Gray Literature

Gray literature refers to materials that are not typically published in peer-reviewed journals, books, or other traditional channels. This category of literature includes reports, press releases, government documents, white papers, brochures, pamphlets, billboards, and other types of non-traditional publications. These sources are often produced by organizations, businesses, government agencies, research institutions, or experts in a particular field.

• Formatting reference entries for gray literature can be confusing, since these sources don't typically fall into a particular citing pattern or have examples writers can follow.  

• Use APA's "four elements of a reference" guide:  Author: Who is responsible for this work?  Date: When was this work published? Title: What is this work called? Source: Where can this work be found?    

• Answering these four questions will help you create a reference for any type of source, particularly ones that are non-traditional.  

• In-text citations: Narrative citation - Name (Date); Parenthetical citation - (Name, Date).                           

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

Billboard

Carvana. (n.d.). Sell us your car online [Billboard]. West Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32818.

• For signs, billboards, and other similar objects, use physical location as the source.

• For images of billboards found online, cite it as an image.

Pamphlet or Brochure - print and online

Center for Disease Control. (2019). Isolate and take precautions if you have or suspect you have COVID-19 [Pamphlet].

Primary Care Access Network. (2022). Healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured. [Brochure].

          https://www.pcanorangecounty.com/docs/pcan-englishBrochure.pdf

(When the publisher is the same as the author, which is often the case for group authors, omit the publisher from the source element.)