Post-graduate theses including the bioethical aspects of animal rights and welfare concepts in Türkiye: A qualitative research

Abstract

Within the scope of the research, post-graduate theses completed in Türkiye at the intersection of the concepts of bioethics, animal rights and animal welfare were examined. It is aimed to reveal the level of interest of our country's academy in the bioethical aspect of animal rights and welfare, to present the research areas of need to researchers/related persons, and to provide a quick review opportunity to benefit from the theses completed in the past. In the database of the Higher Education Council (YÖK) National Thesis Center, the post-graduate theses published in Türkiye in the years 1900-2021 were scanned at the intersection set of the relevant topics. 239 accessed theses were examined and 63 of them were included in the study. The included theses were examined in terms of various parameters and themes; six main themes and 54 sub-themes were created. The main themes most mentioned in the theses were “theoretical and philosophical aspects of animal rights and animal welfare” and “bioethical problems and conflicts related to animal rights and animal welfare”. The least mentioned main theme was “use of emerging technologies”; it was also determined that some sub-themes were not included in any thesis. It has been shown that all theses were prepared within universities and other institutions listed in the YÖK database did not contribute to the relevant issues. The diversity of theses in terms of the fields in which they were prepared has once again revealed the multidisciplinary nature of the bioethics field.