Synthesize Information

"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing."

Aristotle

At this fourth stage of research, a student will:

  • Organize search results
  • Synthesize information into the research project

Want a librarian to teach this and other competencies to your students? Visit our Library Instruction page!

Organizing Information

Once a student has found and evaluated information, she will need to organize it. It will allow her to apply information in a way that increases her ability to be understood. There are various ways to organize information:

Categorically or Conceptually
Useful when discussing the pros and cons of an idea.
Example: A persuasive essay about differential instruction in a classroom.
Chronologically
Useful when explaining an outcome.
Example: Explaining the progression of patient treatment in a physical therapy ward.
Hierarchically
Useful when information needs to be in a specific order.
Example: A guide for diagnosing a patient's illness, starting with the most simple and moving up.
Alphabetically
Useful for presentations and organizing specialized vocabulary.
Example: A student is writing a discipline-specific paper and needs to know key terms' definitions. Placing them in alphabetical order helps her find them more easily.

Synthesizing Information

Synthesis involves determining the importance of information and how it relates to the end product. A student must constantly ask: How will this information help me accomplish my goal? Here are some steps students can follow while reading resources:

  • Summarizing the information
    • Outline
    • Notecards
  • Determining how the information relates to your project
    • Does it provide evidence for or against?
    • Does it provide key background information to assist your readers in understanding your argument?
  • Arguing and reflecting with information
    • Do you agree with the points as presented? Why or why not?
  • Discovering how the information moves your project forward or backward

A student worksheet for synthesizing information is located in Classroom Activities.

Application Example

Assignment: Determine Alexander Hamilton's role in shaping America

Research question: Why did Alexander Hamilton collaborate with James Madison and John Jay to write the Federalist Papers? Why did he feel it was necessary to write them?

During this stage, a student will:

  • Rank information by importance
  • Select quotes from texts
  • Integrate quotes and paraphrasing into her paper

Classroom Activities

Below are activities and handouts you can use in your classroom to show your students how to pick and define topics.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Ask Steely Library!

Questions or comments about these pages can be directed to Ellie Jones.