Webinar: Literature Search for Alternatives - Meeting AWA Information Requirements

The regulations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) require that investigators provide IACUCs with documentation demonstrating that alternatives to procedures that may cause more than momentary pain or distress to the animals have been considered and that activities do not unnecessarily duplicate previous experiments. To meet this federal mandate, investigators may conduct a thorough literature search regarding alternatives.

NCABR and staff from the USDA's Animal Welfare Information Center (AWIC) have partnered to present training on conducting literature searches for alternatives to animal research and testing. This training will provide participants with an opportunity to review the Animal Welfare Act and other regulations, discuss the definition and examples of alternatives, and explore relevant databases and online resources.

The objectives of the webinar are to provide:

• An overview of animal welfare regulations and the information requirements;
• An overview of alternatives and 3Rs concepts;
• An overview of relevant databases and online resources;
• Suggested terminology and tips for searching the scientific literature;
• Examples of search strategies and their results.