The Importance of the Gray Literature in the Internet for the Accounting and Business Administration Areas

Abstract

This work analyzes the characteristics of gray literature, evaluating the use of this useful information source for teachers, students and researches of business administration and accounting. Moreover, it studies new kinds of diffusion of the scientific knowledge with the use of open archives, preprints and open-access bases. Although we found restrictions of some academics communities, the use of this kind of reference have been growing, justifying its importance. In many cases, it is the only primary information source about some subjects. The Internet has led to increase of the gray literature uses, such as reports and studies. Websites, electronic presentations and interactions with on-line groups have made possible the exchange of more information, allowing the evolution of the knowledge in accounting and business administration. This kind of diffusion also is analyzed in this work. Key-words: Grey literature. White papers. Source of information. Open-archives. Pre-prints. Open-access.