1. Analyzing and
Synthesizing Findings
Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood
Department of Library & Information Science
University of the Punjab
Lahore, PAKISTAN
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2. Read the articles
 completely in each topic together
 Take notes in an organized manner: computer files,
note cards, etc.
 Include all bibliographic info, especially page
number when quoting!
 Flag like information with same color post-its across
articles.
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3. Summarize
 main purpose (research questions)
 methodology
 qualitative/quantitative
 subjects, controls, treatments
 findings
 relevant details
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4. Analyze
 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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5. Analyze
 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
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6. Synthesize the Literature
 How does each article relate to your topic and
purpose?
 Define your argument/thesis.
 Identify major trends or patterns emerging
from your reading.
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7. Synthesize
 Reassemble your notes based on results of reading, using
organizational aids such as post-its, flags, etc.
 Revise original outline of categories
 Create a detailed topic outline
 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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8. Sample topic outline
Psychological Aspects of Organ Donation: Individual and Next-of-Kin Donation
Decisions
I. Introduction IV. Methodological issues and directions for
future research
A. Establish importance of topic (cite
statistics on scarcity of organs). A. Improvement in attitude measures and
measurement strategy.
B. Delimit the review to psychological
components of decisions. B. Greater differentiation by type of
donation.
C. Describe organization of the paper,
indicating that the remaining topics in C. Stronger theoretical emphasis.
the outline will be discussed. D. Greater interdisciplinary focus.
II. Individual decisions regarding posthumous V. Summary, Conclusions, and Implications
organ donation A. Summary of points I-IV.
A. Beliefs about organ donation B. Need well-developed theoretical
B. Attitudes toward donating models of attitudes and decision
C. Stated willingness to donate making.
D. Summary of research on individual C. Current survey data limited in scope
decisions and application points to need for
more sophisticated research in the future.
III. Next-of-kin consent decisions
D. Need more use of sophisticated data
A. Beliefs about donating others’ organs. analytic techniques.
B. Attitudes toward next-of-kin donations. E. Conclusion: Psychology can draw from various
C. Summary of research on next-of-kin subdisciplines for an understanding of
consent decisions donation decisions so intervention strategies
can be identifiable. Desperately need to
increase the available supply of donor organs.
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9. Synthesize
 Note on your topic outline relationships among
studies: which researchers, what page, etc. support
each point?
 Note consistency of results from study to study.
 Note discrepancies among studies and provide
possible explanations such as dates of studies,
different methodologies.
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10. Synthesize
 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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11. Some problems could be …
 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 references
 Depending too much on secondary sources
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