Guidance on clinical veterinary research

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This page is primarily aimed at those interested in clinical research. If you are interested in writing for Companion or BSAVA Manuals please visit our Authors page.

Science is a core part of BSAVA's mission statement. Through our grant awarding arm, BSAVA PetSavers, we fund clinical investigations into the diseases that affect companion animals. This page is designed to provide links to resources and articles that may be helpful for those contemplating a clinical veterinary research project, especially in the practice setting.

Help for clinical research

See our specially curated collection of lectures and other material designed to help those interested in research projects, whether in practice settings or elsewhere. We are also developing a collection aimed at those interested in developing their academic writing and speaking skills.

BSAVA PetSavers grants

BSAVA PetSavers funds crucial clinical research designed to advance our knowledge of conditions affecting small animals and with potential to relieve illness and suffering. The projects are selected in the hope that study results will have a rapid and positive impact on the way diseases are diagnosed, managed and treated in general practice as well as at a specialist level. For more information about Clinical Research Project funding, Masters Degree by Research and our Student Research Project, visit the funding page on the PetSavers section of the BSAVA website. You may also be interested in our collections of articles relating to PetSavers research and funding and reports from and interviews with PetSavers researchers.

Study design and protocol – the Clinical Research Assessment and Guidance (CRAG) panel

The CRAG panel is an initiative by the Journal of Small Animal Practice to provide assistance in designing, running and analysing clinical research projects. The hope is that this will ease the path to publication for primary care veterinarians and house officers who wish to undertake high quality small animal clinical research. The concept is that an individual or group can come up with the idea for a clinical study and then work with the CRAG panel to refine the methodology so that the project will be feasible and likely to come up with reliable answers.

Upon approval of the study design and analysis plan there will be an assumption that - if the study is carried out according to the approved protocol - the finished article will be accepted for publication (following an accelerated peer-review process). It is hoped that the expectation of acceptance for publication would be a weight off the mind of those in specialist training programs intent on timely completion of their credentials. The panel also welcomes enquiries from practitioners who are interested in initiating or collaborating on research projects.

The CRAG panel currently consists of Rachel Dean, Nick Jeffery, Richard Mellanby and Lauren Trepanier.

If you would like to discuss ideas or submit a protocol to the CRAG panel please contact the Editor-in-Chief. Two editorials in JSAP may be useful:

Scaling the CRAG to smooth the path to publication in JSAP

CRAG rocks

BSAVA members, login via the JSAP page to gain access to these articles.

If you have suggestions for developing this page, please contact [email protected]