grey literature, peer review

[Richard Plant]

Hello Don, et al:

I am late in joining this little chat, but will add a brief comment. The
problem I see inherent in the situation Kathy has outlined is not to do
with the electronic source of the hypothetical student's paper. Rather --
and this comes from experience which is not hypothetical -- the
generalized nature of the types of article students often draw on.
Encyclopedic entries -- and I've done a few myself -- are notoriously
ineffective in many ways, but offer the student what appears to be an
authoritative source along with lots of "factual" information. This is no
less true of hard copy than electronic. I've noticed a tendency in some
students to draw on such generalized sources which the electronic
suppliers are profuse in supplying.

As you say, establish sound principles for research and reporting, no
matter what source the scholarship comes from, and maintain them. No doubt
there will always be people who do not follow such principles.
Richard Plant
Dept of Drama, Queen's University
and
Graduate Centre for Study of Drama,
University of Toronto