & Formatting
• Avoiding Plagiarism

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Reports & Gray Literature

Reports, like journal articles, usually cover original research, but they may or may not be peer-reviewed. There are many kinds of reports, including:

• Government reports
• Technical reports
• Research reports

Gray literature includes reports, but also:

• Press releases
• Codes of ethics
• Policy briefs
• Issue briefs

It is optional–but often helpful–to describe these types of gray literature in square brackets after the title.

When the publisher is the same as the author, omit the publisher from the source element.

Reports & Gray Literature Template

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization

• The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher.
• If multiple agencies authored a report together, join the names with an ampersand, using commas to separate the names of three or more agencies.

Institute of Education Sciences. (2023).  Report on the Continuation of Education 2023 (NCES 2023-144). U. S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2023/2023144.pdf

National Institute of Mental Health. (2021).  Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults: What you need to know  (NIH Publication No. 21-MH-3572). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/adhd-what-you-need-to-know

Parenthetical citations:  (Institute of Education Sciences, 2023; National Institute of Mental Health, 2021)

Narrative citations:  Institute of Education Sciences (2023) and the National Institute of Mental Health (2021)

Report by Individual Authors at a Government Agency or Other Organization

Kachnowski, V. M., Kitchens, C., & Syckes, C. (2023, January).  Weighing the impact of simple possession of marijuana: Trends and sentencing in the federal system . United States Sentencing Commission. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2023/20230509_Marijuana-Possession.pdf

Nicholson, J. R. (2018, January 5).  Digital trade in North America . U. S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Office of the Chief Economist.  https://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/media/files/2018/digital-trade-in-north-america.pdf

Parenthetical citations:  (Kachnowski, 2023; Nicholson, 2018)

Narrative citations:  Kachnowski (2023) and Nicholson (2018)

Report by a Government Agency, Published as Part of a Series

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2021).  Australia's welfare 2021: Data insights  (Australia's Welfare Series no. 15. AUS 236). https://doi.org/10.25816/zghn-md15

Blackwell, D. L., Lucas, J. W., & Clarke, T. C. (2014).  Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012  (Vital and Health Statistics Series 10, Issue 260). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_260.pdf

Parenthetical citations:  (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021; Blackwell et al., 2014)

Narrative citations:  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2021) and Blackwell et al. (2014)

Report by a Task Force, Working Group, or Other Group

• Capitalize the name of the task force or working group wherever it appears in the reference because it is a proper noun.

British Cardiovascular Society Working Group. (2020).  The future of cardiology . British Cardiovascular Society. https://www.britishcardiovascularsociety.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/21142/BCS-Future-of-Cardiology-17-Aug-2020.pdf

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. (2019).  Ninth annual report to Congress on high-priority evidence gaps for clinical preventive services . https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Name/ninth-annual-report-to-congress-on-high-priority-evidence-gaps-for-clinical-preventive-services

Parenthetical citations:  (British Cardiovascular Working Group, 2020; U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2019)

Narrative citations:  British Cardiovascular Working Group (2020) and U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2019)

Annual Report

Starbucks Corporation. (2009, November 20).  Form 10-K.  U. S. Securites and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/829224/000082922423000058/sbux-20231001.htm

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2022). Fiscal year 2022 a gency financial report . https://www.sec.gov/files/sec-2022-agency-financial-report.pdf

Parenthetical citation:  (Starbucks Corporation, 2009; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2022)

Narrative citation:  Starbucks Corporation (2009) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2022)

Code of Ethics

American Nurses Association. (2015).  Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements . https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

American Psychological Association. (2017).  Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct  (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Parenthetical citations:  (American Nurses Association, 2015; American Psychological Association, 2017)

Narrative citations:  American Nurses Association (2015) and American Psychological Association (2017)

Press Release

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, August 4).  FDA approves first oral treatment for postpartum depression  [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-oral-treatment-postpartum-depression

Parenthetical citation:  (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023)

Narrative citation:  U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2023)

Ouimet, K., Yan, R., & Zheng, Y. (2023).  Prioritized device actions triggered by device scan data  (U.S. Patent No. 0222155A1). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ ee/84/b2/44ecffca2eb222/US20230222155A1.pdf

Parenthetical citation:  (Ouimet et al., 2023)

Narrative citation:  Ouimet et al. (2023)

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APA (7th ed.) Reference Style

• 6th to 7th ed. main changes
• In-text references
• Reference list
• Journal articles
• Books & ebooks
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What is grey literature?

According to the American Psychological Association (2020, p. 329) grey literature includes a variety of different reports, including government, technical and research reports, as well as press releases, codes of ethics, grants, and policy and issues briefs.

Reports: Reference format

The basics of a reference list entry for a report

• Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials. The Author may be a government or corporate entity.
• Title of report (In  italics . Include the report number in brackets where relevant)
• Publisher information (if the author and the publisher are the same, omit the publisher)
• The first line of each citation is left adjusted. Every subsequent line is indented 5-7 spaces.

Example:  

Reports & grey literature: Examples

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APA Style Guide

• Reports and Gray Literature
• Student Paper Format
• In-Text Citation Style
• Paraphrasing and Quotations
• Tables and Figures
• Periodicals (Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Blogs, Etc.)
• Reference Works (Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Etc.)
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• Class Material
• Punctuation
• Numbers, Statistics, Mathematics, and Equations
• Avoiding Biased Language

Reports & Gray Literature

Reports and gray literature include reports published by government and non-government agencies, position papers, fact sheets, and informational brochures. Because of the wide variety of items that fall under "gray literature," the citation format can differ as well.

Basic report format:

Organization Name. (Year).  Title of report.  URL

Basic gray literature format:

Organization Name. (Year).  Title  [format description]. URL

Reports Examples

Government Agency Example:

National Cancer Institute. (2019).  Taking time: Support for people with cancer  (NIH Publication No. 18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.  https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf

Reports with Individual Authors:

Baral, P., Larsen, M., & Archer, M. (2019).  Does money grow on trees? Restoration financing in Southeast Asia . Atlantic Council.  https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/does-money-grow-on-trees-restoring-financing-in-southeast-asia/

Stuster, J., Adolf, J., Byrne, V., & Greene, M. (2018).  Human exploration of Mars: Preliminary lists of crew tasks  (Report No. NASA/CR-2018-220043). National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20190001401.pdf

White Papers Examples

White Paper with a Group Author:

Department for Business Innovation & Skills. (2016).  Success as a knowledge economy: Teaching excellent, social mobility and student choice  [White paper]. Crown.  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523396/bis-16-265-success-as-a-knowledge-economy.pdf

White Paper with Individual Authors:

Furst, M., & DeMillo, R. A. (2006).  Creating symphonic-thinking computer science graduates for an increasingly competitive global environment  [White paper]. Georgia Tech College of Computing.  https://cis.temple.edu/~giorgio/threads_whitepaper.pdf

Gray Literature Examples

Brochure Example:

Cedars-Sinai. (2015).  Human papillomavirus (HPV) and oropharyngeal cancer  [Brochure].  https://www.cedars-sinai.org/content/dam/cedars-sinai/cancer/sub-clinical-areas/head-neck/documents/hpv-throat-cancer-brochure.pdf

Fact Sheet Example:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (n.d.).  Asbestos in your environment: What you can do to limit exposure  [Fact sheet]. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.  https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/docs/limitingenvironmentalexposures_factsheet-508.pdf

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2017).  Nursing shortage fact sheet  [Fact sheet].  http://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/Factsheets/Nursing-Shortage-Factsheet-2017.pdf

Press Release Example: 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2019, November 15).  FDA approves first contact lens indicated to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children  [Press release].  https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-contact-lens-indicated-slow-progression-nearsightedness-children

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Reports & Gray literature

Gray literature (financial report, consultant’s report, ngo report, government report): how do i write the reference list entry, what is “gray literature”.

Gray literature is “many kinds of reports, including government report, technical reports, and research reports. These reports […] usually cover original research, but they may or may not be peer reviewed” (APA, 2020, p. 329).

Source: American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Individual people as authors

Krishnan, V., Mann, R., Seitzman, N., & Wittkamp, N. (2020, June 10) . Hospitality and COVID-19: How long until ‘no vacancy’ for US hotels? McKinsey. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/hospitality-and-covid-19-how-long-until-no-vacancy-for-us-hotels

Organization as author

Deloitte Consulting . (2016) . The hotel of the future . https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/hotel-of-the-future.html

OECD . (2020) . OECD tourism trends and policies 2020 . https://doi.org/10.1787/6b47b985-en .

Author – WHO? If the author or authors are named individuals, use the family name followed by the initial letter of the first name. Use the ampersand “&” before the family name of the last author in the list. Check you have included the commas “,” and periods “.” in the correct place. Include the name of the publishing organization after the title of the report before the doi or weblink.

If the author is an organization, the name of the organization goes at the beginning of the entry and is not repeated after the title of the report, before the doi or weblink.

Date – WHEN? Write the year of publication of the article enclosed in parentheses (  ). Check you have included the period “.” in the correct place.

Title – WHAT? Write the title of the article in italics . Use sentence style capitalization, meaning the initial letter of the first word should be capitalized, following words should be lower case. If there is a period *.” or colon “:” in the title of the article, the initial letter of the following word should be capitalized. The names of people, countries and so on should have an initial capital letter. End the title with a period “.”.

Source – WHERE? Use the name of the publisher if it is different from the author of the report. Include the doi or weblink if appropriate. End the publisher information with a period “.”.

Corresponding in-text citation styles

Parenthetical citation:

The hospitality industry will expand by 3% ( Krishnan et al. , 2020 ).

Investment is rapidly needed ( Deloitte Consulting , 2016 ).

Narrative citation:

Krishnan et al. , (2020) predict that the hospitality industry will expand by 3%.

For more information, see

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7 th ed.), pp.329-331, section 10.4.

American Psychological Association. (n.d). Report by a g overnment agency r eferences https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/report-government-agency-references

American Psychological Association. (n.d). Report with i ndividual a uthors r eferences https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/report-individual-authors-references

APA (7th ed.) Citing Guide: Reports & Gray Literature

• Why Cite & What is APA
• Reference List Entry Structure
• In-text Citations
• Articles: Journals
• Articles: Magazines
• Articles: News
• Books & Reference Works
• Reports & Gray Literature
• Data Sets, Software & Tests
• Audiovisual Works
• Audio Works
• Visual Works / Figures
• Social Media
• Webpages & Websites
• Games, Puppets & Manipulatives
• Databases 0-9, A-K
• Databases L-P
• Databases Q-Z
• Other Citation Styles
• About this Guide

APA 7th Edition

This guide is representative of the 7 th  edition Publication Manual of APA and focuses on a student paper structure .

APA examples are not exhaustive and focus on referencing and citations. Assistance from your professor and/or Writing Centre is suggested for clarification.

Users are responsible for interpretation of APA style guidelines and to seek further assistance when necessary.

Effective September 2020.

What are Reports and Gray Literature?

Reports and gray literature:

• cover original research which may or may not be peer reviewed
• reports can be from a government agency or organization
• gray literature includes other textual works like press releases, code of ethics, issue briefs, etc.

When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher in the reference list entry to avoid repetition.

Vital Signs Report

Reference list entry:

Abbotsford Community Foundation. (2019).  Abbotsford's vital signs.   https://www.communityfoundations.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Abbotsford-Community-Foundation.pdf 

Annual Report

Toronto Police Service. (2012). Annual statistical report. http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/files/reports/2012statsreport.pdf

Government Report (with authors)

Garner, R., Tanuseputro, P., Manuel, D. G., & Sanmartin, C. (2018, May 16).  Health reports: Transitions to long-term and residential care among older Canadians.  Government of Canada.  https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2018005/article/54966-eng.htm

Government Report (without personal authors)

Environment and Climate Change Canada. (2019).  Final report of the expert panel on sustainable finance: Mobilizing finance for sustainable growth.  Government of Canada.  http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2019/eccc/En4-350-2-2019-eng.pdf 

Organization or Association Report

College of Nurses of Ontario. (2014). Becoming a nurse. http://www.cno.org/en/become-a-nurse/

Media or Press Release

Apple Inc. (2020, June 22).  Apple announces Mac transition to Apple silicon [Press release]. https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2020/06/apple-announces-mac-transition-to-apple-silicon/ 

Note: Descriptor in square brackets can be either "Press release" or "Media release" depending on how it is described at the source.

Code of Ethics

Canadian Nurses Association. (2017).  2017 edition code of ethics for registered nurses.   https://www.cna-aiic.ca/~/media/cna/page-content/pdf-en/code-of-ethics-2017-edition-secure-interactive

Dissertation or Theses

Montgomery, A. (2018). Anxiety reducing drawing activities in secondary education  [Master's thesis, Moore College of Art & Design]. ERIC. 

In-Text Citation

For all of the examples above, the in-text citation follows the same format unless noted with the example . Refer to the Publication Manual , Section 8.17 for explanation with multiple authors.

Parenthetical citation format: (last name of author(s), year)

e.g. (Montgomery, 2018)

e.g. (Canadian Nurses Association, 2017)

Narrative citation format: include the author's or authors' names in the sentence, with the date in brackets

e.g. Montgomery (2018) wrote...

e.g. Canadian Nurses Association (2017) wrote...

More in-text citation information on this guide .

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APA Format Style Guide: Reports and Gray Literature

• Formatting Your Paper
• In-Text Citations
• Periodicals
• Books and Reference Works
• Citing the Bible

Reports and Gray Literature

• Dissertations and Theses, Conference Sessions and Presentations
• Reviews, Unpublished Works, and Informally Published Works
• Data Sets, Software, and Tests
• Film and Audio Visual Materials
• Social Media
• Legal References

Basic Citation

Remember to indent the second and following lines on your reference list!

Report by a government agency or other organization

Australian Government Productivity Commission & New Zealand Productivity Commission. (2012).  Strengthening trans-Tasman economic relations.  https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/australia-new-zealand/report/trans-tasman.pdf

Canada Council for the Arts. (2013).  What we heard: Summary of key findings: 2013 Canada Council's Inter-Arts Office consultation.  http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/canadacouncil/K23-65-2013-eng.pdf

National Cancer Institute. (2018).  Facing forward: Life after cancer treatment  (NIH Publication No. 18-2424). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/life-after-treatment.pdf

• Parenthetical Citation: (Australian Government Productivity Commission & New Zealand Productivity Commission, 2012); (Canada Council for the Art, 2013); (National Cancer Institute, 2018)
• Narrative Citation: Australian Government Productivity Commission and New Zealand Productivity Commission (2012); Canada Council for the Arts (2013); National Cancer Institute (2018)

Report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization

Fried, D., & Polyakova, A. (2018).  Democratic defense against disinformation.  Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/publications/Democratic_Defense_Against_Disinformation_FINAL.pdf

Segaert, A., & Bauer, A. (2015).  The extent and nature of veteran homelessness in Canada.  Employment and Social Development Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/communities/homelessness/publications-bulletins/veterans-report.html

• Parenthetical Citations: (Fried & Polyakova, 2018); (Segaert & Bauer, 2015)
• Narrative Citations: Fried and Polyakova (2018); Segaert and Bauer (2015)

Report by individual authors at a government agency, published as part of a series

Blackwell, D.L., Lucas, J.W., & Clarke, T.C. (2014).  Summary health statistics for U.S. adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012  (Vital and Health Statistics Series 10, Issue 260). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_260.pdf

• Parenthetical Citations: (Blackwell et al., 2014)
• Narrative Citations: Blackwell et al. (2014)

Report by a task force, working group, or other group

British Cardiovascular Society Working Group. (2016).  British Cardiovascular Society Working Group report: Out-of-hours cardiovascular care: Management of cardiac emergencies and hospital in-patients.  British Cardiovascular Society. http://www.bcs.com/documents/BCSOOHWP_Final_Report_05092016.pdf

• Parenthetical Citations: (British Cardiovascular Society Working Group, 2016)
• Narrative Citations: British Cardiovascular Society Working Group (2016)

Annual Report

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (2017).  Agency financial report: Fiscal year 2017.  https://www.sec.gov/files/sec-2017-agency-financial-report.pdf

• Parenthetical Citations: (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017)
• Narrative Citations: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2017)

Code of Ethics

American Counseling Association. (2014).  2014 ACA code of ethics.  https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center

American Nurses Association. (2015).  Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.  https://www.nursingworld.org/coe-view-only

American Psychological Association. (2017).  Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct  (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

• Parenthetical Citations: (American Counseling Association, 2014); (American Nurses Association, 2015); (American Psychological Association, 2017)
• Narrative Citations: American Counseling Association (2014); American Nurses Association (2015); American Psychological Association (2017)

Blair, C.B. (Principal Investigator). (2015-2020).  Stress, self-regulation and psycho-pathology in middle childhood  (Project No. 5R01HD081252-04) [Grant]. Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. https://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_details.cfm?aid=947307&icde=40092311

• Parenthetical Citations: (Blair, 2015-2020)
• Narrative Citations: Blair (2015-2020)

Issue Brief

Lichtenstein, J. (2013).  Profile of veteran business owners: More young veterans appear to be starting businesses  (Issue Brief No. 1). U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Issue%20Brief%201,%20Veteran%20Business%20Owners.pdf

• Parenthetical Citations: (Lichtenstein, 2013)
• Narrative Citations: Lichtenstein (2013)

Policy Brief

Harwell, M. (2018).  Don't expect too much: The limited usefulness of common SES measures and a prescription for change  [Policy brief]. National Education Policy Center. https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/SES

• Parenthetical Citations: (Harwell, 2018)
• Narrative Citations: Harwell (2018)

Press Release

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2019, February 14).  FDA authorizes first interoperable insulin pump intended to allow patients to customize treatment through their individual diabetes management devices  [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm631412.htm

• Parenthetical Citations: (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2019)
• Narrative Citations: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2019)
• Capitalize only the first word in the document title and any proper nouns.  If there is a colon in the title (a subtitle), capitalize only the first word after the colon and any proper nouns.
• Alphabetize your reference list by the first word of the citation, usually the author's last name.  If there is no author, alphabetize by the first main word in the title, ignoring "a," "an," or "the."
• Double space all of the citations on your reference list.
• Indent the second and following lines of the citation 5 to 7 spaces.

Changes from 6th Edition to 7th Edition

• No longer need "Retrieved from" in your citation
• No longer need to cite Location
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ZSR Library

Apa 7th ed. style guide: books, reports, gray literature & presentations.

• Getting Started
• Scholarly Journal Articles
• Books, Reports, Gray Literature & Presentations
• News & Blogs
• Online & Audiovisual Media
• Datasets & Tests
• Legal Sources
• Government Documents This link opens in a new window
• Citing Sources in Text
• Tables & Figures This link opens in a new window
• Formatting an APA Paper
• APA Sample Paper This link opens in a new window

On This Page

Authored book 

Edited book

Chapter in an edited book

Ebooks & audiobooks

One volume of a multivolume work

Diagnostic manual (DSM, ICD)

Entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia

Reports and Gray Literature:

Report by a government agency or other organization

Report by task force, working group, or other group

Annual report

Code of ethics

Issue / Policy brief

Press release

Dissertations and Theses

Unpublished dissertation or thesis

Dissertation or thesis from a database

Dissertation or thesis published online (not in a database)

Conference Sessions and Presentations

Conference session

Paper presentation

Poster presentation

Webinar, recorded

PowerPoint slides or lecture notes

Sample Citations - Books

Authored Book:

• Use commas to separate authors, to separate surnames and initials, and to separate initials and suffixes (ex. Jr. and III). 

Example: Authored book without a DOI, from database or print version

Example: Authored book with DOI :

Example: Authored book with editor credited on the cover

• When an editor is credited on the cover of an authored book, provide the editor's name in parenthesis after the book title with "Ed." or "Eds." in parentheses (see Section 9.10).

Edited Book

• Separate multiple publisher names using semicolons

Example: Edited book without DOI, from database or print version

Example: Edited book with DOI, multiple publishers

Chapter in an Edited Book

Example: Chapter in edited book without a DOI, from database or print version

Example: Chapter in edited book with a DOI

Example: Chapter in edited ebook or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL

Ebooks & Audiobooks

• the content is different (e.g., abridged),
• if you want to note something special about the audiobook (e.g., the impact of the narration), or
• if you quote from the audiobook (see Section 8.28).
• For ebooks, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) is not included in the reference.
• For audiobooks, include the narrator and audiobook notation only in specific cases.
• If an audiobook was released in a different year than the text version of the book, treat the audiobook as republished (see Section 9.41).

Examples: Authored ebook or audiobook without a DOI, with a nondatabase URL

Example: Republished audiobook

One Volume of a Multivolume Work

• If the volume has both series editors (or editors-in-chief) and volume editors, only the volume editors appear in the author element.
• If the volume does not have its own title, include the volume number in parentheses without italics (as in the Fiske et al. example).
• If the volume has its own title, include the volume number and title after the main title in italics (as in the Travis & White example).

Example : one volume of multivolume work, titled

Example: one volume of multivolume work, untitled

Diagnostic Manual (DSM, ICD)

• When the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the source element.
• It is common, but not required, to identify the title (and edition) of a diagnostic manual in the text. Group authors and manual titles can be abbreviated in the text (with a few exceptions) but not in the reference list (see Sections 6.25, 8.21, and 10.32)
• Generally, include a citation for a manual the fist time it is mentioned in the text. If the first mention appears in a heading, do not cite the manual in the heading; rather, cite it within the first paragraph of that section or soon thereafter.
• Do not repeat the citation for a subsequent general mention of a manual. Repeat a citation only when it directly supports a statement (e.g., quoting, paraphrasing).
• Additional examples and guidance for citing other editions of and entries in the  DSM  and  ICD  are available on the APA Style website.

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia

• When a stable or archived version of the work is cited, a retrieval date is not needed. 
• When an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived (as with the APA Dictionary of Psychology and the Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary examples), use "n.d." as the year of publication and include a retrieval date (see Section 9.16).

Example: entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia with group author

Example: entry in dictionary, thesaurus, or encyclopedia with individual author

Sample Citations - Reports and Gray Literature

Report by a Government Agency or Other Organization:

• If multiple agencies authored a report together, join the names with an ampersand, using commas to separate the names of three or more agencies.
• The names of parent agencies not present in the group author name appear in the source element as the publisher (see Section 9.11)
• See Section 9.11 for how to treat the names of group authors.

Example: report by a government agency

Example: report by individual authors at a government agency or other organization

Report by Task Force, Working Group, or Other Group

• Capitalize the name of the task force or working group wherever it appears in the reference because it is a proper noun.

Annual Report

Code of Ethics

• List the principal investigator as the author with their role in parentheses, the project start and end year(s) as the date, the project title as the title, and the funding agency as the source.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) refers to grant numbers as  project numbers ; use the appropriate terminology for the grant in your reference, and include the number in parentheses after the title.
• A grant application is not a recoverable source and should be discussed as part of the methodology but not included in the reference list.

Issue / Policy Brief

• Issue briefs are typically numbered; identify the number of the issue brief in parentheses after the title.
• If a number is not provided, identify the work as an issue brief in square brackets following the title.

Press Release

Sample Citations - Dissertations and Theses

Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis

• For unpublished dissertations and theses, the university name appears in the source element of the reference, whereas for published dissertations and theses, the university name appears in square brackets after the title.

Dissertation or Thesis from a Database

Dissertation or Thesis Published Online (Not in a Database)

Sample Citations - Conference Sessions and Presentations

• Include a label in square brackets after the title that matches how the presentation was described at the conference.
• Include all authors listed as contributing to the presentation (even if they were not physically present).
• The date should match the date(s) of the full conference to help readers find the source, even though a session or presentation likely occurred on only one day.
• Include the location of the conference to help with retrieval.
• Conference proceedings published in a journal or book follow the same format as for a journal article, edited book, or edited book chapter.

Conference Session

Paper Presentation

Poster Presentation

• Use this format only for recorded, retrievable webinars.
• Cite unrecorded webinars as personal communications. (Section 8.9)

PowerPoint slides or Lecture Notes

• If slides come from a classroom website, learning management system (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard, Sakai), or company intranet and you are writing for an audience with access to that resource, provide the name of the site and its URL (use the login page URL for sites requiring login; see Section 8.8).

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Subject Guides

Grey Literature

• What is Grey Literature?
• Where to find Grey Literature
• How to Document a Grey Literature Search

APA Citation Style for Grey Literature

Ama citation style for grey literature.

• Appraising Grey Literature

Grey literature is a category of resources that includes technical or research reports by government agencies, research institutes, organizations or companies, or associations. This type of literature includes (but is not limited to):

• white papers
• working papers
• policy briefs
• reports (Royal Roads University, 2015, What is grey literature?)

For more information, please visit  Grey Literature: What Is It?

See below for four sample references to reports, and for more information on and examples of references to reports and grey literature, refer to pages 329-331 in the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (2020) .

Author, A. A. (date).  Title of report: Subtitle of report  (Report No. xxx). Publisher Name. URL

• If the report doesn't have a report number, leave that information out of the reference.
• “If the publisher is the same as the author, which is often the case for group authors, . . . omit the publisher from the source element” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 329).

Authored Report From an Agency Website

BC Hydro. (2013).  Environmental impact statement executive summary.   Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/documents_staticpost/63919/85328/Executive_Summary.pdf

• In-text citation: (BC Hydro, 2013, p. X)

Authored Report from a Government Department

Bush, E., & Lemmen, D. S. (Eds.). (2019).  Canada’s changing climate report . Natural Resources Canada. https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR_FULLREPORT-EN-FINAL.pdf

• In-text citation: (Bush & Lemmen, 2019, p. X)

Report from a Private Organization, Available on Organization Website (e.g., annual report)

Canadian Solar. (2018).  2018 annual report.  http://investors.canadiansolar.com/static-files/f5df404b-6f97-4027-8be3-db57c5bb35d6

• In-text citation: (Canadian Solar, 2018, p. X)

United Nations Report

United Nations Development Programme. (2014).  Human development report 2014: Sustaining human progress: Reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience . http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr14-report-en-1.pdf

• First in-text citation: (United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], 2014, p. X)
• Subsequent in-text citations: (UNDP, 2014, p. X)

American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Royal Roads University. (2015).  Grey literature: What is it?   http://libguides.royalroads.ca/greylit

Dissertation/Thesis

Author last name Author’s first initials.  Title of Book  [dissertation]. Place of college or university: Name of college or university; year of completion.

Online Government/Organization Report

Author(s) or responsible body. Title of report. URL. Published date. Updated date. Accessed date.

Online Conference Proceeding/Presentation

Author(s). Title of presentation. Name of society meeting or conference; date of meeting or conference; place of meeting or conference. URL. Accessed date.

News Publications

Author(s). Title.  Name of Newspaper . Publication date. Accessed date. Website address.

Author(s). Title. Name of website. Publication date. Updated date. Accessed date. URL

AMA Style LibGuide

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APA Referencing - Education & CCSC students: Gray literature

• Abbreviations
• Journal article
• Quotes & citations
• Reference lists
• Referencing questions
• Audiovisual works
• Brochure or pamphlet
• Conference paper
• Dictionary/Encyclopedia
• Government publication

Gray literature

• Group author
• Interviews/Research data
• Lecture notes/Tutorial material
• Newspaper/Magazine
• Personal communication
• Self-referencing
• Software app
• Figures & tables
• Unpublished or informally published work

The APA 7th edition publication manual provides guidance on how to reference documents that are in electronic form but are not from a published journal. This category is called  Gray Literature . Gray literature includes electronic articles that are accessed on a web page (but are distinct from the web page) or which are downloaded as a PDF (portable document format). Examples are reports, press releases, codes of ethics and other government or agency documents. School documents, including curriculum documents, can be referenced in this category. 

APA7th Edition

Gray literature, gray literature (apa7).

In-text reference

(Center on the Developing Child, 2017)

Reference list

Author, A. A. (1998).  Title of work [Description]. Publisher. https://www.xxxxxx

This example references a PDF document downloaded from the CDC website.

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What is gray literature?

Gray literature refers to literature that is not formally published in sources such as books and journals. Gray literature includes but not limited to conference abstracts or papers, hard to find studies, reports, or dissertations, governmental or private sector research, ongoing or unpublished clinical trials, technical reports, press release, white papers, fact sheets, brochures, or policy briefs. 

According to APA rule (see APA book 7.03, p. 205-206 or APA style guide to electronic references, p. 19-21), format gray literature as you would a book. Some examples are citing IOM report , CNL white paper , and fact sheet .

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• Research Guides

Grey Literature

• What is Grey Literature? Activities
• Why Use Grey Literature?
• Types of Grey Literature
• Sources of Grey Literature
• Searching for Grey Literature
• Evaluating Grey Literature Activity
• How to Incorporate & Cite Grey Literature

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This guide includes content adapted with permission from the University of Illinois Library .

What is Grey Literature?

Describing grey literature in its entirety is more challenging than outlining what it isn't. Grey literature encompasses various media, resources, documents, and data that diverge from the conventional academic or commercial publishing pathways, often termed "white literature." If a resource lacks publication in a scholarly journal, it likely falls within the realm of grey literature. Unlike white literature, grey Literature doesn't undergo peer review and typically avoids publication in books or scholarly journals. Today, most grey literature is disseminated digitally through PDFs, web pages, blog posts, and multimedia content. Unlike academic publishing, grey literature authors are not required to possess extensive field experience, though recognized experts or organizations often author the most credible pieces. Grey literature spans a broad spectrum—it's not necessarily always factual or nonfactual, nor is it constrained to a purely professional or casual tone.

• A local government's report on the city's water quality
• The front page news story from a national news company***
• An engineering PhD candidate's dissertation on keyword latency  
• The state government's crime statistics from the last year
• A pamphlet from the Forest Service on the history of a national park
• A report from an international non-governmental organization (NGO) on modern slavery
• A blog post from a well-known academic on a new theory concerning her field
• Tweets from protestors involved in the Arab Spring demonstrations 
• Court transcripts and other legal documents

All these items can be helpful in research, but using, evaluating, and finding good grey literature can be challenging. This guide is designed to help users understand and navigate the complexities of this special literature. 

***Some do not consider news grey literature because it comes from a commercial publishing system. Still, others do because it is not peer-reviewed or necessarily written by experts in the field. This guide includes news media as grey literature because it is not peer-reviewed and can be evaluated using the same methods as grey literature.

What is "Scholarly" and "Peer Reviewed"?

Scholarly sources (also referred to as academic, peer-reviewed, or refereed sources) are written by experts in a particular field and keep others interested in that field up to date on the most recent research, findings, and news.

When a source has been peer-reviewed, it has undergone the review and scrutiny of a review board of colleagues in the author’s field. They evaluate this source as part of the body of research for a particular discipline and make recommendations regarding its publication in a journal, revisions before publication, or, in some cases, reject its publication.

In essence, when a work is scholarly and peer-reviewed, the work of evaluating a resource is done by the publisher, and the resource user does not have to spend too much time evaluating it themselves. This is extremely useful as it ensures the information is factual. However, the process of peer review is far from perfect; it has its own set of biases and issues with diversity; it is a lengthy process, and scholarly and peer-reviewed works are often expensive to access.

When resources are not peer-reviewed, the work of evaluating the resources falls almost entirely on the user. Grey literature is typically only reviewed for accuracy by their organization, and the process varies widely from organization to organization if they have one at all. The users reading the information cannot be sure if anyone has reviewed the facts presented in grey literature and if the organizations' biases have distorted the facts.  

Activity: What is Grey Literature?

Use the interactive module below to test your knowledge of grey literature!

Activity: Grey Literature Drag and Drop

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Stout Digital Collections: Citing Grey Literature

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• Copyright and Submitting to Stout Digital Collections
• Citing Grey Literature
• Research Assistance
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Citation Examples Here

Stout Digital Collections

Grey Literature

What is Grey Literature?

Grey literature refers to a wide range of records and materials that were not published or distributed in traditional and commercial ways. Examples include reports, statistics, policies, newsletters, speeches, design or marketing standards, and other types of information that is produced at the organization level. Typically, grey literature is current and locally relevant. The records and materials in the UW-Stout Archives typically fall under the definition of grey literature. 

This guide will give you formats and information on citing these types of sources.

APA Citations

Citing with APA

Below is the format for citing with APA, American Psychological Association, style for records from the UW-Stout Archives and other grey literature. For more information on the APA style guide and other considerations visit the  APA Style website .

We are here to help!  If you have any questions about specific collections, documents, or citations, please reach out to  [email protected] . 

Reference List Basic Format

Author Last Name, First Initial. (year month day). Title [Description of material]. Name of collection (Collection number or identifier, Box number, Folder number). Name of repository, Location of repository. Retrieved from URL if applicable.

In-Text Citation Format

(Author's Last Name(s) or Organization, Year)

MLA Citations

Citing with MLA

Below is the MLA guidelines for grey literature and other archival materials. For more information on MLA citations, you can refer to the  MLA Style Center .

We are here to help!  If you have any questions about specific collections or grey literature you are citing, please reach out to  [email protected] . 

Works Cited Basic Format

Author Last Name, First Name Middle Name or Initial. Title or description of material. Day month year. Collection Name. Collection identifier, Box number, Folder number. Name of repository, Location of repository. URL if applicable.

In-Text Citation Basic Format

If there is not an author, use the title or a description of the material being cited.

Chicago Style Citations

Citing with Chicago Style

Chicago style is split into two different systems: Notes and Bibliography and Author-Date. Refer to The Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide for more information on the two systems. Below is the format for Notes and Bibliography in The Chicago Style for archival materials and grey literature.

We are here to help!  If you have any questions about specific collections or want more information on the Author-Date format, please reach out to  [email protected] . 

Notes Basic Format

1. Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Collection number or identifier, box number, folder number, Collection Name, Name of Repository, Location of Repository. URL if applicable.

Shortened Notes Basic Format

If a collection or document is cited multiple times within footnotes, the first use of the citation must use the format above. Subsequent citations may be shortened. The shortened form is added in brackets at the end of the first citation. 

Bibliography Basic Format

Last Name, First Name of author. Name of Collection. Name of Repository, Location of Repository.

More Information and Questions

• Head to UW-Stout Archives'  Grey Literature Citations  webpage to see specific examples of how to use these citation styles with records from the UW-Stout Archives collections.
• If you are not seeing what you are looking for, are looking for different citation style, or have other questions about citing grey literature, please contact the UW-Stout Archives at  [email protected] . 
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