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Research Focus 1

Introduction to the new feature

What do we mean by research and how is it conducted?

Author: Alison Murray BSc (Hons) MSc VN, SCAS member
Alison is currently Training and research manager for Pets as Therapy
Contact details:   AReynolds@petsastherapy.org

Please note: No part of this paper may be reproduced without permission from SCAS. 

Introduction to the new feature

In response to the SCAS membership survey carried of 2004, we are pleased to introduce to the SCAS Journal a new feature on research in the human-companion animal bond.

Aims of ‘Research Focus’

• Introduce those SCAS members who may be unfamiliar with research activities, to scientific journal articles relevant to SCAS’ major areas of interest
• Inform those SCAS members who may be more familiar with research about current research activities
• To present research in the human-companion animal bond to readers in an accessible, user-friendly style

Research will predominantly drawn from current or recent (within the last few years).  It will be taken from database searches of both human social and health care journals and animal behaviour and welfare based journals.  Older studies of particular interest may also be referred to.

What information will be included?

Regular features

Current themes
Each issue of the SCAS Journal will outline current themes in the research literature relating to the human-animal bond. 

Summary of key research papers
In addition, each issue will report on one or tw papers in an accessible style.

Glossary of terms

Each issue will contain a glos
any of commonly used research terms, denoted by a little symbol next to the word.*

SCAS readership input
Whether you are a professional practitioner, a volunteer or a student, if you are involved in a research project in the human-companion animal bond, we would like to hear from you.  It doesn’t matter what scale of project you are undertaking, or are involved with, or at what stage the research is.

Similarly, if there is a specific topic that you’d like to know more about, contact us and we will endeavour to source relevant information for you within this feature.

Please contact Alison Reynolds by email.

Special features

Each issue will also examine a specific aspect relating to conducting research in the social sciences.  This issue will examine “What do we mean by research and how is it conducted?”

Subsequent issues will examine:

• What is the relevance of research to the future of the human-companion animal bond?
• What are some of the difficulties faced by social science researchers when conducting research?
• What are some of the ethical issues faced by social science researchers when conducting human-companion animal bond research?

Special feature: What do we mean by research and how is it conducted?

The Social vs. the Natural Sciences

Much of the research that will be referred to originates from a social sciences perspective, for example, from the fields of psychology; anthropology and sociology, rather than from the natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry or physics.

Why is this distinction important?

Research conducted in the natural sciences deals with objects, phenomena and laws of nature; it is largely objective* and concerned with facts and figures.

In contrast, research conducted in the social sciences is more concerned with people and their relationships with others and the world around them.  It has been criticised for being more subjective,* less empirical* and therefore lacking in validity.*

Traditionally, research projects follow a fairly predictable structure both in the way they are conducted and also how they are subsequently published in the peer-reviewed* scientific journals.

Research projects can be conducted on any scale, from a degree student’s dissertation to a large-scale commercial trial.  Any research project in the natural sciences starts with a hypothesis,* or a set of hypotheses.  These are specific questions that the researchers wish to set out to prove or disprove: the purpose, or justification for doing the research.   

Social sciences research often doesn’t start with such rigidly defined questions.  There may be a more loosely defined question, an overall topic area to be investigated, or an interesting problem to solve, rather than a specific hypothesis. 

The research purpose is usually backed up by a rationale, or background to the study.  Why is this subject worth investigating? What have other researchers found? Where are there gaps in the existing knowledge?  This puts the project into its wider context and lends support to its purpose. 

Once researchers have decided what to investigate, consideration is given to how to investigate – the methodology.*  There are many different recognised methods available to use when conducting research; however, some will stand up to more scientific scrutiny than others.  An analysis of research methodology will form the focus of a future issue. 

The aim of the method is to generate a set of data.* Data takes many forms, for example, numbers, codes, percentages, often drawn from the natural sciences and interview and observational data drawn from the social sciences.   

The data is then analysed – again there are a number of different methods of analysis, depending upon the type of data collected and what the researcher wishes to demonstrate.  This analysis may allow the researcher to accept or reject any original hypotheses, if appropriate. Analysis of the data is discussed in relation to other work in the field and enables conclusions to be drawn.  Well-written, comprehensive research will also demonstrate an awareness of the limitations of the current study and suggest ideas for future work.

The layout of a research paper

Journal title and no; year; page no’s

Paper title

Should be clear, give you a good idea of what the paper is about and make you want to read it!

Author(s) names & contact addresses

The Abstract

A good abstract should be short and concise and gives you a summary of all the sections of the paper, including the introduction; methods; main findings and study conclusions.  The abstract will also address the limitations of the study and make suggestions for future studies.  Reading the abstract is also a good way to judge whether you want to read the whole paper

The rest of the paper broadly adopts the following format:

• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References

Glossary of terms

Objective - based on observable phenomena; undistorted by emotion or personal bias

Subjective – judgement modified by individual bias

Validity - the researcher collects appropriate data and selects methods by which to collect that data

Hypothesis - a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

Peer-review - the process of reviewing manuscripts submitted by potential contributors by at least one subject specialist in addition to the editor prior to acceptance for publication. (Journal articles are usually peer-reviewed. Internet documents are not usually peer-reviewed.)

Empirical - based on experimental data, not on a theory; relying on or derived from observation or experiment

Rationale – fundamental reasons or the basis [of the study]

Methodology –a system of principles, practices, and procedures applied to a specific branch of knowledge

Data - a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

Control – a sample group that doesn’t receive any intervention or modification during the study.  Control groups are matched as closely as possible in terms of sex, age, environment etc. to the groups receiving the intervention.  The aim is to compare the results from the intervention group in relation to the control group.  Ideally, any changes observed can therefore be said to be due to the intervention, rather than any other factors.  

Key research paper

The SCAS readership will be aware of recent information regarding the link between allergic reactions in children and their exposure to animals.  In the UK, researcher Dr June McNicholas is well known for her work in this field and has shown how children from pet-owning families have stronger immune systems and having lower absence from school due to illness.

A search of the most current human medical research literature highlighted a wealth of papers on allergen reaction and exposure to animals and so this has been chosen as the theme for this issue.

  Airborne cat allergen reduction in classrooms that use special school clothing, or ban pet ownership

Summary

This was a Swedish study examining two interventions aimed at reducing school children’s exposure to pet hair, with the aim of reducing allergic reactions.

Purpose of the study

Pets are banned from schools and day care centres in Sweden.  However, pet allergens have been found in these environments, obviously being brought in on people’s clothes.  This second hand exposure has also been associated with a sensitisation to pet allergens. 

Prior to the study, the Swedish government had advised schools on methods to minimise allergic symptoms, with the overall aim of reducing the use of medication.  Such measures included: increased cleaning, removal of upholstery and curtains and replacing open shelves with closed cupboards. 

However the authors of this study suggested that these methods were ineffective in reducing airborne allergen levels.  They suggested instead a range of more effective, targeted allergen avoidance measures, including: smooth floors, non-smoking staff, perfume bans and, of most relevance here, a strict pet ownership ban among staff and children. 

It is obviously extremely difficult to find school classes in which there are no pets owned at home, although, interestingly, such classes have occasionally been established in Sweden, in order to make school attendance possible for children with severe allergic symptoms.

Study sample and methods

Three schools took part in the study, with 2 classes from each school included (6 classes in total).  In each school, there was 1 intervention class (3 classes in total) and 1 control* class (3 classes in total).  All children were aged between 6 and 12 years of age.  The study was conducted over two school terms.

The study evaluated the effectiveness and acceptance of two allergen reduction measures, specifically aimed at reducing airborne cat allergens.  The two measures implemented were:

• Special school clothing
• A pet ownership ban

Of the three intervention classes, 2 used special school clothing, 1 class implemented the pet ownership ban.  

Special school clothing

Both children and staff changed into different clothing in special areas before entering the classrooms.  Pet owners and those without pets changed in separate areas and children affected by allergens entered school by a separate entrance.

Pet ownership ban

Since this was a long term study, the parents of the children in the non-pet class had agreed to a pet ownership ban when their child had entered school in the first grade.  This meant that no furred pets or birds were allowed to be kept at home. 

In all 5 of the other classes, there were between 21-38% of children who had pets at home.

Measures used

Four methods were used to measure levels of allergens in each of the 6 classes.

• Daily sampling of airborne dust using petri-dishes placed in the classroom
• Air sampling using pumps

Clothes sampling using a tape roller.  In the pet-ownership ban class, this was from the children’s own personal clothing; in the other classes, samples were taken from the children’s school clothes

Questionnaires.  The researchers used a model questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, with extra questions regarding pet contacts and the school and home environment.  Parents and children completed the questionnaire together.

Results

Airborne cat allergen levels
On average, intervention classes (special clothing and pet ownership ban) had airborne allergen levels 4-6 times lower than the control classes.

Cat allergen levels on clothes
There was no overall difference between intervention and control classes in cat allergen levels on clothing.  However, there were significantly more allergens on the clothes of cat owners than non-cat owners in the control classes.

Questionnaires
Pet contacts: In all classes except the pet ownership ban class had at least 1 furred pet at home, with the cat being the most common. 

More than a quarter of homes had avoided pet contact due to allergy.

What does this all mean?

Special school clothing was equally as effective as a pet ownership ban in reducing cat allergen levels.  Both were more effective than simple dust elimination techniques.  Even in classes where special clothing was used, allergens were higher on the clothes of pet-owners, than on non-pet owners.  The researchers therefore suggested that a child who was allergic to pets should not even be seated close to a child from a pet-owning family, even in classes where allergen avoidance measures are used. 

The most interesting finding in this report was that, although both a pet ownership ban and the use of special school clothing were equally effective, the idea of adopting a pet ownership ban was not well received by either parents or children.  The idea of giving up a pet in order to benefit the health of another child in school was seen by many to be too large a sacrifice.  This could be argued to be a reflection of the importance of pets within the family.

Reference

Karlsson, A., Andersson, B., Renstrom, A., Svedmyr, J., Larsson K. and Borres, M. P. 2005. Airborne cat allergen reduction in classrooms that use special school clothing or ban pet ownership.  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113 (6): 1172-1177.

Other useful reading

Adler, A, Tager, I. and Quintero, D.R. 2005. Decreased prevalence of asthma among farm-reared children compared with those who are rural but not farm-reared.  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2005: 66-73. 

Liccardi, G., D’Amato, G. D’Amato, L. Salzillo, A., Piccolo, A., De Napoli, I. Dente, B. and Cazzola, M. 2005. The effect of pet ownership on the risk of allergic sensitisation and bronchial asthma.  Respiratory Medicine 99: 227-233.