Synthesising requires the skills of paraphrasing and summarising: to combine ideas from different sources to support your idea.
Unlike paraphrasing and summarising, which use only one source’s idea at a time, a synthesis combines similar findings amongst two or more sources, allowing you to demonstrate linkages between different authors, which can create more powerful evidence for you to present to your reader.
Let’s see what synthesising looks like in practice. In the example below, we’ve identified four different journal articles for our topic, Is rote learning effective learning? From these readings, we’ve made the following notes:
Text 1
Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412443552
Text 2
Tavakol, M. (2010). Are Asian international medical students just rote learners? Advances in Health Sciences Education, 15, 369-377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-009-9203-1
Text 3
Mholo, M. K. (2014). Is rote learning of number concepts ‘inherently rotten’ or is it just a blame and shame game that vitiates principles of natural progression? Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(27), 1581-1591. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1581
Text 4
Yang, W., & Dai, W. (2011). Rote memorization of vocabulary and vocabulary development. English Language Teaching, 4(4), 61-64. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n4p61
From our notes, we’ve written the following synthesis:
Although in recent decades in Western education, rote learning has mostly been viewed in contrast to critical thinking, there is a resurgence of its merits. Where Yang and Dai (2011) argue that learning via memorisation is limited and expanded learning requires learning strategies beyond rote learning, Mhlolo’s (2014) findings show the benefits of including rote learning for acquired knowledge as a foundation for critical thinking. The benefits of rote learning are enhancement of the recall process and an imperative foundation for higher order strategies required for understanding (Karpicke, 2012; Tavakol & Dennick, 2010).
You’ll find some tips for referencing your synthesising in the Library’s referencing guides. For APA and Chicago, check out the information in the section, In-text citations explained - Multiple sources for the same information.