Synthesis Matrix

Add 13 articles to the synthesis matrix.

How to complete a synthesis matrix:

Start by searching only for scholarly, authoritative resources, which can be found in the online library, using Google Scholar or at DOAJ.org. Avoid .com, .edu, .org or other websites that do not host peer-reviewed, research-based studies (also known as empirical studies) articles. Psychology.com or Psychology.net or the like should not be used for finding articles. Articles from those sites will not count toward your required citations.

Find articles by doing a keyword search that pertains to different aspects of the topic you are researching.

Review the abstract of an article as it usually summarizes the studys purpose, target population, methods of conducting research, sometimes the analysis used to interpret findings and sometimes a brief mention of theories and/or findings.

Review the introductory/background section that provides more detail about the purpose, population, the research questions and what other researchers have found about the same or similar research focus.

Then read the discussion sections. This usually comes after the Results section, which is useful if you can read statistical results. If not, then the discussion tends to put it into less analytical language and often provides clues about findings and ideas about why the findings came about.

The conclusion section summarizes the problem/purpose of the study, the research that was conducted, key findings, limitations of the study and possible future research.

Use the Matrix on the following pages to add brief notes about each of these areas that you evaluate for each article.

After you have reviewed several articles (usually more than what is required of the paper), look for common themes, common or conflicting findings from the studies that focused on similar topics.

Define a position, perspective or argument you can use for your research paper based on what the articles agree or differ on.

Formulate a thesis statement based on what you have learned from reading the articles.

Define the key points you will use from the articles to support your thesis statement for your paper.

Create a reference page with the articles you will use in your paper, then add in-text citations throughout the body of your paper where the references are cited.