The EURL ECVAM Search Guide – promoting global standards for searching 3Rs information

Encouraged by the success of the publication of the EURL ECVAM Search Guide, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has published an entirely revised second edition in August 2013 (http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/the-eurl-ecvam-search-guidepbLBN124391/). After its first publication the impact of the Guide included: – its promotion by EU Member States implementing provisions of the EU Directive 2010/63/EU – inclusion of the Guide in the 2012 June/July Top 10 (4th position) of the most downloaded publications by the European Union’s Bookshop – use of the Guide within laboratory animal science training courses in Europe, Asia and South America use of the Guide to produce a Korean Guidance on Three Rs searches The Guide is aimed at untrained database users and provides examples of search procedures, suggested search terms and user guidance. It includes descriptions of relevant sources of information and thesauri. A check list is moreover offered (the seven golden steps) to allow for searches in a structured way and to document them – a fundamental step in preparing a research project in biomedical sciences and toxicology. In this way, the Guide contributes to a standardised approach for information retrieval that ensures systematic, unbiased and comprehensive searches, as well as it improves transparency