Step Four Synthesis and Evaluation

Organizing and Evaluating Your Research Findings

Check point! It is time to assess your progress.

Now that you have gathered information, stop to evaluate your findings. Have you found sufficient details to answer all your questions? Can you throw away material which is not useful or does not answer your questions? Do you need to rearrange the information in different categories? Can you condense or combine the information? Do you need to develop new questions to adequately cover your topic? Work with your partner to figure out how much you have learned. Is the puzzle beginning to take shape? Are you able to make out any patterns? Try moving your information pieces around until some kind of picture emerges. You are looking for insight. What have you learned so far? What more do you need? You are trying to "tease" meaning out of fragments. Synthesis requires rearranging pieces of information until a new version emerges.

YOUR TASKS FOR EVALUATING AND SYNTHESIZING

	1.	Open your file or gather your notes which you have been using to save your notes.
	2.	Check off all questions answered sufficiently.
	3.	Identify new insights and discoveries of importance.
	4.	Expand your original list of questions to include those new questions which have emerged during your recent research.
	5.	Identify and discard irrelevant information.
	6.	Condense, combine, and/or rearrange your information in categories as needed.
	7.	Write down new ideas and thoughts which arise as you and your partner look over your notes.