16 How Do I Synthesize Sources for Exploratory Research?

Synthesis combines two Greek words: syn ( σύν), meaning “with” or “together,” and thesis (θέσις), which refers to intellectual propositions or ideas. In writing, a synthesis involves combining two or more summaries of sources. But synthesis writing is more difficult than it might at first appear because this combining of sources must be done in a meaningful, intentional, and organized way. For some types of college essays such as persuasive argument, the synthesis also needs to support a thesis (argument).

In composition courses, “synthesis” commonly refers to writing about printed texts (sources), drawing together particular themes or traits that you observe in those texts and organizing the material from each text according to those themes or traits. Sometimes you may be asked to synthesize your own ideas, theory, or research with those of the texts you have been assigned. In your other college classes you’ll probably find yourself synthesizing  information from graphs and tables, pieces of music, and art works in addition to printed texts.

Key Features of a Synthesis

1. A synthesis accurately reports information from the sources using different phrases and sentences (paraphrasing and summary);
2. A synthesis is organized in such a way that readers can immediately see where the information from the sources overlaps;
3. A synthesis makes sense of the sources and helps the reader understand them in greater depth.

Synthesis in Life and the Workplace

Whenever you report to a friend what several other friends have said about a film or share a variety of social media comments about a new Taylor Swift album, you engage in synthesis. People synthesize information naturally to help others see the connections between things they learn. For example, you have probably stored up a mental data bank of the various things you’ve heard about particular professors at your college. If your data bank contains several negative comments, you might synthesize that information and use it to help you decide not to take a class from that particular professor.

Synthesis is related to but not the same as classification, division, or comparison and contrast.  Instead of attending to categories or finding similarities and differences, synthesizing sources is a matter of pulling them together into some kind of harmony, to make a new single thing from a variety of existing things.  Synthesis may also identify links between materials for the purpose of constructing a thesis or theory.

Synthesis is also important in the workplace. The basic research report (exploratory research) is very common in a variety of careers.  For example, imagine that you are researching uses for generative AI for the organization where you work. Your report will synthesize information and arrange it by topic rather than by source.  And just as in college, the quality and usefulness of your synthesis will depend on the accuracy, organization, and the quality of your sources.

How Synthesis Works in Exploratory Research

In your exploratory research paper, you’ll be expected to synthesize information from at least five sources, and at least one of the sources must be a peer-reviewed journal article (I encourage you to use more!). You’ll rely on the summaries that you wrote for your research organizer to synthesize your research. Review your summaries and make notes about some of the following questions:

1. What are the main ideas you discovered in your research? Separate these ideas into 3-4 topics, which may become subheadings in your paper. Then incorporate your summaries and direct quotes into these separate headings.
2. How are the ideas similar? Look at the summaries and identify some common trends. In what ways do your sources reinforce or reflect each other’s findings or conclusions?
3. How are the ideas different? Do the same thing and look for differences.
4. What do you think about these ideas? Did you learn what you expected to learn? What surprised you? Write a paragraph or two answering these questions.

Using Generative AI Tools in Synthesis

As with every step of the writing process, I want you to try your synthesis on your own first. Look at your summaries and go through the questions above. But once you’ve done that, you may also want to consider how generative AI tools can be particularly useful in helping you to synthesize your sources. Here are several ways these tools can help to check and augment your own work:

Identifying Common Themes

Generative AI tools can analyze multiple sources of research and identify common themes, trends, or patterns. Students can use this insight to determine which arguments or ideas are recurrent and significant, allowing them to synthesize research around these themes. For example, if a student is researching the portrayal of identity in modern literature, AI can help highlight key concepts and themes across various texts and studies. AI tools can also generate side-by-side comparisons of key arguments, ideas, or theories from different sources. This can help students see how different authors approach similar topics, making it easier to synthesize and compare their findings.

Clarifying Complex Concepts

Generative AI can explain complex academic jargon or theoretical frameworks, helping students better understand difficult texts and incorporate them more effectively into their projects. For example, if students are working with dense theoretical texts, AI can provide simplified explanations that help them synthesize those theories with their research findings.

Outlining and Structuring Ideas

AI can assist in creating a coherent outline based on a student’s research notes and sources, offering suggestions for how to organize ideas logically. This helps students synthesize their research more effectively by organizing different arguments and perspectives. Students can input key pieces of research, and the AI can suggest an appropriate structure for presenting these ideas in their paper. Students can input their research notes into AI tools, which can then generate draft sections of their synthesis. This provides a starting point for students to refine and build upon, ensuring they stay focused on integrating their research rather than simply summarizing.

Creating Citations

AI tools can automate citation generation, ensuring students properly reference their sources in their synthesis. This allows them to focus more on the synthesis process and less on managing the technicalities of citation.

Some Concerns about Using Generative AI

Thinking back to Ethan Mollick’s four principles, it’s important at this stage of your research and writing process to make sure that you are the “human in the loop.” In my own experience working with generative AI tools, I’ve found that they can sometimes make mistakes, especially when dealing with facts. Remember that they are not designed to give you the “correct” answer. They are designed to give you a statistically probable answer based on trillions of factors. And sometimes they get things wrong. In an example of co-writing, I asked ChatGPT to share a few concerns you should have when working with these tools on synthesis. Here are some key issues to watch out for, edited from the original AI output to reflect my own views and priorities for students:

Over-reliance on AI for Critical Thinking

• Pitfall: AI tools can help summarize and organize information, but they may encourage students to rely too much on the technology instead of engaging critically with their sources.
• What you should do: Make sure that you critically analyze and interpret the information yourself, using the AI as a support tool, not a replacement for your own evaluation and judgment.

Inaccurate or Misleading Summaries

• Pitfall: AI tools may oversimplify or misinterpret complex research, leading to inaccurate summaries or misunderstandings of key concepts.
• What you should do: Double-check AI-generated summaries against the original sources to ensure accuracy.

Bias in Data and Sources

• Pitfall: AI models can reflect biases present in the data they were trained on. This can lead to biased syntheses or skewed interpretations of research topics.
• What you should do: Be mindful of potential biases in AI outputs, cross-referencing multiple sources to gain a balanced perspective.

Lack of Originality

• Pitfall: Using AI to synthesize research may lead to generic or formulaic writing, reducing the student’s own voice and originality in their work.
• What you should do: I don’t want to read what the AI “thinks” because it doesn’t think. I want you to inject your own analysis, insights, and creative thinking into the synthesis, using AI outputs to augment your own thinking.

Plagiarism and Improper Attribution

• Pitfall: AI tools might paraphrase or summarize content too closely to the original, or they may fail to cite sources properly, leading to accidental plagiarism.
• What you should do: This point is very important. You may inadvertently plagiarize if you don’t check the AI output closely. Several journalists have demonstrated that AI can in fact plagiarize by pulling on source material when it’s prompted in certain ways. Students need to ensure they properly cite all sources and avoid copying AI-generated text verbatim without appropriate attribution.

Ethical Concerns

• Pitfall: The use of AI to generate content can raise ethical questions about intellectual property, authorship, and the role of AI in academic work.
• What you should do: Be aware of the ethical guidelines surrounding AI use in college writing assignments and ensure you use the tools responsibly. If it feels “wrong” to have AI just write your whole paper for you, it probably is. Don’t harm your own development or skill building.

When you are mindful of these potential pitfalls, you should be able to use generative AI tools to enhance your research process while maintaining academic integrity and critical engagement with your topic and sources.