KNH 409/509 - Nutrition for Sports and Fitness: Home
On this guide...
This guide will provide you with a number of databases and other resources that you can use to find research and product information for your chosen supplement. Some of the databases have weird interfaces different than others you may have used, so don't be afraid to reach out to me if you have questions or get stuck.
You can use these links to jump to the different sections of this page:
Best Bets for Health Information
The databases listed below are some recommended options for tracking down resources to use in your review. If you need a refresher on how to best use them, contact me!
- SPORTDiscus with Full Text This link opens in a new windowSPORTDiscus with full-text is the definitive database for sports and sports medicine research. Providing hundreds of full-text sports medicine journals, it is an essential tool for health professionals and researchers studying fitness, health and sports.
- MEDLINE (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowCreated by the United States National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE is an authoritative bibliographic database containing citations and abstracts for biomedical and health journals used by healthcare professionals, nurses, clinicians and researchers.
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowPubMed is the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) freely accessible interface to the MEDLINE bibliographic database, covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, biomedical engineering, the health care system, and the basic biomedical sciences.
- CINAHL Plus with Full Text This link opens in a new windowThis comprehensive research database provides full-text for nursing and allied health journals indexed in CINAHL Plus. Additional materials include full-text evidence-based care sheets, quick lessons and continuing education modules.
- Food Science Source This link opens in a new windowFood Science Source is an extensive full-text database designed to support the research needs of the food industry. It provides hundreds of full-text journals, monographs, magazines and trade publications, plus a wealth of food industry and market reports.
- Sports Medicine and Education Index This link opens in a new windowSports Medicine and Education Index allows all researchers and professionals in the field to acquire accurate and scholarly information in this comprehensive database. These abstracts feature a wide variety of content, ranging from physical education curricula, to sports medicine, to dance. Other coverage includes sport law, kinesiology, motor learning, recreation, standardized fitness tests, sports equipment, business and marketing, coaching and training, and sport sociology/psychology. Health education and physical therapy are also covered as they continue to become more prevalent in our society.
- PubChem - National Library of MedicineMostly contains small molecules, but also larger molecules such as nucleotides, carbohydrates, lipids, peptides, and chemically-modified macromolecules. Information on chemical structures, identifiers, chemical and physical properties, biological activities, patents, health, safety, toxicity data, and many others.
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new windowThe Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision making (e.g., systematic reviews). Cochrane Reviews represent the highest level of evidence on which to base clinical treatment decisions.
Primary vs Secondary Research
You will need to find and cite mostly primary research articles for your paper. Don't forget how to distinguish them from secondary research (and other types of articles).
| Primary Research | Secondary Research (aka Review article) |
|---|---|
| Typically follows IMRAD format (Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, and Discussion) | Typically has an introduction; other section headings will vary |
| Reports on original research or data | Summarizes, analyzes, and/or synthesizes original research, but does not report on any new findings |
Get to Full Text with Find It!
Most literature indexes do not have the actual journal articles included within them. Instead, these indexes just contain information about the article, e.g. titles, authors, abstract.
When you find an article of interest in an index, click the "Find It" button by that entry to get to the full text. If we have a subscription, "Find It" will provide a link to the journal article. (Or if we have the print, it will provide a link to the catalog with the location and call number.)
(A few databases, like Academic Search Complete, include full text for some articles. These databases may allow you to search only for articles available in full text, but be aware that you are only searching a small portion of the articles we actually subscribe to.)
