A Word Document version of this worksheet is available through clicking on the link above
Animal Testing Literature Search Worksheet
- Title of Animal Study Protocol
- General area of study (as drug testing, cardiology, toxicology, fetal alcohol syndrome, or lipid metabolism)
- Protocol study type (as research, teaching, or testing)
- Description of the experimental protocol including objectives and endpoints
- Listing of all authors in the field, especially PIs
- Proposed animal species (as swine, rats, dogs, or primates)
- Proposed use of the animals, in detail
Listing of which systems, anatomical parts, or organ systems are involved
- Description of the methods and procedures using animals
Include all that may cause the animal pain or distress and those that will relieve the animal of pain
Relevance of the methods and procedures to the study
The PI must search for alternatives for painful or distressful procedures
- Listing of all potential alternatives
USDA AWIC recommends searching in two phases: Phase I -Reduction/Refinement and Phase II - Replacement
- Reduction in the number of animals used (as shared control groups, consultation with a statistician)
- Refinement of techniques and procedures to reduce pain or distress (as analgesics, modified restraint, modified techniques)
- Replacement of animals with non-animal techniques or use of less-sentient species/animals lower on the phylogenetic scale, tissue or cell cultures, in vitro methods, computer simulations or animals models/simulations(see above, first step)
This Library Guide contains Keyword suggestions
- Listing of all drugs, compounds, hormones, enzymes, and CAS#s to be used in the procedures
Include all scientific, trade, and generic names
- Listing of keywords/concepts using terminology from the responses to questions above
Keep concepts separate to create a good search strategy
e.g. Keywords of concept 1 - heart OR cardiac OR cardiovascular disease
Keywords of concept 2 - Ace inhibitors OR Beta-blockers
This Library Guide contains Keyword suggestions
- Database selection: (Choose those that are appropriate for the area of study):
____ PubMed ____ Science Citation Index____ Biological Abstracts/BIOSIS
____ AGRICOLA____ TOXNET
____ Other specialized databases and web resources as recommended by the Information Specialist.
This Library Guide contains Database suggestions and Web site suggestions
- Select databases which are appropriate for the area of study
See Database Selection Guide
- Database year(s) of coverage: ___________ to ___________
- Detailed, flexible search strategy with the keywords and concepts noted above.
Flexibility is necessary because
- Databases vary in their respective search algorithms
- Search strategies may need to be revised if too many or too little records are retrieved
- Listing of any other sources used to determine that alternatives are/are not available.
This listing should be secondary to the literature search.
Found resources may be useful in supporting or rebuke potential alternatives found in the search.
Other resources may include conference attendance, committee membership, professional expertise and training
Adapted from: UC Davis Center for Animal Alternatives Information and Alternatives Literature Searching Worksheet and 3Rs (Canadian Council on Animal Care © 2005-2015 )
