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The Synthesis Matrix: A Grid of Common Points to Synthesize Research. California State University, Dominguez Hills. Before we begin, please take a moment to rate your agreement or disagreement with the following statements:. Purpose of the Synthesis Matrix .
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The Synthesis Matrix: A Grid of Common Points to Synthesize Research California State University, Dominguez Hills
Before we begin, please take a moment to rate your agreement or disagreement with the following statements:
Purpose of the Synthesis Matrix • Academic assignments like literature reviews, theses, and dissertations require a thorough synthesis of the relevant literature of a topic. • This means that one must locate the different research sources regarding a topic, compare the research, and identify where there may be similarities, gaps, or inconsistencies of themes. • A synthesis matrix is a useful tool for synthesizing sources to compare studies. • It is also commonly used to find areas of research that require additional study. Need additional notes? Click Here!
Use of the Synthesis Matrix • The synthesis matrix can be used to compare and contrast components of a research study (i.e., methodology, research participants, results, etc.) • Or it can be used to compare and contrast themes across studies. • Oftentimes, it useful to create two separate synthesis matrices during the research process: one for comparing components of studies, and one for comparing themes.
Creating a Synthesis Matrix Theme A Theme B Theme C Theme D Author #1 Author #2 Author #3 Author #4 Author #5 Author #6
Research question: What roles does capital punishment play in American society?Possible answers: Capital punishment plays the role of deterrence, revenge, oppression, and political leverage. Deterrence Revenge Political Leverage Oppression “The death penalty does not discriminate” p. 2 “Capital punishment strongly deters crime” p. 16 “Local politicians support capital punishment” p. 7 Stenhouse, B. (1969) “Many offenders are not even aware of the capital punishment laws in their states” p. 45 “Using capital punishment only sanctions revenge” p. 8 “All too many politicians will agree to kill another man in order to remain in power” p. 44 Patterson, J. (2010) “The death penalty is used against the poor, oppressed, mentally ill, juveniles, foreign nationals, and mentally retarded.” p. 5 Zaman, H. (2010) “Research indicates that capital punishment is not a statistically significant deterrent of crime” p. 12 “It is illogical to kill others to prove killing is wrong” p. 30 “Capital punishment only serves to provide a model for murder” p. 56 “Politicians are unconcerned with the lives lost so long as their job is not” p. 55 “Capital punishment is not justice: it is revenge” p. 17 “Death penalty critics question whether racial discrimination exists since 80 percent of those who are put to death had white victims” p. 1 Fryckenberg, A. (2013) “New research shows that grieving families would prefer that offenders suffer in jail” p. 56 “Children as young as 16 can be put to death. Some lawmakers are working to bring the age down to just 11 years old” p. 44 “States without the death penalty have consistently lower murder rates” p. 4 Lystne, N. (2013) “The death penalty does not add any significant deterrent effect above that of long-term imprisonment” p. 1 “Capital punishment is just one more method of oppression in disguise” p. 23 Ochoa, O. (2013)
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