Chapter 10 
Information Resources and 
Computer Systems 
Earlier chapters have described the quantity and 
variety of data generated by using animals in re- 
search, testing, and education. To assess fully the 
alternatives to animal use in these areas, there- 
fore, it is important to consider how the data are 
shared once they are generated. Anything that in- 
creases information exchange reduces the need 
of other investigators to perform the same exper- 
iments . The pivotal role computers can play in that 
process has recently become an important topic 
for consideration and is examined in this chapter. 
SOURCES OF RESEARCH AND TESTING DATA 
Primary Literature 
One of the most important ways to make data 
publicly available is through the "primary litera- 
ture" in which they are published for the first time 
and in greatest detail. A significant form of this 
is the scientific journal, the most up-to-date and 
ubiquitous of the published sources available. Jour- 
nal articles that are reviewed by knowledgable 
peers before they are accepted for publication are 
considered especially reliable. Most normally con- 
tain a description of the methodology of the ex- 
periment, the results obtained, the conclusions 
drawn by the author or authors, and references 
to and discussions of related published and un- 
published information. 
Other primary sources are published reports 
(e.g., of Government -sponsored research), proceed- 
ings of technical meetings, or similar collections 
of articles. As a rule, reports and proceedings are 
not as widely available as journal articles. They 
may or may not have been peer-reviewed. 
Secondary Literature 
Secondary sources contain information drawn 
solely from other published material. The most 
common forms are books, reviews, and reports. 
(A book that contains original material would not 
be considered a secondary source.) Handbooks are 
a useful secondary source for numerical data and 
for citations to the primary literature in which they 
were first published. Because secondary sources 
draw from primary sources, the information they 
report can be somewhat dated, as there is a time- 
lag ranging from months to years between the pub- 
lication of a primary source and that of any sec- 
ondary sources that rely on it. 
Many reviews and reports are prepared to meet 
the specific needs of various organizations. Gov- 
ernment agencies, such as the Food and Drug 
Administration and the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), prepare reports to support regula- 
tory activities. Research institutions, such as the 
National Institutes of Health and the Chemical 
Industry Institute of Toxicology (CUT), prepare 
reports to announce the results of a particular 
study. Other organizations, such as the Chemical 
Manufacturers Association and the World Health 
Organization, prepare reports to further their 
programs. 
Unpublished Information 
Unpublished information about recent, planned, 
and ongoing research and testing can be of even 
greater interest than older, published information. 
The timelag between submission or acceptance 
of data for publication and their actual publica- 
tion is often a handicap to those waiting to learn 
of experimental results. Time lost while waiting 
to obtain another investigator’s published research 
results can cost a laboratory its claim to priority 
in obtaining research results. In testing, proprie- 
tary interests create pressure to obtain informa- 
tion as quickly as possible. 
One of the oldest sources of unpublished infor- 
mation is networking— that is, the use of personal 
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