An Analysis of Current Grey Literature Document Typology

This analysis is based on the classification of the systems GreyNet, OpenSIGLE, Czech ASEP, RIV and others. During the analysis of the lists of document types, we have discovered that these typologies contain, besides "real" document types (reports, theses, etc.) other aspects, such as events (arrangement, organization), types of events (conferences, speeches), producers (universities, institutes), processes (translations, output), content (political documents, legal texts), location (domestic, foreign), and format (e-texts, numeric data). However, this approach is not systematic. Therefore, we have decided to create a classification scheme for document types only, and classify other aspects into various groups in order to define them more precisely. The scheme will be processed in a text version as well as schematically in mind maps. We believe that identifying a specific typology for credible grey literature document types, particularly reports, conference proceedings, and government documents, will assist in the classification of grey literature in the fields of science, research, and education. On the other hand, grey literature also consists of various means of communication, such as telephone calls, meetings, e-mails, blogs, interviews, social networking tools, or discussions in Wiki. It is important to identify only credible document types and not use unverified information that may be unsuitable for scientific work. The aim of this analysis is therefore to create, define, and implement a current credible grey literature document typology, in order to open discussions in the grey literature community, leading to a means of collecting GL from reputable events and producers rather than relying on social networking tools or Wiki contributions. While the later types of sources can assist researchers, scientists, and teachers with their information-seeking pursuits, document of this nature needs to be evaluated on a regular basis.本分析基于GreyNet、OpenSIGLE、Czech ASEP、RIV及其他系统的分类框架展开。在梳理各类文档类型清单的过程中，我们发现这些分类体系除涵盖"实质性"文档类型（如报告、学位论文等）外，还包含诸多其他维度：例如事件（如筹备、组织）、事件类型（如会议、演讲）、产出主体（如高校、科研院所）、处理流程（如翻译、输出）、内容范畴（如政治文件、法律文本）、发布地域（如国内、境外）以及载体格式（如电子文本（e-texts）、数值数据）。但此类分类方式缺乏系统性。为此，我们决定仅针对文档类型构建专属分类框架，并将其余维度划分为不同组别，以实现更精准的定义。该分类框架将同时以文本形式与思维导图的可视化形式予以呈现。我们认为，针对可信灰色文献（grey literature）的文档类型构建专属分类体系——尤其是报告、会议录与政府公文——将有助于科学、科研及教育领域内灰色文献的分类工作。另一方面，灰色文献还涵盖多种沟通载体，例如电话通话、会议、电子邮件、博客、访谈、社交网络工具，或维基（Wiki）平台上的讨论内容。需注意仅筛选可信的文档类型，切勿使用未经证实、不适用于科研工作的信息。因此，本分析的目标在于构建、定义并落地一套当前可用的可信灰色文献文档分类体系，以期在灰色文献学界引发讨论，进而推动从权威事件与产出主体处收集灰色文献（GL），而非仅依赖社交网络工具或维基平台的贡献内容。尽管后者这类来源可为研究者、科研人员与教师的信息检索活动提供助力，但此类文档仍需定期开展评估审核工作。