.....confusion over what a literature review should look or sound like. In some cases, a literature review may read like a summary of the articles reviewed. This often results in a poor-quality literature review. A good literature review should be a synthesis of the articles reviewed, not a summary (Ingram et al., 2006). Indeed, whereas summarizing and synthesizing are both useful reading and research strategies, it is important to note that there is a significant difference between the two. Each has its own purpose, process, and outcome.Generally, summarizing is a basic reading strategy whose aim is to compile information to bring to light the key points (Ohio State University, n.d.). Focusing on each source of information at a time, attention is paid to reiterating the information, providing a quick overview, and articulating the general meaning. Synthesizing, on the other hand, is an advanced reading strategy whose aim is to not only accumulate information from various sources, but also make one's own inferences (Ingram et al., 2006). Rather than reiterating the information, the reader contrasts arguments from various sources to provide both a quick synopsis of the main idea as well as a critique of the idea. Dissimilar to a summary, a synthesis does not consider each source of information distinctively; it merges different elements from different sources to form a unified entity.
Therefore, employing...
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