Supporting Artifact

Comparing sources until patterns become argument.

The synthesis matrix helped me compare key sources, recurring themes, and quotations in one place. It became the working document that made the literature review possible.

Reflection

When completing my Synthesis Matrix, I demonstrated Digital Literacy and Multimodal Skills by recording my research in a Google Sheet, which enabled me to easily compare articles, key arguments, and key findings. I used formatting tools like bold, outlines, and highlighting to make important information stand out. The Synthesis Matrix made it easy to create multisource citations and to find the quotes I needed based on the summaries and keywords of my sources. For Information Literacy, I chose sources that directly related to my research topic of political influencers and rhetorical strategies on social media. I used reading strategies from the Reading Academic Texts slideshow, such as starting with abstracts to determine relevance, scanning selection headings to locate topics, and finding repeated keywords. I also used citation tracing to find other articles that were relevant to my research topic.

Synthesis matrix viewer

The spreadsheet remains searchable and expandable so the artifact functions like a working research notebook inside the portfolio.

Reading strategies PDF

Synthesis Matrix

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