Synthesis of the literature
You will read through yourscholarly, research based, peer reviewed articles and look for the central findings/claims of the author(s).
You will compare the findings/claims from the different articles and look for similarities and variations. The similarities will provide you with subheadings within your literature review. Within each subsection, you will explain what the findings are that are similar across the articles and also explain how the articles are different. For each concept think of the major point or thesis you wish to make and cite the literature that you found that supports your thesis. From that departure point nuance the discussion by looking at how the different articles address the concept from different points of view.You probably won’t use every article in every subsection, but you may find that some articles will contribute to the different subsections.
Example paragraph for a theme
Dance and Fluency
Research indicates that performing the Macarena dance helps students perform well during readers workshop(Flintstone, 2008; Jetson, 2007; Brown, 2006).Jetson (2007) reported that it was not the dance itself that helped students perform well with reading, but rather that students had the opportunity to move around throughout the readers’ workshop. Flintstone (2008) on the other hand showed in a study of 1700 Bedrock Elementary students that the dance taught children a sense of rhythm that helped them pace for fluency. Brown (2006), like Flintstone (2008) found that rhythm was important but noted that "the Macarena in particular includes both rhythm and hand movements allowing for both kinesthetic and musical learning styles to work in tandem" (p. 102). Both Flintstone (2008) and Jetson (2007) interviewed students about their perceptions of the Macarena and found that most students had favorable responses. In contrast Brown (2006) examined teachers’ beliefs about the incorporation of the Macarena and found that teachers who modeled the dance daily found the dance to have more powerful benefits for students during the readers’ workshop.