Synthesizing Information: Step-by-Step Instructions For Learners

1.  Make photocopies or printouts of all of the articles you gather, so you can write on them.  Be sure each item has the information you need to cite it in your final report and bibliography (author, title of article, title of publication, pages, date) or (URL, title, author, date of web page, date accessed).
 

2.  Read through each article.  Highlight the main facts, concepts, and ideas.  You may need to read some articles several times.

• From what you understand, highlight the words or phrases that capture ideas that you think are significant—ideas, facts or concepts that you would want to describe to your friends or family if you were to tell them about what you had just read.  If the material is technical or highly specialized--cell mitosis, tax laws, shifting tectonic plates--consider what you would tell classmates.

• Highlight only what you understand, what is meaningful to you, and what you could explain or describe to someone else.  Don't highlight something just because it sounds important.

• Sometimes you need to put an article aside if you can't understand it yet.  That's OK.  When you learn something new, you need to be able to connect the new idea to something you already know.  Maybe you need a different description of the new idea, with different words or examples.  Or maybe you need to think about it for awhile.  Don't be discouraged.  Don't throw the article away.  Come back to it later, after you have read other articles and thought about your topic.

• You can choose what's important as you go along.  As you read more articles you learn more about the subject as you put together information from several articles—you begin to see a big picture. Consequently, things you underlined on the first pass might not seem so important when you re-read your highlights.

• There's a difference in the amount of information in each article, and in what parts of the articles are relevant to your research.

• The highlights on the page help you find the information you want to refer back to, to re-read, or to create a citation.

• For a long scientific study, begin by reading the abstract, introduction, and conclusion.  Then go back through the article again and read the heading and first paragraph of each section of the study.  When you understand the general "story" of the research project, go back and read it again for details.

• Newspaper stories put most of the facts and ideas into the first few paragraphs.  Read beyond these for interesting, relevant details.

3.  If you are working in a group, now is the time to share what you learned with others in the group.  Ask questions about what you don't understand from your reading.  Teach each other so everyone becomes an "expert" on the topic.

     If you are working on your own, make a list of words or topics you don't understand well enough to explain to someone else.  Use dictionaries or encyclopedias, or ask people to help you understand these parts that are difficult for you.
 

4.  Post-Its.*
Create Post-It notes for the highlighted parts of each article.
The highlighted parts let you review the key points of the article. Upon rereading, you can see if these are still key points, you can put these ideas into context and into perspective, and you can summarize complex issues or ideas into 3-5 words.

• One idea per Post-It.
• 3-5 words. PRACTICE WORD ECONOMY.
• Write big.

*You don't have to use actual Post-Its, you can use any kind of paper.  Keep the pieces small (3" x 3"), and mark them with symbols or colors so you can identify which article the Post-It note represents.
 

5.  "Cluster".  Go back to the Synthesis page and look at the examples.

• Start with just a few Post-Its, then add more.  Don't try to cluster all of the Post-its at once—it's overwhelming.

6.  Name the clusters.  Think of a nickname that describes the cluster.  Go back to the Synthesis page and look at the examples.

• The name must fit every Post-It  in the cluster.
• If the name doesn't fit, you may need to
1. Try several different names to get one that fits all of the Post-Its.
2. Move some Post-Its to different clusters.
3. Create a new cluster (related to, or more specific than the original one).

7.  Review the information.

• Looking at the clusters can give you a quick visual picture of where you have a lot of information and have probably covered the issue, and where you have only a little information and need to decide your next move.
• If you have dominant clusters with a lot of information, you might choose to narrow your original topic to one of the cluster topics.  Or, you can select one or all of these as the main themes of your paper.
• If you have very minor clusters with one or two Post-Its, think about whether you can drop these minor aspects of the subject, or whether you want to return to your  library research to find more information on these specific topics that have emerged from your first round of library research.  Having about the same number of Post-Its in each cluster will enable you to write a more balanced paper on your topic.

9.  Conclusion of this process.

When you read the articles and highlighted them, you were analyzing and evaluating information.

When you met in "expert" groups and discussed the articles, you were evaluating and synthesizing information.

When you clustered the facts and concepts on the Post-It notes and named them, you were analyzing, synthesizing, and organizing information.

10.  Write the story in your own words.  The way you have clustered facts and concepts, the sequence in which you present them, your new comparisons, ideas, and conclusions—this is all your own original work.  Be proud.  But remember:  you need to attribute facts, ideas, and quotations to their original sources.  Give credit to the work that inspired you.
 

11.  Practice.  Research and writing are both lifelong skills that improve with practice and feedback.  The more you do, the better skilled you become.   You will also be able to work faster and enjoy the process more each time.