Research That Synthesizes Sources
Aligned to W.9-10.7 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
What this lesson teaches
A research project answers a focused question by drawing on multiple sources and synthesizing them — combining what they share and reconciling where they differ — rather than summarizing each in turn. Narrow or broaden the question as evidence demands.
Worked examples
Example 1
Investigating why a local river flooded, you find one source blaming rainfall and another blaming new pavement; synthesis means proposing how both factors interacted rather than picking a side.
Example 2
Researching why a hospital closed its maternity ward, a student finds a staffing report, a county birth-rate table, and an insurance reimbursement schedule. None mentions the others. The synthesis is the claim that ties them: fewer births lowered the reimbursement total below the cost of maintaining the required staffing level.
Example 3
Common mistake: treating a source that disagrees as an obstacle to route around. A source contradicting your emerging conclusion is the most valuable thing you have found — it either exposes a flaw you can now fix or it sharpens the claim by forcing you to account for it. Quote it fairly, explain why the weight of the other evidence still holds, or change your conclusion.
Practice questions
- Write a research question narrow enough to answer with a few sources.
- Explain how you would combine two sources that stress different causes.
- Describe one finding that would make you narrow or broaden your question.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Investigación que Sintetiza Fuentes
Un proyecto de investigación responde una pregunta enfocada apoyándose en varias fuentes y sintetizándolas — combinando lo que comparten y reconciliando dónde difieren — en vez de resumir cada una por separado. Acota o amplía la pregunta según lo exija la evidencia.
Ejemplo 1: Al investigar por qué se desbordó un río local, hallas una fuente que culpa a la lluvia y otra al pavimento nuevo; sintetizar significa proponer cómo interactuaron ambos factores en lugar de elegir un bando.
Ejemplo 2: Al investigar por qué un hospital cerró su sala de maternidad, una estudiante encuentra un informe de personal, una tabla condal de natalidad y un tabulador de reembolsos de seguros. Ninguno menciona a los otros. La síntesis es la afirmación que los une: menos nacimientos bajaron el total de reembolsos por debajo del costo de sostener el personal requerido.
Ejemplo 3: Error común: tratar una fuente que discrepa como un obstáculo a rodear. Una fuente que contradice tu conclusión en formación es lo más valioso que has encontrado — o expone una falla que ahora puedes corregir, o afina la afirmación al obligarte a darle cuenta. Cítala con justicia y explica por qué el peso de la demás evidencia se sostiene, o cambia tu conclusión.
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