Track your research impact with Overton

RMIT now has access to Overton, a platform for discovering policy documents, government reports, think tank publications and other forms of grey literature.

In addition to supporting grey literature discovery and literature searching, Overton enables researchers to identify where scholarly publications have been cited in policy and other non-academic documents, providing evidence of research engagement and impact beyond traditional citation indicators.

Overton can be used to:

discover policy documents, government reports, think tank publications and other forms of grey literature
support evidence synthesis and literature review searching
identify where research publications have been cited in policy and other non-academic documents
provide evidence of policy engagement and broader research influence
support impact, engagement and promotion narratives – particularly when preparing grant materials.

Access Overton via SSO

Support from the Library

The Library is offering two online workshops in August and September, facilitated by Overton product support specialist, Morgan Adle.

Introduction to Overton 1: How to find policy impact

Thursday 27 August, 2pm–3pm

In this one-hour session, you will learn how to:

find policy citations to your own research using the people search and DOI searches
set up and manage your Overton profile
save searches to monitor policy impact over time
assess the policy impact of an individual, research group, centre or institution.

Register now

Introduction to Overton 2: How to find policy documents and grey literature

Wednesday 9 September, 2pm–3pm

In this one-hour session, you will learn how to:

search for policy documents using keywords and advanced search techniques
apply filters to refine and target search results
explore reports, exports and other tools for analysing search results
find relevant policy and grey literature using best practices.

Register now

There is also a dedicated Research engagement and impact guide and Research metrics guide with more information.

Other tools for measuring impact

With Overton now available, the subscription to Altmetric Explorer has been discontinued. While not a direct replacement, Overton provides significantly deeper coverage of policy documents and grey literature, enabling researchers to better understand how research is informing government, organisational and professional decision-making.

Researchers continue to have access to a range of citation and online attention indicators through RMIT Elements, Scopus (PlumX), SciVal, Web of Science and InCites. Key Altmetric features at the output level remain available via RMIT Elements.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at researchservices@rmit.edu.au.

30 July 2026

Other news from the Library

Track your research impact with Overton

30 Jul 2026

RMIT now has access to Overton, a platform for discovering policy documents, government reports, think tank publications and other forms of grey literature.

Apply for OER grant up to $50,000

27 Jul 2026

The Libraries of the Australian Technology Network of Universities (LATN) are offering grants to support the development and adoption of open educational resources.

Introducing RMIT’s first Assistive Technology Specialist

23 Jul 2026

Meet Kesh Leggett, RMIT’s first Assistive Technology Specialist, based in the Library.

New book labels to categorise Indigenous-related resources

16 Jul 2026

The Collections team is currently reviewing selected books using the AIATSIS 'Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources'.

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures