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Organizational Communication: AOD 3396

Library resources for students in AOD 3396

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Use this page to find help find sources for research assignments in AOD 3396. For help with research, please contact your librarian or schedule an appointment using the button to the right.

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Writing and Synthesizing Your Sources

What is Synthesis?

From the Temple University Writing Center

Synthesis writing is a form of analysis related to comparison and contrast, classification and division. On a basic level, synthesis requires the writer to pull together two or more summaries, looking for themes in each text. In synthesis, you search for the links between various materials in order to make your point. Most advanced academic writing, including literature reviews, relies heavily on synthesis.

Literature Reviews

  • Provides comprehensive discussion of the scholarly research that has already been done on a topic.
  • Includes some summary of important articles on a topic.
  • Includes comparison: between how different authors discuss the same topic and how the topic has been handled over time.
  • Synthesizes previous ideas on a topic, but also looks for gaps in the literature: what needs to be investigated further
Once you've gathered sources, you want to assess how your sources relate to one another and group sources by theme, topic, or methodology. See the handouts below for examples of literature reviews and advice on the process of writing them.
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Jackie Sipes
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Subjects: Education

Reading a Scholarly Article

image of a scholarly article
 
Interactive tutorial from NCSU Libraries