Unique Video Series On The Everyday Life Of Ethologists At Elte

In a six-part short film series, researchers from the Department of Ethology at ELTE University of Technology are taking us on a journey into the world of ethological research. A summary film on behavioural research methods has never been made before. The short film series offers new information for students, participants in studies and anyone interested in behavioural science. The films are available for free on the biggest video sharing and social networking sites.

The "Behavioural Biology For You - With You" series presents the methodology of ethology and the department's Senior Family Dog Programme, Alpha Generation Lab, Neuroethology and the Lenders Animal Research Group. In addition to dogs, viewers can also meet other companion animal species and even children in episodes averaging 16 minutes. In the final episode, the founder of the department, Vilmos Csányi, and his student, the current head of the department, Ádám Miklósi, discuss how the research has evolved.

"I called in four people - including Ádám - and told them to choose: they could go out or they could go dog walking with me. They gave me a very sour face and said fine, we'll dog walk with you. Shall I tell you how? I said, I have no idea. That's how it started. And then we figured it out together," says Vilmos Csányi in the film.

The first part of the series

According to a survey in 2020, ELTE is the most famous Hungarian university in the international press, clearly because of its canine research. The Department of Ethology has been at the forefront of canine research for decades, and its staff have won several ERC and Lendület grants. The successful involvement of local dog owners in their studies and their emphasis on dissemination of knowledge have played an important role in this.

The creators themselves are mainly researchers.

The film series is written, conceived and hosted by Zsófia Bognár PhD student and Rita Lenkei PhD candidate, edited by Zsófia Bognár, sound engineer Tamás Faragó vocalisation researcher, lead cinematographer and composer Ádám Leéb, and responsible editor Enikő Kubinyi Lendület research group leader. The video series was supported by the NRDIH Mecenatúra programme and is available free of charge on the largest video sharing platform (here) and on the social networking site (here).

The six episodes:

Part 1: Designing Ethological Studies - Methodology 1: https://youtu.be/dtdh2Y8z4do
Part 2: Data collection, analysis and publication - Methodology 2: https://youtu.be/WNel766n3sc
Part 3: The Senior Family Dog Programme: https://youtu.be/CqQx_mkLOdU
Part 4: The Alpha Generation Lab: https://youtu.be/2h_3OQf7Myw
Part 5: The Neuroethology Research Group: https://youtu.be/oK8pJTmlV-A
Part 6: The Companion Animal Research Group, past and future: https://youtu.be/UcLud7kc8QE

In addition to the six-part video series, the researchers have also made scientific presentations available, thanks to the support of the Mecenatúra program. For several years, researchers from the Department of Ethology at ELTE have organized a conference to provide farmers who have participated in the department's studies with the opportunity to learn about the research results to which they have contributed.

This year, 15 Hungarian and 16 English-language papers from the IX Dog Ethology Conference have been posted online,

edited by Andrea Temesi, PhD candidate, under the title "Entry with dog only". In total, 37 videos and nearly 9 hours of programming have been added to the video channels of our Hungarian ethologists.