Research Resources for Advocates

This post contains a list of research resources that animal advocates might find helpful, along with explanations and advice on how to use them. These are just a starting point and there are many other resources available to animal advocates. This post is included as the appendix to a working paper, Bridging the Gap Between Research and Advocacy, parts of which were presented at the recent Animal Rights Conference 2011 in Los Angeles.

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Internet Search: A basic Internet search is an important starting place. It will introduce whether the issue is in the news media, what opponents think about the issue, if any animal protection organizations are addressing the issue, and any other basic knowledge on the topic. There are a few important things to remember when conducting a search on the Internet. A variety of search terms should be used, including all formal, slang, or corporate terms for a topic. For example, don’t just search for “faux meat,” but search for “meat replacement,” “vegetarian meat,” “vegan meat,” “wheat meat,” “Boca,” “Gardein,” etc. Further, any related or specific words associated with a topic should be searched. For example, it is not enough to search for “rabbit,” but “bunny,” “hare” and “lagomorph” should also be searched.

Advocates should also look beyond the first page of search results. Many search engines organize links by popularity. Due to the small number of people engaged in animal protection work, it is safe to assume animal advocacy issues are generally less popular than other topics, so relevant results may be buried on the second or third pages.

Google Scholar Search: Research can be done to specifically locate academic work on a topic by visiting Google Scholar, which constrains results to academic publications. Though most journal articles are not accessible in full without access to a college library, following the links will typically show the article’s abstract, which provides a brief summary of the study’s goals, methods, and findings.

If one finds that academic articles are of particular use and they want to read a specific article or study in more detail, try contacting the author; many will provide a free copy of the article for personal use. Further, you can try contacting the local library. Some libraries in more affluent areas or college towns purchase services such as JSTOR, which is an online service that provides access to many academic journal articles.

If one knows of a book s/he would like to read, searching for them on Google Scholar is useful as well. Below the book in the search results there will be a link, “library search,” and clicking on it will bring the advocate to a list of local libraries currently carrying the book.

Free Journals: There are a number of academic journals geared toward research about animals that operate on a non-profit model. This allows them to post articles in an open-access format so that everyone can have access without membership to college libraries. Society & Animals and the Journal for Critical Animal Studies post all content online for free. There are also directories listing open access journals, though the major human-animal and critical animal studies journals are overlooked on these lists.

Websites of Large Animal Protection Organizations: Major animal protection organizations in the United States and other countries maintain websites hosting a wealth of information. Organizations such as the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have their own research staff, so basic information on facts about an issue can be easily obtained from their websites.

Before starting any campaign, advocates should also seek out large, issue-specific organizations, as they are likely to have even more comprehensive resources. For example, if one is looking into issues with exotic animals they can turn to Born Free USA. Since they are dedicated to wild and exotic animal issues, Born Free USA has compiled more information in this area than most other organizations. On their website, advocates can access detailed information on fur bearing animals, animals in zoos, animals in circuses, and any other exotic animal issue. They have also compiled a list of state laws addressing “owning” exotic animals, a list of incidents at AZA accredited zoos, research studies about the well-being of animals in zoos, a paper describing how the Endangered Species Act works, and the list goes on. Anyone wanting to start a campaign in their area should tap into the resources that other animal protection organizations have already collected.

HumaneSpot.org: HumaneSpot.org is a website created by HRC with the explicit purpose of providing advocates with free access to research. In order to facilitate searches of relevant research, HRC has compiled a research database with academic journal articles, industry reports, and surveys. The database is searchable by animal-issue and/or key word. Each item is summarized in a few paragraphs to quickly identify if the resource is of interest, and we provide a link to more information or access to the full study.

HumaneSpot.org combines research findings that one might obtain from both an Internet search and a Google Scholar search, with the items hand-selected for animal advocates by HRC’s staff. HRC also provides a series of Research Primers. Research Primers are about 8 pages long and they summarize relevant and recent attitudinal and behavioral research on a topic. This is a quick way to learn about attitudes toward an issue. HRC makes a variety of other resources available for free, including research reports and survey results.

Attitudinal/Behavioral Research: There are a number of resources directly relevant to attitudinal research. In general, the iPoll databank hosts a list of U.S. opinion polls, searchable by topic, and some animal-related issues appear here. HRC also conducts annual surveys including the Animal Tracker, regarding attitudes and behaviors of importance to animal advocates. The study findings are available for free on HumaneSpot.org.

In addition, HRC’s Visualization Tool allows advocates to access the data in the format of bar graphs. The feature is particularly useful for understanding segmentation and changes over time. With the click of a button, you can view results in graph format, by question and by the year in which the question was asked. You can also have the graph broken down by demographic characteristics, including gender, age, race/ethnicity, level of education, and whether there are companion animals in the home. Two graphs lay side by side so advocates can easily see and compare differences between groups.

Legal Research: Many campaigns should start with legal research, as there are often already laws that address the issue at hand. Two resources are dedicated to the task of compiling laws regarding animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) produces a report of state level animal cruelty laws. The Animal Legal and Historical Center has a searchable database of laws. If the goal of a campaign is to pass legislation or change a law regarding animals, then ALDF is again a great place to start as they have compiled model legislation of various issues and topics.