Overton is an online database of policy documents and other grey literature/reports from about 190 countries and territories. It offers full-text indexing and categorisation by topics and subject areas. Overton gathers documents from government bodies, International Government Organisations (IGOs), Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), think tanks, and other policy-making entities across various fields including economics, education, environment, health, politics and international relations, and sociology/social policy. It then extracts citations from these documents, both to the academic literature that they cite and the other documents they reference.

To access Overton, use the trial link (ensure you are logged into the UM wifi or VPN-connected). The trial period will continue until 31 May 2024*. After using the database, we kindly request that you complete this survey. The results of this survey will determine whether we will acquire this database.

How can Overton assist you in your research?:

  • To find where research is being used to develop policy (e.g. as evidence of impact)
  • To understand the policy landscape in a subject, to plan how to influence policy with current and future research projects
  • To identify citations of your work to gauge the impact of your research
  • Simply as a discovery database for report literature (and the research cited there) in subjects like economics, education, environment, health, politics and international relations, and sociology/social policy.

See Overton’s help site for an introductory video, and getting started guides. Further ‘how to’ videos are available in Overton’s YouTube playlist.

Need assistance?

Do you have any questions about the library’s databases or services? Please reach out to us via Ask Your Librarian.

*Update: The trial was previously until 30 April 2024, but has now been extended until 31 May 2024.