B3: Source 1: Scientific Journal


Section 1: Bibliographic Entry:  
Alford, Chris, et al. “The Effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on Human Performance and
Mood.”Amino Acids, vol. 21, no. 2, Sept. 2001, pp. 139–150, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s007260170021. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Section 2: Summary:  
This reading is a formal report involving the statistical analyses from three various studies involving a commonly-known energy drink: Red Bull. Although this source is primarily informational and therefore does not have a specific purpose or opinion on the issue of energy drink risks, the discussion at the end of the entry concludes that the three studies mentioned consistently showed Red Bull has statistically significant positive effects both physically and mentally. Conclusions for statistical tests that involve observations are difficult to interpret and understand. This is because the results cannot prove anything or qualify the cause and effect of caffeine on performance, since one of the other ingredients in Red Bull, such as sugar (glucose), may be responsible for the increase in performance. All in all, Red Bull showed positive impacts on subjects memory, aerobic and anaerobic performance, alertness, and concentration consistently throughout these three studies.

Section 3: Critical Reflection:
The audience is scientists, possibly psychologists, or statisticians. The authors of this source are members of the Psychology Department of the University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom. Only professionals in such fields will understand all of the professional, statistical jargon and details discussed in this reading. This source is different than the other source(s) because it is a primary source of study results from a scientific journal. This source is required to be very technical because it is part of a scientific journal about health, specifically amino acids and is therefore a very high quality piece of work. The professional constraints on this piece make it hard to understand a majority of the language used. Someone with basic statistical knowledge would be able to make sense of it, but this source is definitely not directed towards the general population. Some of the differences between sources could be accounted for by the difference of the year in which each piece was published. This source was published in the early 2000’s while the other sources were published more recently (2017). Over time there are fact-changing discoveries and newly-developed technology that can cause an earlier study to become outdated or invalid, especially in the field of science. The studies were limited by resources, small sample sizes, and ethical approval.

Section 4: Quotes:  
“ Following a preliminary study to assess potential effects, further investigations replicated assessments under more controlled conditions and incorporated additional cognitive measures. Given the beneficial effects previously reported for individual constituents, the aim of these investigations was to see if the combined constituents of the drink, in its commercially available form, produced consistent effects across a range of human performance measures.” (140)
“The significant increases in physical endurance seen in the second and third studies clearly demonstrated the ability of Red Bull Energy Drink to improve both aerobic endurance by 9% and anaerobic endurance by up to 24% in comparison to the control drinks.” (147)
“In conclusion, the studies presented here have shown consistent positive effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on physical performance with both aerobic and anaerobic endurance enhanced. Mental performance, including psychomotor and more cognitive tasks, was improved, as was subjective alertness. The consistent improvements seen here may well reflect the physical and mental benefits of the combined ingredients in this energy drink.” (147)

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