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katydownie14

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Hi everyone,
I am starting work on my dissertation for fourth year, i am doing it on the economic and welfare impacts of laminitis. i was wondering if anyone had any good websites etc for information regarding this, there is obviously heaps on the causes and prevention etc but i am struggling o find anything on the welfare or economic impacts! any help will be much appreciated.
Thank you
 
I think you may struggle to find any sources specifically on these aspects. So much depends on cause (expensive drugs may be needed life long for eg.), treatment protocol and how treatment is implemented and monitored. Sorry not much help but good luck.

ps .I forgot to mention, the horses' response to treatment and if other protocols are used if one isn't working, as a factor
 
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OP, I think as this is a dissertation (as opposed to a coursework essay), you would need to be gathering data yourself, not getting it from websites, books, or other secondary sources. Otherwise, you are not really doing original research, you are writing an essay. You might want to look at designing a questionnaire or conducting interviews to gather this data.

Also, think about your word count - my undergrad dissertation (non-equine) had a limit of 10,000 words, which sounds a lot but really isn't. 10,000 words is not a lot to discuss both economic AND welfare issues in adequate depth. You may wish to choose just one of these issues. Gathering data for two issues also means it will take longer to gather it, which leaves less time to interpret and write it up.
 
thanks for the help guys!:) i am also collecting my own data, i work at a horse sanctuary with over 100 horses, of which 40% of them have/get laminitis so i am keeping records of how long they are in for and how many meds there are on etc and also recording there welfare levels weekly while they are in. I thought i would be struggling to get to 10,000 words with going into detail about both but i guess maybe not! we havent officially had any lectures about it yet so i suppose i have a lot to learn yet about the style of writing the dissertaion etc i am keeping records for 16 weeks over the summer holidays ( nearly half way through them already) so it will mean i have a little less to do when i start back.... thats what im hoping anyway!
Thank you!
 
As a person who's supervised numerous dissertations, let me add that original research is not strictly required at undergraduate level, and is in fact often inappropriate, as the student's grounding in a field is rarely sufficient to accomplish anything significant. I'd rather see something that does a thorough collation of existing research, potentially creating the foundation for a postgraduate thesis, than another set of poorly-designed surveys, analysed by a student with insufficient grounding in statistics or in social sciences methodology in general. It may be that your specific degree requires some sort of social-sciency kind of study, but please don't let that deter you from a thorough examination of the secondary literature!

To your specific question, you're unlikely to find a source specifically aimed at your topic. You may, however, find information about economic or welfare impact within other sources. For example, a study on the incidence of laminitis in racehorses may well mention something to do with economic impact, and I'm sure that organisations such as WHW have already collated a great deal of material to do with welfare.

The best advice I have for the dissertation itself is structure. Come up with a chapter plan (this may well change further into the process), and treat each section almost as a shorter, stand-alone essay at first. Then, consider how the sections relate to each other, and don't be afraid to cross-reference among them. As you go on, you may find that some topics bifurcate and others disappear, because you've discovered that your original question wasn't quite the right one. Even the title may change. This is entirely normal! Good luck! :)
 
I completely agree with SpookyPony OP, be careful you're not biting off more than you can chew with this topic, it's an undergrad not a postgrad and you might find you won't do it justice if it gets to unwieldy.

I frequently see students in my job who have gotten themselves into a massive pickle because of the above.

In terms of resources, I'm guessing your Uni has Science Direct, hopefully you've already checked on there? There is a large number of articles related to lami. Other possible databases (if your Uni has a sub) include Springerlink, Wiley, Taylor and Francis.

You'll likely find that their is only one or two paragraphs which relate to your topic.

I'd also say you need to break your topic down a bit, what elements of economic impact are you looking at? Cost of vet visits, cost of bute, cost of stabling? What aspects of welfare are you looking at? Comfort of the horse, what's fair to the animal? This is going to be much, much harder to get pinned down.

If you need anymore help, PM me the name of your Uni and I'll help you dig through your library e-resources.

Good luck!
 
yeah i can see me focusing on the economic cost more than the welfare impacts. In terms of data recording i am keeping records of all the medication the horse is on, vet call outs, hay, shavings, cushions disease tests where necessary, and then obviously if the horse is pts then is recorded along with douglasbrae collection fee etc. I am not sure if i was focusing on purely the economic cost if i would then go into the cost of different ways of treating laminitis, corrective shoeing, pasture management etc and the costs involved in each!
Golden star- no i havent came across the app, could you please let me know the name of it and i will look it up!
Thanks again guys!
 
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