Animal Research Alternatives and Animal Care : Preparing for a Literature Search

USDA/Animal Care Policy #12 states that database searches remain the most effective and efficient method for demonstrating compliance with the requirement to consider unnecessary duplication of research.

There are many ways to approach searching a database for animal alternatives.  Links to articles addressing some of the approaches are included in the box to the right. A simplified method is provided here:

First gather information to familiarize yourself with the planned protocol including:

• the general area of study
• the species and organ system being studied
• important synonyms, acronyms and international spellings
• names of hormones, enzymes, CAS#, trade names
• prominent authors in the field including the investigator
• prior knowledge of possible alternatives to use of animals
• prior knowledge of possible alternatives to intended procedures
• results of previous searches including keywords used.

Here is a worksheet useful for recording this information: Worksheet and Instructions for Alternatives Literature Searching

 Use the information gathered above to develop search terms for the general field of study and the research topic. Then refer to Tab 2 "Formulating a Search Strategy" for suggested terminology for retrieving citations relevant to the 3 Rs.