Submit Assignment: Synthesis Paper
Due Monday
Read Purdue OWL’s “What is Primary Research and How do I get Started?” (n.d.-c) for additional information on how to find peer-reviewed primary research articles. Also, view Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students (Smith, Duckett, Bankston, Classen, Orphanides, & Baker, n.d.) for helpful instruction in writing a literature review and synthesis paper. Additional support can be found in chapters 8 and 9 of Who Says? The Writer’s Research (Holdstein & Aquiline, 2016) which provides support with writing and citing research.
Based on the literature you have reviewed, come up with one “big idea” to help answer your research question. Sample research questions and big ideas are given below. Then, locate 2-3 peer-reviewed primary research articles related to your big idea. Remember, a peer-reviewed primary research article is an article written by the researchers who describe their own study. (An unpublished dissertation does not count as peer-reviewed primary research for your M.Ed. courses at CU.) Read your 2-3 peer-reviewed primary research articles and gather information about your big idea. Do not simply list the information, but rather begin to synthesize the information to use for your final literature review assignment. Synthesis and focusing on the key details here is critical.
Write a synthesis paper, using your big idea as a theme to answer your research question, with the literature as supporting evidence for that theme. Consider these questions as you write:
What ideas/ findings of the study help answer your research question and support your big idea?
How is the study important to helping you answer your research question?
How do the study participants compare from study to study?
How do the findings of each study compare and contrast with each other?
What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of these studies?
Sample Action Research Question
Question: What strategies can a teacher employ to increase parent involvement in students’ early literacy experiences?
Big Idea: Communication
Sample Practitioner Inquiry Question
Question: How can my own technology skills become more developed to ensure my capacity to design appropriate instructional uses for students?
Big Idea: Classroom-based technology tools
Use the Synthesis Paper Template Synthesis Paper Template – Alternative Formats (Concordia University, n.d.-h) to help you with this assignment. Please note: This assignment is designed to be a smaller start on the larger work you will submit in Saturday’s literature review assignment. The time and effort put into this paper will give you a solid start on your literature review draft. The templates for these two assignments are very similar so that you can use one to build to the next.
Support your statements with evidence from the required studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.
References
Concordia University. (n.d.-h). Synthesis paper template [Course handout].
Purdue University Online Writing Lab. (n.d.-c). What is primary research and how do I get started? Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/conducting_primary_research/index.html
Smith, E., Duckett, K., Bankston, S., Classen, J., Orphanides, A., & Baker, S. (n.d.). Literature reviews: An overview for graduate students [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/litreview/
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