How to Complete the Literature Review Analysis & Synthesis Workbook
Transclude of literature_review_analysis_synthesis_workbook.xlsx
The workbook is designed to help you move from reading individual sources to writing a synthesized literature review. Complete the sheets in order. The main goal is to avoid writing a literature review as a series of separate article summaries.
1. Guide Sheet
Begin with the Guide sheet.
Use it to remind yourself of the difference between:
- Analysis: examining one source closely.
- Synthesis: comparing several sources to identify patterns, differences, relationships, and gaps.
The Progress Snapshot updates as you complete the workbook and helps you monitor how many sources and themes you have analyzed.
2. Source Analysis Sheet
Complete one row for each source you read.
Basic source information
Enter:
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- Source ID: Create a short label such as S01, S02, S03.
- Short citation: For example, Snyder (2019).
- Full APA citation: Enter the complete reference.
- Year
- Source type: Journal article, book, chapter, report, thesis, etc.
Analyze the study
Complete the following fields using your own words:
Purpose / research question
What was the researcher trying to discover, explain, compare, or understand?
Context / population
Who or what was studied? Where did the study occur?
Theory / framework
What theory, model, or conceptual framework guides the study?
Method / design
How was the research conducted?
Data / sample
What data were collected and from whom?
Key claim(s)
What important conclusions does the source make?
Evidence / results
What evidence supports those claims?
Evaluate the source
Complete:
Useful paraphrase / page
Record an idea you might paraphrase later and note the page number.
Limitations
What weaknesses, restrictions, or limitations affect how the findings should be interpreted?
Quality (1–5)
Rate the strength of the research.
Relevance (1–5)
Rate how useful the source is for your own literature review.
Do not rate a source highly simply because you agree with it. Consider the quality of its evidence and its relevance to your research question.
Prepare for synthesis
Complete:
Theme codes
Assign short labels representing important concepts, such as:
feedback literacy
AI-supported writing
teacher beliefs
learner autonomy
A source may have more than one theme.
Relationship to literature
Select the relationship that best describes the source:
- Supports — agrees with an existing pattern.
- Extends — adds something new.
- Contradicts — presents different findings.
- Mixed — both agrees and disagrees.
- Context-specific — findings appear dependent on a particular setting or population.
Gap / unresolved issue
What question remains unanswered?
How I might use it
Explain briefly how this source might contribute to your literature review.
Finally, add the DOI/URL and update the Status as you work.
3. Source–Theme Matrix
Complete this sheet after analyzing several sources.
Rename Theme 1, Theme 2, Theme 3, etc. using the major themes emerging from your reading.
For example:
| Theme 1 | Theme 2 | Theme 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher beliefs | Feedback practices | AI literacy |
For each source, indicate how it relates to each theme:
- Not addressed
- Supports
- Extends
- Contradicts
- Mixed
Use the Cross-source note column to record important comparisons.
For example:
S03 and S07 both connect teacher confidence with AI adoption, but S07 suggests that institutional support may be more important than prior technological experience.
This is the beginning of synthesis.
4. Theme Synthesis Sheet
This sheet is the most important step before writing.
Complete one row for each major theme.
Define the theme
Enter:
- Theme / concept
- Working definition
- Central synthesis question
For example:
How does teacher AI literacy influence decisions about when to use generative AI?
Compare sources
Identify:
Supporting source IDs
Which sources show similar findings?
Contrasting source IDs
Which sources provide different or conflicting evidence?
Then describe:
- Convergent pattern: What do several studies agree on?
- Divergence / contradiction: Where do studies differ?
- Method / context pattern: Could differences be explained by research methods, populations, or settings?
- Boundary conditions: Under what circumstances does the pattern appear to hold?
- Gap / unresolved issue: What remains unknown?
5. Write the Synthesis Claim
The Synthesis claim is the most important field in the workbook.
Do not simply describe the sources.
Weak:
Several researchers have studied teacher attitudes toward AI.
Stronger:
Research generally indicates that positive attitudes toward generative AI increase when teachers possess both practical experience with the technology and clear pedagogical reasons for using it.
The stronger version makes a claim across several sources.
Then write a possible Paragraph topic sentence based on that synthesis claim.
Finally, record:
- Implication / future research
- Confidence (1–5)
- Status
Mark the theme Ready to draft when you have enough evidence to write a literature-review paragraph.
6. Authorities Sheet
Use the Authorities sheet as a methodological reference.
It contains researchers whose work can help you understand how literature reviews are analyzed, organized, evaluated, and synthesized.
You do not need to use every authority in your own review. Consult them when you need guidance about the literature-review process.
Recommended Workflow
Tip
Follow this sequence:
Read → Analyze → Code → Compare → Synthesize → Write
- Read one source.
- Complete one row in Source Analysis.
- Assign theme codes.
- Repeat for additional sources.
- Compare sources in the Source–Theme Matrix.
- Develop each major theme in Theme Synthesis.
- Formulate a synthesis claim.
- Use that synthesis claim as the basis of a literature-review paragraph.
Final Check
Before writing a paragraph, ask:
Analysis:
Do I understand what each source contributes and how strong its evidence is?
Synthesis:
What can I conclude from comparing these sources that I could not conclude from any one source alone?
If you can answer the second question clearly, you are ready to begin writing the literature review.