Research literature - Help!

[stavrog1]

Hi,

I'm a university student and am doing a sports nutrition module at the moment. I know there are a few of you on the board that spend a lot of time looking over research and looking for your help!

I am wondering if any of you have literature on:
- high protein diets - beneficial or no point?
- low carb training (ie fasted) - beneficial or detrimental in performance
- vitamins and minerals research and implications on body adaptations and performance

I know that fasted training for myself works and improves my performance in what I lift, but I can't find any research at the moment to back it up and I REALLY want to provide this so I can win my debate with the lecturer!

Any help, links or references are appreciated, thanks!

[Elvis]

I'd strongly recommend using:

Google Scholar

It will search scientific publications for the search terms you need.

Plenty for your first topic of interest...

high protein diets beneficial - Google Scholar

If you are interested in a more specific aspect start adding a few search terms.

[Pkant2002]

Yeh i would use Google scholar though your lecturer may not think it is the most reliable source. Your university should/normally pay to be part of an online index of research journals for example at Northampton we are part of a system called Metalib which is basically Google just for journals, check it out and find which one your university uses as i would think you will need it in the future for references ect.

[Elvis]

Quote

Yeh i would use Google scholar though your lecturer may not think it is the most reliable source.

it searches for published literature much of which is journals

Quote

which is basically Google just for journals

errr... Google scholar is listing journal hits!

eg first hit from my example search:

"The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review
[PDF] from jacn.orgTL Halton… - Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2004 - Am Coll Nutrition"

[stavrog1]

Quote

I'd strongly recommend using:

Google Scholar

It will search scientific publications for the search terms you need.

Plenty for your first topic of interest...

high protein diets beneficial - Google Scholar

If you are interested in a more specific aspect start adding a few search terms.

Yeh I'm very familiar with google scholar, thanks. (no sarcasm intended)
my main concern was the training fasted approach as I can't find anything apart from something on Ramadan's effect on performance.

Just wondering if other people had some concrete evidence of it or whether it's just evidence from it working in clients.

[Elvis]

There's decent amounts of research showing pre and during exercise carbs improve endurance. I am not sure it's the answer you wanted. I can find you journal published sources if you need. I suspect this isn't what you were looking for though.

[Pkant2002]

Quote

it searches for published literature much of which is journals



errr... Google scholar is listing journal hits!

eg first hit from my example search:

"The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review
[PDF] from jacn.orgTL Halton… - Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2004 - Am Coll Nutrition"

I have always been told to stay away from Google scholar where possible due to the fact it is just a search engine and therefore will bring up every journal some of which will not have any credibility, and some of the authors may not be the most reliable sources.

Metalib the system my university uses however is something they pay for and takes journals from selected publishers and therefore normally provides you with a higher level of credibility than one found on Google Scholar.

Ps this is not to say everything found on Google scholar is crap much of it is in fact very good, but being as you are a student i would think your university will provide some sort of online Journal index which you should be able to trust.

I think what I am trying to say is some publishers will go through more steps to prove the credibility of a journal ( I forget the term but normally if a scientific experiment has taken place they will have a number of people attempt to replicate it) than others, therefore you are more likely to find solid scientific evidence from one of these publishers than from joe blogs who publishes every journal he gets sent.

[Elvis]

I think if you spend a reasonable amount of time doing research in a field you should learn which are the respected journals. You could also find which ones your University either subscribes or your journal index subscribes to.

The number of articles citing the paper (and the respect these hold) is also relevant, Google Scholar will tell you the citations.

Finding potentially relevant papers is the first part of such research, understanding their significance and trustworthiness is second.

Google is a great tool, but the value you get from it is determined by the effort you make.

[Elvis]

One other thing bugging me, Google is not your source, the research paper you quote is, no-one should care whether you found the article by thumbing through the journal on your train journey home, by a paid for search, or a free one. It is the the paper quoted that matters.

[Pkant2002]

Quote

One other thing bugging me, Google is not your source, the research paper you quote is, no-one should care whether you found the article by thumbing through the journal on your train journey home, by a paid for search, or a free one. It is the the paper quoted that matters.

I agree with this point and it should be to do with the paper. I just think the advice given to me to stay away from google and stick to Metalib was good for me at the time, as previously i had never looked at a journal or referenced a book before attending University. I therefore would not know how to spot a legitimate or illegitimate paper, I am probably not the best even now 2 years in.