LibGuides: Citing sources according to APA guidelines: 4.4 Grey literature: Report ǀ Annual report ǀ Preprint ǀ Working paper ǀ Discussion paper ǀ White paper ǀ Fact sheet ǀ Press release

4.4 Grey literature

Grey (or gray) literature includes materials and research produced by organizations outside of the traditional commercial or academic publishing and distribution channels, such as universities, government agencies, research institutes, think tanks, businesses, non-profit organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Grey literature is usually published only online.

On this page:

🠇	Government report	🠇	Working paper
🠇	Report by a non-governmental organization	🠇	Discussion paper
🠇	Annual report	🠇	White paper
🠇	Fact sheet	🠇	Press release
🠇	Preprint

Government report

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2019 (Pub ID 300754). United States Department of Health and Human Services. https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:82532

Begin the refence with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words). When numerous layers of government are listed as the author of the webpage, use the most specific one.
Give the publication year.
List the report title in italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. A report number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
After the title and report number (if present), the name of the publishing government agency is listed (capitalize the first word and all major words). For government reports, this is the parent agency not present in the organizational author name. Sometimes there are several parent agencies. When this is the case, name the parent governmental organization first, place a comma and then name the underlying organization (see also the first example under the middle tab).
End the reference with the DOI (do not include a period after the DOI).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019)

Narrative citation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

National Cancer Institute. (2021). Radiation therapy and you: Support for people with cancer (NIH Publication No. 21- 7157). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/radiation-and-you-2021-508.pdf

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. (2021). The Netherlands 2020 human rights report. United States Department of State. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ NETHERLANDS-2020-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf

Begin the refence with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words). When numerous layers of government are listed as the author of the webpage, use the most specific one.
Give the publication year.
List the report title in italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. A report number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
After the title and report number (if present), name of the publishing governmental organization is listed (capitalize the first word and all major words). For government reports, this is the parent agency not present in the organizational author name.
Sometimes there are several parent agencies. When this is the case, name the parent governmental organization first, place a comma and then name the underlying organization (as in the first example).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citations: National Cancer Institute, 2021; Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, 2021)

Narrative citations: National Cancer Institute (2021) and Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (2021)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

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

Burrell, S., Ruxton, S., & Westmarland, N. (2019). Changing gender norms: Engaging with men and boys. Government Equalities Office. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952527/Changing_Gender_Norms_Engaging_with_Men_and
_Boys.pdf

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year of the report.
List the report title (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. A report number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
After the title and report number (if present), the name of the publishing governmental organization is listed (capitalize the first word and all major words). For government reports, this is the parent agency not present in the organizational author name. Sometimes there are several parent agencies. When this is the case, give the parent governmental organization first, place a comma and then give the underlying organization (as in the first example).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citations: (Stuster et al., 2018; Burrell et al., 2019)

Narrative citations: Stuster et al. (2018) and Burrell et al. (2019)

Report from a non-governmental organization

In the reference list

Committee on Women in Psychology. (2017). The changing gender composition of psychology: Update and expansion of the 1995 task force report. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/gender-composition/task-force-report.pdf

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Give the publication year.
List the report title in italics. Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number after the title, not italicized and in parentheses. Note that a report number may not be present (as in this example), or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
After the title and report number (if present), list the name of the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL.)

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Committee on Women in Psychology, 2017)

Narrative citation: Committee on Women in Psychology (2017)

In the reference list

World Health Organization. (2022). Scope and impact of digital marketing strategies for promoting breastmilk substitutes. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240046085

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Give the publication year.
Provide the title of report (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number after the title, not italicized and in parentheses. Note that a report number may not be present (as in this example), or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
The title is normally followed by the publishing organization. Where the author and publishing organization are the same, omit the publishing organization to avoid repetition.
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (World Health Organization, 2022)

Narrative citation: World Health Organization (2022)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Ruediger, D., & Cooper, D. (2021). COVID-19 and the future of the annual meeting. Ithaka S+R. https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.316000

Del Rosario Crespo Garrido, I., & Catalano, G. (2018). Cultural Effects at CERN (CERN-ACC-2018-0048). CERN. https://cds.cern.ch/record/2649022/files/CERN-ACC-2018-0048.pdf

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year.
List the report title (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the report number (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title, as in the second example. Note that a report number may not be present, or, when present (as in the first example), the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the report.
After the title and report number (if present), list the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the DOI (as in the first example) or the URL (as in the second example).
Do not include a period after the DOI/URL.

In the text

Parenthetical citations: (Ruediger & Cooper, 2021; Del Rosario Crespo Garrido & Catalano, 2018)

Narrative citations: Ruediger en Cooper (2021) en Del Rosario Crespo Garrido en Catalano (2018)

Annual report

In the reference list

Advanced Semiconductors Materials Lithography. (2022). Annual report 2021. https://www.asml.com/
en/investors/annual-report/2021

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words). Do not abbreviate the organizational author name.
Give the publication year.
List the title of the annual report (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
The title is normally followed by the name of the publishing organization. Where the author and publishing organization are the same, omit the publishing organization to avoid repetition.
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Advanced Semiconductors Materials Lithography, 2022)

Narrative citation: Advanced Semiconductors Materials Lithography (2022)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Hertz, U., Tyropoulou, E., Olesen, C., & Bahrami, B. (2018). Self-Competence increases the willingness to pay for social influence. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/6jm7t

Begin the reference with the author(s) abd the publication year.
List the title of the preprint. Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Provide the name of the preprint archive or institutional repository (university archive) from which the work originated (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the DOI (do not include a period after the DOI).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Hertz et al., 2018)

Narrative citation: Hertz et al. (2018)

A preprint is a full draft of an article that is shared publicly before it has been peer reviewed by a journal.

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Qin, W. (2022). A diagnosis of diabetes and health behavior maintenance in middle-aged and older adults in the United States: The role of self-efficacy and social support. PubMed Central. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9015723/

Begin the reference with the author(s) abd the publication year.
List the title of the preprint. Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Provide the name of the preprint archive or institutional repository (university archive) from which the work originated (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Qin, 2022)

Narrative citation: Qin (2022)

Working paper

With DOI
Without DOI

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Blanden, J., Doep, M., & Stuhler, J. (2022). Educational inequality (Working Paper 29979) [Working paper]. NBER. https://doi.org/10.3386/w29979

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year.
List the title of the working paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the number of the working paper (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. Note that a number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the working paper.
After the title and working paper number (if present), provide a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
Then, provide the name of the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the DOI (do not include a period after the DOI).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Blanden et al., 2022)

Narrative citation: Blanden et al. (2022)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Bańbura, M., Leiva-Leon, D., & Menz, J.-O. (2021). Do inflation expectations improve model-based inflation forecasts? (No. 2604) [Working paper]. European Central Bank. https://www.ecb.europa.eu
/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecb.wp2604~a7dc92b529.en.pdf

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year.
List the title of the working paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the number of the working paper (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. Note that a report number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the working paper.
After the title and working paper number (if present), provide a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
Then, provide the name of the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Bańbura et al., 2021)

Narrative citation: Bańbura et al. (2021)

Discussion paper

Organizational author, also publisher (with DOI)
Individual author (without DOI)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

All European Academies. (2021). Fact or fake? Tackling science disinformation (ALLEA Discussion Paper #5) [Discussion paper]. https://doi.org/10.26356/fact-or-fake

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Give the publication year.
List the title of the discussion paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the number of the discussion paper (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. Note that a discussion paper number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the discussion paper.
After the title and discussion paper number (if present), provide a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
The title is normally followed by the publishing organization. Where the author and publishing organization are the same, omit the publishing organization to avoid repetition.
End the reference with the DOI (do not include a period after the DOI).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (All European Academies, 2021)

Narrative citation: All European Academies (2021)

What is a DOI?

In the reference list

Calvert Jump, R., & Levine, P. (2021). Hysteresis in the new keynesian three equation model (DP 08/21) [Discussion paper]. University of Surrey. https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-09/
DP08-21.pdf

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year.
List the title of the discussion paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
Include the number of the discussion paper (not in italics and in parentheses) after the title. Note that a discussion paper number may not be present, or, when present, the wording may vary. Follow the wording that appears on the discussion paper.
After the title and discussion paper number (if present), provide a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
Then, list the name of the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Calvert Jump & Levine, 2021)

Narrative citation: Calvert Jump and Levine (2021)

White paper

Organizational author
Individual author

In the reference list

Department of Health & Social Care. (2021). People at the heart of care: Adult social care reform white paper [White paper]. Crown. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
1061870/people-at-the-heart-of-care-asc-reform-accessible-with-correction-slip.pdf

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Give the publication year.
List the title of the white paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
After the title, include a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
Then, provide the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Department of Health & Social Care, 2021)

Narrative citation: Department of Health & Social Care (2021)

In the reference list

Brodley, C., Bryant, R., Clarke, L., Gilbert, J., Hambrusch, S., Johnson, C., LeBlanc, R., Paxton, J., & Schnabel, B. (2019). Creating institutional homes for computing: Transforming a department into a school or college [White paper]. Computing Research Association. https://cra.org/wp-content/
uploads/2019/04/Creating-Institutional-Homes-for-Computing.pdf

Begin the reference with the author(s) and the publication year.
List the title of the white paper (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
After the title, include a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
Then, list the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Brodley et al., 2019)

Narrative citation: Brodley et al. (2019)

Fact sheet

In the reference list

World Health Organization (2021). Obesity and overweight [Fact sheet]. https://www.who.int/news-room
/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Give the publication year.
List the title of the fact sheet (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
After the title, include a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
The title is normally followed by the publishing organization. Where the author and publishing organization are the same, omit the publishing organization (capitalize the first word and all major words).
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (World Health Organization, 2021)

Narrative citation: World Health Organization (2021)

Press release

In the reference list

Tilburg University. (2021, March 24). The corona crisis as an opportunity for improved relationships between people and with nature [Press release]. https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/current/press-releases/nothing-excess

Begin the reference with the full name of the organizational author (capitalize the first word and all major words).
Provide as specific a date as possible.
List the title of the press release (in italics). Capitalize the first word of the title, the subtitle, and any proper nouns.
After the title, include a form-specific description in square brackets (important for identification and retrieval of the work). Note that only hereafter, the title element ends with a period.
The title is normally followed by the publishing organization. Where the author and publishing organization are the same, omit the publishing organization.
End the reference with the URL (do not include a period after the URL).

In the text

Parenthetical citation: (Tilburg University, 2021)

Narrative citation: Tilburg University (2021)