Good Search Practive on Animal Alternaives
How best to search information on the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement of animal use) in the WWW
Making full use of all sources of information on alternative methods is a key part of preparing research projects in the life sciences using laboratory animals in compliance with the EU legislative requirements.
A major challenge to locate relevant high quality information about a proposed field of scientific investigation is the exponential increase of scientific publications. Over the last years the electronic resources, originally developed to offer a potential solution to this problem, have shown a similar proliferation. The question arises: how best to search information specifically on the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, refinement of animal use) in the World Wide Web?
The guide provides examples of search procedures and user guidance to facilitate the location of the desired information on 3Rs alternatives; it also includes an inventory of relevant resources.
The guide is aimed at untrained database users. It represents a useful resource where comprehensive searches are required as part of authorisation processes for animal experiments and where regulatory requirements mandate the application of the 3Rs.
UPDATED 28.08.2013: second edition of the EURL ECVAM Guide (hard copy & pdf version) : available free of charge from the EU Bookshop
The guide will also be made available on-line as an electronic data retrieval system (publication foreseen in 2013).