synthesis matrix in literature review

University of Oregon Libraries
Research Guides

How to Write a Literature Review

6. Synthesize
Literature Reviews: A Recap
Reading Journal Articles
Does it Describe a Literature Review?
1. Identify the Question
2. Review Discipline Styles
Searching Article Databases
Finding Full-Text of an Article
Citation Chaining
When to Stop Searching
4. Manage Your References
5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate

Synthesis Visualization

Synthesis matrix example.

7. Write a Literature Review

Synthesis Worksheet

About Synthesis

Approaches to synthesis.

You can sort the literature in various ways, for example:

How to Begin?

Read your sources carefully and find the main idea(s) of each source

Look for similarities in your sources – which sources are talking about the same main ideas? (for example, sources that discuss the historical background on your topic)

Use the worksheet (above) or synthesis matrix (below) to get organized

This work can be messy. Don't worry if you have to go through a few iterations of the worksheet or matrix as you work on your lit review!

Four Examples of Student Writing

In the four examples below, only ONE shows a good example of synthesis: the fourth column, or Student D . For a web accessible version, click the link below the image.

Long description of "Four Examples of Student Writing" for web accessibility

Download a copy of the "Four Examples of Student Writing" chart

Click on the example to view the pdf.

From Jennifer Lim

<< Previous: 5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate
Next: 7. Write a Literature Review >>
Last Updated: Aug 12, 2024 11:48 AM
URL: https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/litreview

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Literature Review: A Self-Guided Tutorial for NUR 288

Literature Reviews: A Recap
Peer-Review
Reading the Literature
Developing Research Questions
2. Review discipline styles
Super Searching
Finding the Full Text
Finding Guidelines in Databases
Citation Searching
Evaluating online information
When to stop searching
How to cite your sources following APA
In-Text Citations
Keeping track of your references
Annotating Articles Tip
5. Critically analyze and evaluate
How to review the literature

Using a synthesis matrix

7. Write literature review

Synthesize : combine separate elements to form a whole.

Why use a synthesis matrix?

A synthesis matrix helps you record the main points of each source and document how sources relate to each other.
After summarizing and evaluating your sources, arrange them in a matrix or use a citation manager to help you see how they relate to each other and apply to each of your themes or variables.
By arranging your sources by theme or variable, you can see how your sources relate to each other, and can start thinking about how you weave them together to create a narrative.

A synthesis matrix visually represents your research by organizing your sources by themes:

Add each article citation to the Source column and begin to identify the theme(s) from the article.

Use the Excel template below to help you evaluate your sources, create article summaries for an annotated bibliography, and a synthesis matrix for your lit review outline. From John Hopkins Sheridan Libraries.

NOTE : There are several tabs at the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet to help guide you with this method.