Finding Alternatives to Animal Research

Introduction

This page is for UVa researchers whose research protocols require them to use animals and who wish to meet the information requirements of the Animal Welfare Act, which is a federally-mandated requirement. Federal animal welfare regulations require that an investigator performing procedures that are painful or distressful to an animal provide assurance that no alternatives exist to the painful procedure.

"Information Requirements of the Animal Welfare Act, Final Rules and Regulations," Federal Register, Vol 54 (168), August 31, 1989:
"The principal investigator must provide a written narrative of the sources, such as Biological Abstracts, Index Medicus, the Current Research Information Service (CRIS), and the Animal Welfare Information Center that is operated by the National Agricultural Library. We believe that in fulfilling this requirement Committee members will discuss these efforts with the principal investigator in reviewing the proposed activity. We also believe that considerations of alternatives will be discussed during Committee meetings where proposed activities are presented for approval, and made part of the meeting minutes..."

Preparing Your Search Strategy

The USDA's Animal Care Policy Manual, Policy #12, "Written Narrative for Alternatives to Painful/Distressful Procedures" [June 21, 2000]:

"...the performance of a database search remains the most effective and efficient method for demonstrating compliance with the requirement to consider alternatives to painful/distressful procedures."

Items required by Policy #12 (for the "minimal written narrative"):

  • Names of the databases searched
  • Date the search was performed
  • Period covered by the search
  • Keywords and/or the search strategy used
  • A brief description of why alternatives are or are not available

STEP 1: Have a clear understanding of the objectives and methods of the proposed study.

You have to know why the procedure is being performed and what the expected outcome is.

STEP 2: Choose appropriate databases based upon the protocol.

Click here for a list of databases.

STEP 3: Develop the literature search strategy.

  • Use the 3Rs as a guide.
  • Examine the literature closely related to the proposed study for refinements to the proposed methods or models that reduce the number of animals used, and to see if the proposed work duplicates previously published experiments.
  • Replacement: alternative animal and non-animal models should be considered.

STEP 4: Execute the search.

General Tips

  • Use truncation: depending upon the database system being used, symbols such as the * or ? may be used at the end of a search term to retrieve many word variations to the original term.
  • Use spelling variations: when searching multiple databases, include American, British and European spellings.
  • Use Boolean Logic: by using connecting words (operators) such as AND, OR, NOT the search can be expanded or narrowed.

Terminology

The phrase "animal testing alternatives" is used as an indexing term by AGRICOLA, MEDLINE, and other databases but using the term alternative or alternatives as part of the strategy is not helpful.

Selected Alternatives Keywords

  • animal model
  • animal testing alternative
  • vitro (methods, model, technique)
  • culture (cell, tissue, organ)
  • isolated (cell, tissue, organ)
  • model
  • simulate
  • simulator
  • computer
  • software
  • interactive
  • digital image
  • virtual (surgery, reality)
  • video (disc, display)
  • mannequin (manikin)
  • mathematical model
  • cadaver
  • train, educate, teach
  • welfare, pain, stress, distress
  • method, behavior
  • environment, enrichment

Thesauri

AWIC's Alternatives & Searches

AWIC's Sample Search Strategies

If you need assistance in performing a literature search to find alternatives to animal research, contact Inhye Kim Son at 924-0057 or e-mail inhye@virginia.edu.

Databases

  • AGRICOLA via CSA A bibliographic database created by the National Agricultural Library and its cooperators. It includes 3 million citations to articles, government reports, theses, patents, and technical reports on food and nutrition, agricultural economics, and parasitology.
  • Alternatives in Education Database - Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) Online searchable database of alternatives to harming or killing nonhuman animals used in education.
  • Altweb Contains reference material and news about all aspects of alternatives in animal research. Includes general, educational, scientific, and regulatory resources. Also contains conference proceedings, books, and reports. Current Research Information System (CRIS) Lists USDA-sponsored projects. Guide To Searching for Alternatives to the Use of Laboratory Animals Includes search basics, terms, strategies, and list of free databases. This guide assumes no previous knowledge of search techniques nor of the facilities available for obtaining information from the Internet. Provided by FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments).
  • CAB Abstract We are running a trial of CAB Abstract until the end of October.
  • Information on Alternatives Databases Produced by The Norwegian Reference Centre for Laboratory Animal Science and Alternatives. Describes databases addressing all aspects of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement of animal experiments.
  • MEDLINE (OVID) Entire MEDLINE database. Covers over 3,000 journals from 1966 to the present.
  • PubMED Free search service to access over 9 million citations in Biomolecular 3-D Structures, Complete Genomes, MEDLINE, pre-MEDLINE, GenBank DNA Sequences, GenBank Protein Sequences, and other related databases. Access to full-text journal articles is provided via links to participating publishers.
  • TEXTBASE Produced by The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Laboratory Animal Unit. A free searchable database of approximately 740 current textbooks within the field of laboratory animal science.
  • Transgenic/Targeted Mutation Database (TBASE) A free searchable database of information on transgenic animals and targeted mutations generated and analyzed worldwide.
  • TOXNET Access to toxicology databases including RTECS, Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances, and CCRIS, Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System.
  • Web of Science (WOS) Containing Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index, WOS offers multidisciplinary searching and seamless access to cited reference searching. The WOS databases include bibliographic and citation information for articles from over 5,700 science and engineering journals, 1,700 social sciences journals, and 1,100 arts and humanities journals
  • ZEBET Database on Alternative Methods to Animal Experiments Available through DIMDI (German Institute for Medical Documentation & Information).

Organizations