The aim of this blog post is to get
you feeling comfortable with beginning the literature review process. First, we
will talk about why synthesis is an important skill to practice in your
literature review. And second, we will discuss how to curate your mountains of
information that will contribute to a successful literature review.
Synthesis: A Foundational Literature Review Skill
I find literature reviews
particularly daunting because their purpose is to synthesize information, and
the word “synthesize” – in and of itself – is a little intimidating.
To synthesize means to create a
comprehensive whole from many different parts. For the sake of metaphor, let’s
say we have two friends, Sam and Taylor. To create synthesis in a literature
review, you want to examine what Sam and Taylor have in common and in what ways
they differ, and you want to explain those similarities and differences to your
readers.
In your investigation, you might find
some interesting themes about Sam and Taylor’s cuisine preferences. You might
want to tell your readers that, “While Sam and Taylor both enjoy Indian food,
Sam’s favorite is Italian, and Taylor’s favorite is Filipino. ” Then, tell your
readers about Sam and Taylor’s affinity for Indian food and why/how they
developed this affinity. Why, too, do they have their different preferences?
The point of synthesis is not to
summarize Sam's likes and dislikes in one paragraph, and then to do the same
for Taylor in another paragraph. Synthesis is all about finding connections and
themes that tie your two topics together, and explaining these themes to your
readers.
Curation: Gathering Information to Inform Your Synthesis
Step 1 - Preread
Articles:
A. Read the article’s abstract to
gain a general understanding of the article’s contents.
B. Read the paragraph before the
methodology section. In this paragraph, researchers will generally state their
hypothesis, reiterate their research questions, or summarize their purpose for
research.
C. Scan all the headings throughout
the article. This will give you an idea about the outline followed in the
article, and a better understanding of the subtopics the researchers chose to
investigate in their research.
D. Read the first few paragraphs
under the last heading. These paragraphs often state major findings.
Step 2 - Get
Organized:
A. Group your articles into categories
that correspond to different themes you plan to present in your review.
C. Download and fill in your Literature
Review Matrix. This organizational resource will help you make note of
important information from each of your sources that will come in handy later
in your literature review process. This step is time consuming now, but it will
help you save time later.
Step 3 - Answer
Questions:
A. What theoretical or conceptual
framework was posed in this article? What are the key definitions and areas of
exploration?
B. What were the research questions
and hypotheses?
C. What methodology did the
researcher follow? Is this a qualitative or quantitative study?
D. What did the analysis reveal?
Were there any surprising finds?
E. What did the researchers
conclude? Was their hypothesis correct? Were all the research questions
answered?
G. What are the implications for
practice in this field?
As you read and evaluate your
sources, keep handy your Literature Review Matrix and fill it out as you go. Take your
research one article as a time, and know when it’s time to take a break. Your
highlighters will be waiting for your return. In this blog post, you've learned
about synthesis and about how to organize the information you'll use to build
your literature review. Do you feel comfortable? If you have any more questions
about these steps in the literature review process, I would love to hear them!
Join us next week for Jes’ post about
organizing your literature review, and learn what to do with all the
information you plugged in to your literature review matrix.
And if you're curious to learn more about how you can utilize the Lit Review Matrix, click the player and check out this WriteCast podcast episode. Here, Beth and Brittany discuss even more ways to stay organized:
For more information about WriteCast, and to check out all of our episodes and transcripts, check out the WriteCast page on our website!
Nicole Townsend is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She has
worked in writing centers for ten years, with an interest in individualizing
support for diverse student populations. While Nicole also enjoys editorial
work and teaching English as an adjunct professor, her passion is for the
foundation of collaboration embedded in writing center best practices.
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