Organizing and Synthesizing Research
1 min read
From Notes to Arguments
Note-Taking Methods
- Cornell method: Divide your page into notes, cues, and summary sections
- Annotated bibliography: Write a brief summary and evaluation of each source
- Concept mapping: Visually connect ideas across sources
- Digital tools: Use reference managers to organize and annotate PDFs
Synthesis vs. Summary
Summarizing reports what each source says individually. Synthesizing identifies patterns, agreements, and contradictions across multiple sources to build a cohesive understanding.
Building an Argument from Research
- Identify themes and patterns across your sources
- Note areas of agreement and disagreement among scholars
- Find gaps in existing research that your work can address
- Develop your own position based on the evidence
- Select the strongest evidence to support each point
Use our summarizer to quickly extract key points from long research articles during your literature review.