Research Guides: Jumpstart Your Thesis/Dissertation Conference 2023: Knowledge Synthesis Presentation

Knowledge Synthesis: Documenting the Conversation

Mardi Mahaffy

Knowledge Synthesis

Documenting the Conversation

about me

I'm Mardi.

I'm an Instructional Librarian at UMKC

Get in touch! mahaffym@umkc.edu

Features an image of Mardi Mahaffy.

Scholarship is a conversation

Thanks Sarah!

This presentation is based on the Zine Teaching Synthesis by Sarah Dahlen

California State University Monterrey Bay

Also thanks to Olivia Kays, Academic Library Fellow, for her assistance.

What is knowledge synthesis?

Explicit connections are made between sources, including connections between contradictory sources.

- Lundstrom, 2015

Connections could be

Similarities

Do two studies reach the same conclusion?

Differences

Do two studies disagree on a point?

Patterns

Is though evolving over time?

What knowledge synthesis is not

Series of Source Summaries

Only citing one article per paragraph? That's a red flag.

Series of Quotes

While an occasional quote is fine, you want to show yo know the content by putting it in your own words.

Synthesis Tables

What makes a good pet?

	Garfield, 2019	Lassie, 2022	Mickey, 2020
Dogs	Dogs are codependent	Dogs are loyal
Cats	Cats are discerning	Cats are self-entitled jerks	Cats are terrifying
Mice	Mice are delicious		Mice are swell

Teaching Synthesis by Sarah Dahlen

How it Looks with Academic Writing

Rahimi and Hall, 2021

Grad students report procrastinating on:
- Writing term papers
- Completing weekly readings
- Studying for exams
Grad students say they procrastinate because:
- Fear of failure
- Lack of assertiveness/peer pressure
- Task aversiveness or laziness
- Desire to take risks
- Resentment toward others
They say procrastination causes the most problems with:
- Writing term papers
- Completing weekly readings

Shaked and Altarac (2022)

When speaking of impact,

76.92% of students did not feel procrastination impacted their grade
38% of statements on impact mentioned frustration, stress, and damage to self image
36% of statements on impact mentioned impaired professional advancement and financial loss

Patri and Laili (2021)

One masters thesis intervention program covered training in setting SMART goals and BASE habits.

Writing groups significantly lessened students tendency to procrastinate.

	Rahimi and Hall, 2021	Patria and Laili, 2021	Shaked and Altarac, 2022
Degree of procrastination	Grad students reported procrastinating on: Writing term papers Completing weekly readings Studying for exams		The majority of students studied (74.48%) perceived themselves as procrastinators, although only 46% completed the paper in the study late
Reasons for procrastinating	Grad students say they procrastinate because: Fear of failure Lack of assertiveness/peer pressure Task aversiveness or laziness Desire to take risks Resentment toward others		Students noted external factors for procrastination (difficulty writing final paper, various responsibilities related to home and family, work related responsibilities) and personal factors (lack of motivation, laziness, ill health)
Procrastination impact	They say procrastination causes the most problems when Writing terms papers Completing weekly readings		76.92% of students did not perceive a relationship between their grade and degree of procrastination 38% of statements on impact mentioned frustration, stress, and damage to self-image 36% of statements on impact mentioned impaired professional advancement and financial loss
Improving procrastination		Writing groups significantly lessened students' tendency to procrastinate One master's thesis intervention program trained in setting SMART goals and BASE habits.

Other Options

Highlight

One color per theme

Tag in Zotero

One tag per theme

Constructing the Paragraph

Intro Sentence

Describe the topic in your own words

Signal Words

Similarly

In contrast

Conversely

Relative to

Likewise

Versus

(Citations)

Cite multiple sources together in-text

Last Sentence

Summarize the scholarly consensus

thank you!

What questions do you have for me?

Jumpstart Your Thesis/Dissertation Conference 2023