Literature searches should be well documented, including information on:
- Evidence from the literature that the animal studies have not been performed previously, or that repetition is justified
- Consultation of relevant guidelines for specific parts of the study
There is more information on Literature searches and systematic reviews and on this webpage about SYRCLE.
More resources
- Literature Searching: How to Find Animal Use Alternatives (Resource page from AWIC)
- Advice on determining and describing the scientific background for an experiment
- A worksheet for a literature search for alternatives and more resources from AWIC
- A 6 Step Checklist for Responsible Research gives a useful summary of the overarching principles to be applied when conducting any type of biomedical research (produced by Responsible Research in Practice).