Analyzing and
Synthesizing Findings
Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood
Department of Library & Information Science
University of the Punjab
1
Read the articles
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completely in each topic together
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Take notes in an organized manner: computer files,
note cards, etc.
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Include all bibliographic info, especially page
number when quoting!
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Flag like information with same color post-its across
articles.
2
Summarize
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main purpose (research questions)
methodology
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qualitative/quantitative
subjects, controls, treatments
findings
relevant details
3
Analyze
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varying definitions of key terms
methodology used
 size & generalizability of subject pool
innovative methodology
enough evidence?
findings consistent with those of similar
studies?
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4
Analyze
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currency: lit review shows the latest work
done in subject area. (last 5 years on average)
Include older articles if:
 landmark study
 only evidence on a topic
 helps explain the evolution of the
research
5
Synthesize the Literature
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How does each article relate to your topic and
purpose?
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Define your argument/thesis.
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Identify major trends or patterns emerging
from your reading.
6
Synthesize
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Reassemble your notes based on results of reading, using
organizational aids such as post-its, flags, etc.
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Revise original outline of categories
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Create a detailed topic outline
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begin with your “argument” or claim
present evidence from articles researched that proves your claim
Do not string together a summary of articles. The outline is topic
driven.
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Sample topic outline
Psychological Aspects of Organ Donation: Individual and Next-of-Kin Donation
Decisions
I. Introduction
A. Establish importance of topic (cite
statistics on scarcity of organs).
B. Delimit the review to psychological
components of decisions.
C. Describe organization of the paper,
indicating that the remaining topics in
the outline will be discussed.
II. Individual decisions regarding
posthumous
organ donation
A. Beliefs about organ donation
B. Attitudes toward donating
C. Stated willingness to donate
D. Summary of research on individual
decisions
III. Next-of-kin consent decisions
A. Beliefs about donating others’ organs.
B. Attitudes toward next-of-kin donations.
C. Summary of research on next-of-kin
consent decisions
IV. Methodological issues and directions for
future research
A. Improvement in attitude measures and
measurement strategy.
B. Greater differentiation by type of
donation.
C. Stronger theoretical emphasis.
D. Greater interdisciplinary focus.
V. Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
A. Summary of points I-IV.
B. Need well-developed theoretical
models of attitudes and decision
making.
C. Current survey data limited in scope
and application points to need for
more sophisticated research in
the future.
D. Need more use of sophisticated data
analytic techniques.
E. Conclusion: Psychology can draw from various
subdisciplines for an understanding of donation
decisions so intervention strategies can be
identifiable. Desperately need to increase the
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available supply of donor organs.
Synthesize
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Note on your topic outline relationships among
studies: which researchers, what page, etc. support
each point?
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Note consistency of results from study to study.
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Note discrepancies among studies and provide
possible explanations such as dates of studies,
different methodologies.
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Synthesize
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Note landmark studies and if replicated.
Note how individual studies help illustrate or
advance theoretical notions.
Note gaps or areas needing more research.
Make sure your detailed outline follows a
logical sequence of topics and subtopics. This
will give your literature review the coherence
it needs.
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Some problems could be …
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Lacking organization and structure
Lacking focus, unity and coherence
Being repetitive and verbose
Failing to cite influential papers
Failing to keep up with recent developments
Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
Citing irrelevant or trivial references
Depending too much on secondary sources
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