Research & Synthesis
Researching is gathering data from credible, reliable, and relevant sources. After data is gathered, it must be synthesized, or merged, into a coherent whole. All sources from which data is gathered must be acknowledged, or cited.
| Choosing Appropriate Sources |
Relevant sources are those that are related to the subject matter.
NOT RELEVANT: Asian Tigers, African Lions, a nonfiction book about big cats in the wild
RELEVANT: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cat Breeds, a nonfiction book about breeds of pet cats.
Credible and reliable sources are those that are believable and trustworthy.
NOT A GOOD SOURCE:
advertisement for a brand of "healthy" cat food
NOT A GOOD SOURCE: website with popular cat videos that people have posted of their pets eating their favorite foods
GOOD SOURCE: website with the
URL www.thecatnetwork.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating people about how to care for pet cats
| Primary vs. Secondary Sources |
A
primary source provides first-hand information about a topic.
RESEARCH TOPIC: Civil Rights Movement
primary source: an interview with someone who lived through and experienced the Civil Rights Movement
RESEARCH TOPIC: E.E. Cummings, an American poet
primary source: The actual poems that E.E. Cummings wrote
A
secondary source provides second-hand information about a topic.
RESEARCH TOPIC: Civil Rights Movement
secondary source: A chapter about the Civil Rights Movement in a school textbook
RESEARCH TOPIC: E.E. Cummings, an American poet
secondary source: A biography of E.E. Cummings, published on a website about famous American poets
| Avoiding Sources with Faulty Reasoning |
Hyperbole: A logical fallacy that uses exaggeration to make a point or that draws a conclusion that is much more exaggerated than the observations used to support it would suggest.
The writer draws an exaggerated conclusion based on this information, saying that fast food is actually healthy. The findings of the study say some of the participants who ate fast food had moderate improvements in health. This does not mean that all fast food is now good for everyone to consume.
Stereotype: A logical fallacy that assumes that all members of a group share an unrelated characteristic.
The idea that Asian students are better at math than other students is a stereotype. David automatically assumes that the stereotype applies to Ying just because she is Chinese. Conclusions drawn based on stereotypes may not be true.
Loaded Language: A logical fallacy based on the use of language that appeals to emotions rather than to reason.
While providing no supporting evidence for his or her claims, the writer or speaker uses words that are strongly negative in order to evoke a negative reaction towards climate change theories in his or her audience.
BEWARE of sources with strongly emotive words and no supporting evidence!
Emotional Appeal: A logical fallacy that urges people to make decisions based on strong emotions, such as anger or sympathy, rather than on facts and logical reasoning.
The person does not use specific facts or details about the new football stadium to support the argument. Instead, he or she tries to appeal to the reader's emotions by telling a story about a sick young boy. Some readers may feel pity for the boy's plight and be swayed into supporting the argument.
Sweeping Generalization: A logical fallacy that assumes that a general idea or belief is always true in every instance. Exceptions to a rule are often ignored.
This argument takes a general idea based on evidence — many great musicians have died at young ages — and applies it to all great musicians. It does not take into consideration the numerous exceptions to this rule. For example, the classical composer Franz Liszt lived to be 75. Another example is Aretha Franklin, who was known as the Queen of Soul and lived to be 76.
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| It is important to use a variety of credible, reliable, and relevant sources, free of flawed reasoning and biases, when researching topics you are writing about. After gathering information from your sources, you must synthesize the information from different sources into a coherent piece of writing of your own. Go to the next page to see an example of synthesizing data from a variety of sources. |
7th Grade Writing - Research and Synthesis Lesson