Online searches

Online searching

PubMed offers valuable academic journal articles, known as "peer-reviewed" literature. In contrast, "grey literature" includes non-academic sources like annual reports, white papers, standards, and policy documents, usually found online.

You can find grey literature by searching organisational websites or using search engines like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo. Unlike content from commercial publishers, grey literature is produced by organisations, governments, industries, or individuals and is often freely available. Check the resource or publication sections of organisational websites for relevant information.

Curious to learn more about grey literature and how to search for it online? Check out our blog series on finding aged care information online. Plus, explore ARIIA's funded projects, which focus on implementing best practices in aged care, which were supported by multiple rounds of grant funding between 2022 and 2024.

Google Advanced ‘one-click’ searches

Searching for grey literature can be a tricky process. To make things a little easier we have created a set of one-click web searches for finding important resources on our aged care topics in Australia. These are separated into searches for information created by and/or held on:

• Organisational websites 
  A useful option when you want information from reputable non-profit organisations such as Dementia Australia and reduce the number of results from commercial, for-profit companies. 
• Government websites
  Use this option to keep up to date with state or national aged care policies and initiatives, as well as standards and regulations from agencies such as the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. 
• Educational or research websites
  Useful for finding information about courses of learning or research undertaken at universities, TAFE colleges, and specialist research organisations.  

You may wish to use these as a starting point for your research and use them to develop your own ongoing searches.

Using Google Advanced Search

Searching the internet can be time-consuming and overwhelming, but Google’s advanced search makes it easier to find exactly what you need. By using specific keywords, phrases, and filters, you can quickly narrow your search results. You can also refine results by location, language, domain (site), and file type.

The topic searches we've provided are just starting points. You might want to customise them using advanced search or create your own. To help, we've included a guide below, along with a handy PDF you can print for future reference.

Want more sources to search? Try our 'other search sources' for key organisations, below.