Table 2.

Evaluation of three research papers utilising the Paper-2-Podium Matrix

Criteria	Paper #1	Paper #2	Paper #3
	Kasper et al. [76] Carbohydrate mouth rinse and caffeine improves high-intensity interval running capacity when carbohydrate restricted.	Cobley et al. [77] N-Acetylcysteine’s attenuation of fatigue after repeated bouts of intermittent exercise: practical implications for tournament situations	Gomez-Cabrera et al. [78] Effect of xanthine oxidase-generated extracellular superoxide on skeletal muscle force generation
Research context	+ 1 Human participants but no mechanisms tested	+ 1 Human participants but no mechanisms tested	− 1 Rodent muscle given electrical muscle stimulation
Research participants	+ 1 Recreationally active and appropriate age	+ 1 Recreationally active and appropriate age with activity clearly defined	− 2 Rodent study
Research design	+ 1 Randomised, repeated measures double-blind study. Sample size commensurate with previous studies but no sample size calculations provided	+ 2 Between-subjects pair-matched design. Sample size calculated and stated	0 Matched group design although no sample size calculations provided
Dietary and exercise controls	+ 1 Caffeine was restricted for 24–48 h and protein provided prior to sleep low but could be considered limited application to real-world scenario given that true glycogen depletion training protocols are unlikely to be performed prior to bed	− 1 Diet recorded and asked to be repeated but not formally assessed and no objective data	0 All foods provided but not documented and drug administered
Validity and reliability	+ 1 Familiarisation trial cited and reference to reliability statistics. Exercise trial was a laboratory- based protocol consisting of exercise on a motorised treadmill	− 1 Familiarisation trials performed and described; however, no objective reliability data provided. Exercise trial was a laboratory based protocol consisting of shuttle running	− 1 No citation of reliability data of the force measurements and exercise lacking real- world application
Data analytics	+ 1 Analytics reported and individual responses plotted although effect sizes not reported	0 Analytics reported but lacked effect sizes. Lacking individual responses	0 Analytics reported without effect sizes and no individual data
Feasibility of application	+ 1 Cheap to implement and good chance of compliance	0 Cheap to implement but some chance of non-compliance with the loading regime	+ 1 Cheap to implement and good chance of compliance
Risk/reward	+ 1 Minimal risk of anti-doping violation and sufficient safety data available although optimal dose of CHO mouth rinse unknown	− 2 Limited availability of batch- tested product and high risk of side effects that could limit performance. Optimal dosing unknown	-1 Limited availability of batch- tested product, optimal dose unknown, although safety data available
Timing of intervention	+ 2 Age-appropriate and time available for dosing is considered optimal to be effective and time from major competition is sufficient to warrant testing the new strategy.	+ 2 Age- appropriate and time available for dosing is considered optimal to be effective and time from major competition is sufficient to warrant testing the new strategy.	+ 2 Age- appropriate and time available for dosing is considered optimal to be effective and time from major competition is sufficient to warrant testing the new strategy.
Total score/interpretation	+ 10 An appropriate study to guide practice	+ 2 May be an appropriate study to guide implementation, although some caution is needed	− 2 Exercise caution when applying the data into practice

In this scenario the papers were assessed in the context of their translational ability to adult elite athletes. When considering ‘Timing of intervention’ we have assumed that the intervention is age-appropriate, the time available for dosing is considered optimal to be effective, and that the time from major competition is sufficient to warrant testing the new strategy

CHO carbohydrate, MBI magnitude-based inference