example literature review matrix

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The matrix method for literature reviews.

This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .

What is the Matrix Method, and why should I use it?

Using a review matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast articles in order to determine the scope of research across time. A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a research topic. While they may be helpful in any discipline, review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time. This guide focuses on the review matrix step in the literature review process and offers tips on how to use it effectively.

Organize your sources

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Begin by creating the blank matrix. The matrices can be easily constructed using table-making software such as Microsoft Excel, Word or OneNote, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose.

Be aware that it may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

Choose your remaining column topics

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

Methodological

Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.

Content-specific

Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.

Geographical

It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

• Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
• Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies.

Credit: Adapted from David Nolfi, “Matrix Method for Literature Review: The Review Matrix,” Duquesne University, https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix , 2020.

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What is a literature matrix?

As defined by Judith Garrard in her handbook entitled  Health Sciences Literature Reviews Made Easy: The Matrix Method , a “Review of the literature consists of reading, analyzing, and writing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. When reviewing scientific literature, the focus is on the hypotheses, the scientific methods, the strengths and weaknesses of the study, the results, and the authors’ interpretations and conclusions.” When reading materials for a literature review, you should critically evaluate the study’s major aims and results. 

The purpose of completing a literature matrix is to help you identify important aspects of the study. Literature matrixes contain a variety of headings, but frequent headings include: author surname and date, theoretical/ conceptual framework, research question(s)/ hypothesis, methodology, analysis & results, conclusions, implications for future research, and implications for practice. You can add additional columns as needed, and you might consider adding a “notes column” to proactively have important quotations and your thoughts already collected.  As you read journal articles, have your literature matrix ready. It is best to fill in the matrix directly after reading a work, rather than returning to the matrix later.  

Literature Matrix Files

You should use a literature matrix that best helps you to organize your reading and research. Excel workbooks can help to organize your research. Sample basic and complex literature matrixes are provided below: 

• Literature Matrix Basic BLANK
• Literature Matrix Basic SAMPLE
• Literature Matrix Complex BLANK

Synthesize vs. Summarize

When writing your literature review, you will not simply summarize the materials that you found related to your topic. A summary is a recap of the information provided in research articles. Summaries provide basic information about the study, but the details provided in a summary are not enumerative or systematic. 

Synthesizing goes beyond summarizing to explore specific aspects of the research study. When synthesizing the literature, rely on your completed literature matrix to inform your writing. Do you see any tends across publications? Was one type of methodology used repeatedly, why or why not? Did separate teams of researchers come to the same conclusion, differing conclusions, or is the literature inconclusive? Synthesizing requires that you look at the current state of the research overall. 

When preparing to write a synthesis, you will read the literature available, tease apart individual findings and supporting evidence across different articles, and then reorganize this information in a way that presents your understanding of the current state of research in this field.  

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• Synthesizing Sources | Examples & Synthesis Matrix

Synthesizing Sources | Examples & Synthesis Matrix

Published on July 4, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Synthesizing sources involves combining the work of other scholars to provide new insights. It’s a way of integrating sources that helps situate your work in relation to existing research.

Synthesizing sources involves more than just summarizing . You must emphasize how each source contributes to current debates, highlighting points of (dis)agreement and putting the sources in conversation with each other.

You might synthesize sources in your literature review to give an overview of the field or throughout your research paper when you want to position your work in relation to existing research.

Table of contents

Example of synthesizing sources, how to synthesize sources, synthesis matrix, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about synthesizing sources.

Let’s take a look at an example where sources are not properly synthesized, and then see what can be done to improve it.

This paragraph provides no context for the information and does not explain the relationships between the sources described. It also doesn’t analyze the sources or consider gaps in existing research.

Research on the barriers to second language acquisition has primarily focused on age-related difficulties. Building on Lenneberg’s (1967) theory of a critical period of language acquisition, Johnson and Newport (1988) tested Lenneberg’s idea in the context of second language acquisition. Their research seemed to confirm that young learners acquire a second language more easily than older learners. Recent research has considered other potential barriers to language acquisition. Schepens, van Hout, and van der Slik (2022) have revealed that the difficulties of learning a second language at an older age are compounded by dissimilarity between a learner’s first language and the language they aim to acquire. Further research needs to be carried out to determine whether the difficulty faced by adult monoglot speakers is also faced by adults who acquired a second language during the “critical period.”

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To synthesize sources, group them around a specific theme or point of contention.

As you read sources, ask:

• What questions or ideas recur? Do the sources focus on the same points, or do they look at the issue from different angles?
• How does each source relate to others? Does it confirm or challenge the findings of past research?
• Where do the sources agree or disagree?

Once you have a clear idea of how each source positions itself, put them in conversation with each other. Analyze and interpret their points of agreement and disagreement. This displays the relationships among sources and creates a sense of coherence.

Consider both implicit and explicit (dis)agreements. Whether one source specifically refutes another or just happens to come to different conclusions without specifically engaging with it, you can mention it in your synthesis either way.

Synthesize your sources using:

• Topic sentences to introduce the relationship between the sources
• Signal phrases to attribute ideas to their authors
• Transition words and phrases to link together different ideas

To more easily determine the similarities and dissimilarities among your sources, you can create a visual representation of their main ideas with a synthesis matrix . This is a tool that you can use when researching and writing your paper, not a part of the final text.

In a synthesis matrix, each column represents one source, and each row represents a common theme or idea among the sources. In the relevant rows, fill in a short summary of how the source treats each theme or topic.

This helps you to clearly see the commonalities or points of divergence among your sources. You can then synthesize these sources in your work by explaining their relationship.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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Synthesizing sources means comparing and contrasting the work of other scholars to provide new insights.

It involves analyzing and interpreting the points of agreement and disagreement among sources.

You might synthesize sources in your literature review to give an overview of the field of research or throughout your paper when you want to contribute something new to existing research.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

Topic sentences help keep your writing focused and guide the reader through your argument.

In an essay or paper , each paragraph should focus on a single idea. By stating the main idea in the topic sentence, you clarify what the paragraph is about for both yourself and your reader.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Ryan, E. (2023, May 31). Synthesizing Sources | Examples & Synthesis Matrix. Scribbr. Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/synthesizing-sources/

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How to Write a Literature Review

• 6. Synthesize
• Literature Reviews: A Recap
• Reading Journal Articles
• Does it Describe a Literature Review?
• 1. Identify the Question
• 2. Review Discipline Styles
• Searching Article Databases
• Finding Full-Text of an Article
• Citation Chaining
• When to Stop Searching
• 4. Manage Your References
• 5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate

Synthesis Visualization

Synthesis matrix example.

• 7. Write a Literature Review

• Synthesis Worksheet

About Synthesis

Approaches to Synthesis

You can sort the literature in various ways, for example:

How to Begin?

Read your sources carefully and find the main idea(s) of each source

Look for similarities in your sources – which sources are talking about the same main ideas? (for example, sources that discuss the historical background on your topic)

Use the worksheet (above) or synthesis matrix (below) to get organized

This work can be messy. Don't worry if you have to go through a few iterations of the worksheet or matrix as you work on your lit review!

Four Examples of Student Writing

In the four examples below, only ONE shows a good example of synthesis: the fourth column, or  Student D . For a web accessible version, click the link below the image.

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Click on the example to view the pdf.

From Jennifer Lim

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Module 4: Strategic Reading

Organize your Readings with a Literature Review Matrix

The next step after reading and evaluating your sources is to organize them in a way that will help you start the writing process.

Review Matrix

One way to organize your literature is with a review matrix. The review matrix is a chart that sorts and categorizes the different arguments presented per topic or issue. Using a matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast your sources in order to determine the scope of research across time. This will allow you  to spot similarities and differences between sources. It is particularly useful in the synthesis and analysis stages of a review (See Module 1 Conducting a Literature Review with the SALSA Framework ).

Example of a Review Matrix

My research question:

How can we use machine learning to analyze social media data related to HIV?

Writing a Literature Review Modified from The WI+RE Team,  UCLA. Creative Commons CC-BY-NA-SA

Create a Review Matrix

Start with a charting tool you are most familiar with (for example MS Word, MS Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers etc).

• Organize your sources from oldest to most recent. This way you can see how the research on your topic has changed over time.
• First Column: citation (i.e., author, title, source, publication year)
• Second Column: purpose or summary (1-2 sentences)
• methodology
• intervention

Key Takeaways

Here are some examples of different review matrices and templates:

• Evidence Synthesis Matrix Template, Jane Schmidt, Toronto Metropolitan University (Google Sheets)
• The Matrix Method for Literature Reviews, Brandeis University, Writing Resources.
• Literature Review Synthesis Matrix , Concordia University (MS Word)
• Write a Literature Review: Synthesize . Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries

Advanced Research Skills: Conducting Literature and Systematic Reviews (2nd Edition) Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Dermody; Cecile Farnum; Daniel Jakubek; Jo-Anne Petropoulos; Jane Schmidt; and Reece Steinberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Literature Review: A Self-Guided Tutorial

Using a synthesis matrix.

• Literature Reviews: A Recap
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• How to Review the Literature
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A synthesis matrix visually represents your research by organizing your sources by themes:

• Sample Synthesis Matrix Example provided by Ashford University Writing Center .
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Communication Sciences & Disorders: Researching the Literature

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Literature Review Matrices and Organizers

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A literature review matrix is a tool used by researchers to analyze and synthesize information from various sources relevant to their research topic. It typically takes the form of a table or chart, where rows represent different studies or articles, and columns display key information such as research methodologies, findings, and key themes.

The primary purpose of a literature review matrix is to help you analyze and compare existing literature, to identify patterns, gaps, and contradictions in the body of knowledge related to your research question. 

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Introduction

Literature reviews take time. here is some general information to know before you start.  .

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Steps to Completing a Literature Review

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Matrix Method for Literature Review

Introduction.

Using a review matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast articles in order to determine the scope of research across time. A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a given research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time.

Organizing your Sources

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal; (2) publication year; (3) purpose.

It may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

Choose your Remaining Column Topics

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

• Methodological - Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.
• Content-specific - Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.
• Geographical - It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

• Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
• Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies. 

Sample Review Matrix and Templates

• Review Matrix Example: Ebola Vaccine Clinical Studies This document includes a review matrix of two Ebola vaccine clinical reviews done on humans published by the National Institute of Health.
• Review Matrix Word Template A review matrix template in Microsoft Word.
• Review Matrix Excel Template A review matrix template for Microsoft Excel

More Information

Information found in this guide was adapted from the following book. 

Guide Credit

Information on this guide has been borrowed with permission from David Nolfi at Duquesne University . 

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How to Conduct a Literature Review (Health Sciences and Beyond)

• What is a Literature Review?
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• Selection Criteria
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Review Matrix

• Reference Management

Using a spreadsheet or table to organize the key elements (e.g. subjects, methodologies, results) of articles/books you plan to use in your literature review can be helpful. This is called a review matrix.

When you create a review matrix, the first few columns should include (1) the authors, title, journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose of the paper. The remaining columns should identify important aspects of each study such as methodology and findings.

Click on the image below to view a sample review matrix.

You can also download this template as a Microsoft Excel file .

The information on this page is from the book below. The 5th edition is available online through VCU Libraries.

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Podcast Transcripts: WriteCast Episode 38: The Literature Review Matrix: What It Is, How to Use It, and How to Make It Work For You

Writecast episode 38: the literature review matrix: what it is, how to use it, and how to make it work for you.

Listen to the podcast episode.

© Walden University Writing Center 2017

[Introduction music]

[TEASER] BETH: If you are working with a lot of research and you find it a little bit overwhelming, this just might be the tool for you.

BRITTANY: Welcome to WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers. I’m Brittany Kallman Arneson,

BETH: and I’m Beth Nastachowski.

BRITTANY: In today’s episode, we are talking about one of the Writing Center’s resources for literature review research and writing: The literature review matrix.

Today, we are talking about the literature review matrix, and I should probably start by defining what this tool is. It sounds like something where we should all be dressed, I think, in long black leather coats and running around trying to escape creepy robot guys, but it is not that exciting, I'm afraid. However, it is a very exciting tool in terms of organizing your research, and we hope that we can make this discussion almost as exciting as watching The Matrix —almost. So, what the literature review matrix is—is basically just a spreadsheet. It's available in two forms on our website. You can download it in Microsoft Word form with a table built into a Word document, or you can download it in Microsoft Excel format, which is obviously already a table or spreadsheet, and it's basically just a way for anybody working on a research project to organize the things that they are reading and studying.

So, that's sort of a broad description of what the lit review matrix is, but I also want to sort of paint a little picture of what it actually looks like for our listeners, because this is an audio podcast. As we start to talk in more detail about it, I do want our listeners to be able to have a little bit of a picture in their minds of what this really looks like. If you're listening and you're at your computer or even if you have your phone on you and you have a second, to kind of follow my instructions here and go ahead and download one of the sample matrices for yourself to follow along. Now I know a lot of people like to listen in the car at the gym or whatever and you might not be able to download it right now and that's fine. That's why I'll do a little visual description, as well, but you are welcome to download it and follow along as you listen to our kind of an analysis of what the literature review matrix is and how it can be used. So, I am going to get to the lit review matrix from the Writing Center homepage and under Scholarly Writing on the drop-down menus across the top I'm going to choose the first option on the drop-down Common Course Assignments. And if I click there I can see a bunch of different common course assignments listed along the left in the brown boxes, and I am going to scroll down to where literature review is listed. And if I click there, I'll eventually get to the lit review matrix but I can also go down a little bit under the literature reviews and choose organizational tools . And you will be taken to page that features two sample literature review matrices in PDF format. So these are ones that you can't go in and edit yourself but you can see how two different researchers might use a lit review matrix to organize their research. And they look very different very. Very, very different. They have different categories, different information is being recorded, and I think this helps illustrate the fact that the literature review Matrix is going to look really different depending on what research project you're working on and what your topic is. So you can take a look at those, but then the bottom two links are to sample templates that you can fill in yourself and it just in changes you need to. So one is in Microsoft Word and one is in Excel. I’m going to just open the one in Excel, and when I open it, I get an Excel document that has all these categories across the top, in the columns. So the first few are author's last name and first initial, publication date, title of article or chapter, and then it has all kind of the other categories for a reference entry. And as you scroll across to the right you get categories like theorists, method, design, population, research questions, summary, analysis. So more detailed information about the research process and the themes that are going to be drawn out of that particular source.

So that's what it looks like, and anytime that you're engaging in a big research project you are going to be swimming in research and oftentimes it can be really challenging to keep track of all the different articles and books and web pages that you're looking at, that are related to your topic. And a literature review matrix is just a simple tool that allows you to keep track of the information that you're reading and also sort of start to process that information in different ways depending on how you set it up, and we'll get into that in a little bit more detail in a moment.  

BETH: Yeah, and to build on that too, Brittany; I wanted to emphasize here that the literature review matrix is something for anyone doing research, really.

BRITTANY: Yes.

BETH: And it probably isn’t the most appropriate if you are just working on a discussion post or reading a couple of articles for a course paper or something. But it’s probably most useful when you are working with a lot of research at any one time. So if you are working on maybe a master’s thesis or a paper that’s a final paper that you are building up to across a course, maybe you are working on a KAM, or maybe you are working on your doctoral capstone—any of those cases might be a time when the literature review matrix would be useful. And probably in other times, too, in ways we are not even thinking of. It’s really a tool that’s meant for you if it's helpful. It’s often most helpful in those cases but really it could be useful to you at any point when you are working with a lot of research. So we want to make sure to clarify that from the outset. If you are working with a lot of research and you find it a little overwhelming, this tool might just be the thing for you.

BRITTANY: So I was excited to talk about this topic for this episode because the literature review matrix is something I have always enjoyed using, first of all, for my own research and also teaching about. I get kind of excited about it because—well, first of all, because I like categorizing things and I am kind of nerdy that way--you know, closets and drawers but also research in spreadsheets. And so there's that, but also I think I get excited because, to me, the lit review matrix kind of allows the student or the writer to start to model synthesis thinking even at the research stage. And I think synthesis in writing is one of the most challenging things to both do and to teach how to do, and I like that the literature review matrix is kind of an in to talking about how to actually synthesize sources together and put them in conversation in writing. So I don't know, I'm, I'm pretty excited to talk about this topic this morning but I don't know, do you feel the same way Beth?

BETH: Yeah, you know, when I was thinking about this topic, Brittany, I was a little apprehensive about it at first. I have talked about the literature review matrix in different contexts with students, but it was something that when I first came to Walden and started working in the Writing Center, I didn’t really get the matrix at first.

BRITTANY: MmHmm

BETH: It wasn’t something that was really just was natural for me. It wasn’t a natural way of thinking about the literature or thinking about writing a literature review. And so for me, it was more of a struggle before, to kind of get used to it. And it’s still not my natural inclination to use a tool like this. And so at first, I was a little apprehensive, but I think this will be great because I think we'll be able to think about the best way to use the tool, and I will probably get some pointers from you, so I’m looking forward to that.

BRITTANY: While I do not know about that. But I think that's really interesting, that sounds like it didn't necessarily match with the way that your brain works when you're working on a project like this, and you're totally capable of synthesizing research. So I think--I think actually it could be interesting to explore a little bit more what it is about it that doesn't work for you, 'cause I bet we have students who also feel that way or who kind of see this tool introduced and are like, this isn't seem like it be helpful to me at all. So I'm sort of curious to hear more about that from your perspective—what is it about it that is, just like doesn't seem helpful to you?

BETH: Yeah, I mean I think first off, just looking at downloading the template for the matrix that’s in Excel--

BRITTANY: Mmhmm.

BETH: For me, one thing I do like is it starts out with those columns that talk about the information for that particular source. You as the writer would note the author, the date—you know—all the information that you would need to keep track of that source and create a reference entry for it. That seems really helpful to me, as well as like the key word search information and things like that.

BETH: But what I struggle with is I think when I reading something I really like to identify key ideas and quotes and things like that. And then take notes on those rather than overall ideas, and right now when you look at the template it has sort of like columns of that are really general and broad, like theorist and method and design. So initially for me, when thinking about that—it’s kind of hard to think how that would be useful. So if a student had a similar question, like that, about the matrix and how to use it, how do you explain how best to use it, Brittany?

BRITTANY: Yeah, oh, I'm so glad that you said that because I get this question from students a lot. And you probably do too—where they're like, well, great, but these categories don't match what I'm researching or these categories aren't you know I don't want to record the information that's pre-populated into the sample Matrix; that's not helpful information for me to keep track of. And this is what I mean when I say the Matrix can help with synthesis thinking or sort of jump-start that. The writer has control over those categories from the very beginning and that's what's great about working on like in notebook where you might run out of space to run out of, you know, lines or something like that. In an Excel spreadsheet, for instance, you can always, always add more columns, more rows, you know, more fields where you can record different information. And so I like to think about the Matrix as being really agile and nimble and sort of malleable for the reader to—

BETH: It's like a living document.

BRITTANY: Yeah, exactly. So it's not that you have to have pre-populate categories and then read the literature looking for those categories, necessarily. You can do that, but you can also do it the opposite way where you learn reading and you pull out a theme. You say, oh boy--it seems like this is really an important thread that's running through this article and also this other book that I read. I'm going to create a category in my matrix to record that theme so that I can tag both of those resources with that theme and then remember that both those authors talked about that. And that's like that first step in your literature review of organizing your information by theme rather than by author, which is a big point that we make when we teach about writing a literature review, right, is that you aren't writing one paragraph on what one author said and another paragraph on what another author said but you really are working hard to create a conversation between all the people talking about your topic and categorizing those paragraphs and sections by theme and by topic.

BETH: So, in a way, really, when I initially learned about the matrix and started looking at it, I think I was thinking about the matrix as what you are reading and what you are taking notes on as responding to the matrix. But really, what you want the matrix to be is to be responsive to what you are reading.

BRITTANY: Right.

BETH: --where what you are reading sort of informs what the matrix looks like rather than the other way around.  

BRITTANY: Yeah, exactly right. So, the matrix is a snapshot of your research rather than your research being driven by what is in the matrix already. And I think again that's something that can be a little bit daunting for students at first. And so it may be that you as a writer start with the pre-populated categories, because I like to kind of think about the research process in two stages.

First we just have the categorization stage and the matrix can help with that. That's you just kind of getting the lay of the land of your research and starting to remember what you read, who the authors are, what year they published their research--you know--what their methodology was, just the nuts and bolts, the basics. And for that stage, the matrix pointing you to the research can be useful, because it helps you understand what happened to be reading for, when you're just trying to kind of get a sense of what's out there, and keep track of the basic information about the sources.

But as we know, that is not enough to get you to a solid lit review where you are categorizing your research by them and by topic. And so there's sort of a second piece to that where you can--you might go through and try and categorize your research first using the pre-populated fields in the matrix. But then I think you can come back and do that organization piece which is sort of not so much just thinking about what is the research that's out there and what are the basic facts about that research or even what are the basic things that that research has said, but you're thinking carefully about how to describe the pattern of that conversation over time to your reader and how to present it. And that's where I think it's the other way around—you start to notice those patterns and then you start to create fields in the matrix that reflect those patterns so that you can better put those sources in conversation with one another.

BETH: Yeah, so I mean really, along with the matrix sort of being really responsive to what you are reading—it evolves with your research process. It sort of functions differently as you go through the research process and evolves with that.

BRITTANY: Yeah, mmhmm. I think so.

BETH: That’s a great way to talk about it, I think. And I love the idea of thinking about the matrix as sort of this living document. I think initially when I looked at it, it felt very static, and I think that felt limiting to me. And so thinking as an evolving document—it really helps with that, I think. And I hope that will sort of resonant with our students, too.  

BRITTANY: Yeah, me too. This is a really hard thing to talk about in the abstract, I think. And so I do encourage any listener who is feeling like, a little confused by all of this, to dive in and start and sort of--I mean, I guess the basic take away that we want to send to our listeners is that you're in the driver's seat when it comes to these documents and the matrices, and so if you really want to record certain information and it's not part of the matrix that you download from our website, add it. Add it in. And that gives you a sense of agency to, I think, as a writer because that is what you get to make those choices about how to prevent the information to your reader which is really the kind of mindset that you want to have as you craft your literature review. And think about the order of information that you want to present to your reader.

BETH: And I would give two other tips, I think, too. As we are talking about this, you know we talked about the students that this is useful for, the wide range of students. But you know one thing I would say is if you are imagining, wow, this will be really useful for me, when in the future, I write this paper, this master’s thesis, this doctoral capstone, whatever it is. Also, consider using the matrix on an earlier paper, even if it’s not absolutely necessary. Because practicing using the literature review matrix will help you figure out how it works and how you can use it to evolve with your research process. So even if the matrix isn’t absolutely necessary to complete that particular project—using it can help you get use to that process. Just like anything else we talk about, we talk about all the time—practicing your paraphrasing and your citing skills so when you get to the sort of high stakes end capstone research that you have to do, then you are ready it. I think the same applies here, too.

BRITTANY: Right, mmhmm, absolutely.

BETH: And then…I swear I had one other thing I was going to say. Oh, I remember now. I think students sometime have trouble sort of translating, taking notes, reading, and highlighting important points or underlining important points as they are reading. And then taking that into their writing. There is sort of, like, a big jump they have to make—right—between those two things?

BETH: And the matrix acts as a nice in-between because you don’t necessarily include everything you highlight in the matrix, but you can kind of go back to your research and say, okay from what I highlighted while I was reading, to ensure I was an active reader: What is actually useful to be putting in this matrix? And then you can kind of practice paraphrasing and summarizing what you actually read into the matrix, too. So it kind of helps as in between step—between your note taking and your active reading and your actual writing that you are doing.

BRITTANY: I love that. I love thinking about it as kind of a go-between, between your research and your writing process. I think that’s exactly right.

BETH: So just a reminder—if you would like to download the lit review matrix and start using it, Brittany gave a really great explanation on how to find it through our website, at the start of the podcast, but you can also go to the top right hand corner of page on our website and search "literature review matrix" and it will be the first hit there. And just a note, too, if you are a doctoral student working on your final capstone, if you are at the proposal stage, make sure to also e-mail any questions that you have to the editors, at [email protected] as well as visit the form and style website.

BRITTANY: Finally, we love to hear your feedback and your ideas for future episodes. And we are grateful for those of you who have sent feedback and ideas to us so far. And we want to remind you that you can find us on Facebook at our Walden University Writing Center page, on Twitter @ WUWritingCenter, and at our blog which is waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com.

BRITTANY: WriteCast is a production of the Walden University Writing Center. This episode was produced by me, Brittany Kallman Arneson; my co-host, Beth Nastachowski; and our colleague, Anne Shiell.

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How I Made My Life Easier By Using A Synthesis Matrix

By Abbie, a Writing Center Coach

I’ve always enjoyed writing and thought myself quite good at it before getting to college. Of course, a lot of the writing you do then is for English class, reading one book and writing about it; you still have to work at figuring out your focus and how to support it, but the “research” aspect is limited. Stepping outside of a traditional English paper is another step, one that I was hit with when I first started college and had to write for other subjects.

To me, a research paper is one of the most daunting assignments I’ve ever received. Suddenly, I needed to look at more than just a single work of fiction. There are often semester-long steps to picking a question, finding sources, evaluating them, and synthesizing them. It’s easy for me to want to push those tasks until later or cherrypick evidence to support an easier answer. But that doesn’t result in the best research paper possible, and I might not even learn much along the way.

One of my favorite strategies for writing research papers is creating a synthesis matrix, which is essentially creating a research worksheet to fill out. They can look different depending on what I’m working on, but their main purpose is for taking research notes and seeing relationships across large numbers of sources and information categories. I’ve used both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to create synthesis matrices in the past.

The first time I ever created a synthesis matrix was for ENGL 402 , which I took to apply to work at the Writing Center. The assignment was a literature review where I had to pick any topic related to writing and explore what the literature said about it. I had no idea where to start, but this method helped me land on and deeply explore my topic.

While working on my literature review, I divided my synthesis matrix process into five steps: topic selection, source selection, matrix setup, reading and categorization, and usage of the matrix itself.

Step 1: Topic Selection

First, I decided to freewrite some topic ideas, a strategy I got from the Writing Center’s Brainstorming handout . I set a timer for 5 minutes and listed out every topic related to writing that came to mind. I came up with multiple ideas, but the one I chose was about writing motivation. As someone who has always loved writing, I wanted to explore people writing solely for a grade rather than because of genuine passion and interest in the topic. This helped me come up with keywords (writing, grades, motivation, rubrics) that I could then use in my initial research step when searching for sources.

Step 2: Source Selection

Once I had my keywords, I turned to the UNC Libraries website. I always begin with the “E-Research by Discipline” tool, which allows me to select databases of academic articles that are more likely to be related to my topic. For my initial ideas about writing motivation, I went to a database under the “English” discipline. The “Articles+” on the library site has more search filters under “Advanced Search” that I used to get more specific search results.

Through this research process, I landed on a topic: utility-value in writing . Using this topic to form my new keywords, I found multiple sources related to writing, learning, real world applications of course material, and connections between class content. One issue I ran into was that a lot of sources were about multilingual learners, while I just wanted to focus on general college writing (rather than language learning). Thankfully, I was able to use Boolean search logic to filter out language learning sources.

Step 3: Setting up the Matrices

Before looking through the sources I had gathered, I set up a Microsoft Excel sheet for note taking. This would become my synthesis matrix — all of my sources, along with the author, date, and citation, were listed in the left columns. The rest of the columns were broken into categories of information I thought I might use. The first few columns make it easy for me to find important information needed for parenthetical citations and references, as well as to remember the specific focus of a source. I was mostly using empirical studies, though other source types could have different categories, like a synopsis of a book from which a chapter had been pulled. I ended up with two separate sections of my sheet: one for sources related to utility value writing and another for sources related to Writing-To-Learn ( a learning pedagogy with some similarities).

With my matrix set up, I felt much better about my ability to take good notes on my sources rather than trying to tackle them with a blank document.

Step 4: Reading & Note-taking

Once I started reading, using the matrix felt like I had given myself a checklist of sources to get through along with boxes to fill in for each one. Because of this, I was able to get through my sources much more quickly, feeling a sense of accomplishment as I could see how much I had done. I also was already beginning to organize my notes because of the matrix setup. It initially seemed like a much more time-consuming method, but the organizational element was a huge time-saver when it came to actually putting my paper together. I was much more familiar with my evidence by the time it came to outline, so I didn’t have to dig through my notes as much to figure out what to say or where to say it.

As I read through my sources, I took notes in the matrix by copy and pasting quotes from my sources as well as paraphrasing information. I always made sure to add page numbers so I could easily go back and find where I got my information. Along the way, my categories molded to what I was reading. It was important for me to not only search for what I was originally looking for but reflect what was actually being discussed in my sources.

Step 5: Using the Matrix 

Once I had filled in the entire Excel sheet, I could see which sources overlapped where, compare and contrast what they said, and see areas of agreement and disagreement. My next step was to use this information to organize my paper. I decided to color-code the boxes based on where I thought they might fit; while this ended up largely following the column categories, there were a few that fit somewhere else, and the visual strategy helped remind me to include everything where I wanted it.

The last step was writing the actual paper. I found it to be a much easier and faster process with my synthesis matrix having already organized everything, and was able to sit down and write an entire 10 pages over just a couple days. I ended up satisfied with what I had written, and I know it would have been much harder without the synthesis matrix.

Reflections

If I were to go back and work on this matrix again, I might work on paraphrasing more than just pasting direct quotes in. While it was easier to just paste the original wording, I ended up having to work a lot on paraphrasing and evaluating my sources’ information when I was actually writing the paper. I think using more paraphrasing relative to quoting when I was filling in the matrix would have gotten me to try to better understand what I was reading when I was reading it, and probably would have saved some space since I ended up with a lot of blocks of long quotes. I also had a column for figures and diagrams that I didn’t fill in much and didn’t end up using what I had filled in at all, so I might reevaluate what forms of information I’m predominantly paying attention to in sources and whether other forms might add something of value to my paper, perhaps by listing out information I get without even looking at the main text.

I highly recommend trying this strategy out on your next research paper or literature review! I learned it from Dr. Gigi Taylor in ENGL 402, a class where you can try using this strategy and learn more about yourself and your writing style. I am very grateful to have found a method that works so well with my approach to writing, and I hope that it helps you as well.

This blog showcases the perspectives of UNC Chapel Hill community members learning and writing online. If you want to talk to a Writing and Learning Center coach about implementing strategies described in the blog, make an appointment with a writing coach , a peer tutor , or an academic coach today. Have an idea for a blog post about how you are learning and writing remotely? Contact us here .

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Search catalog, soc 303: introduction to research methods(orend): literature matrix.

• Literature Searching
• Research Question
• Annotated Bibliography
• Writing a Literature Review
• Literature Matrix
• Evaluating Sources
• Citing Souces

Literature Review Matrix: Section One

This section helps you analyze each individual article for its research question(s), method(s), results, and conclusions. It also enables you to evaluate it for its strengths and limitations and identify its themes before you attempt to connect it to other research.

Literature Matrix 2

This part helps you visually connect the themes and identify disparate themes so that you can begin to synthesize established knowledge on your topic and identify alternative points of view on the topic and speak to why those might exist.

Organize Your Articles

A literature review matrix serves to help you visually organize your thoughts on an article.

This is only one option of many that can help you organize your thoughts; you can easily change the first section to reflect your discipline

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East Carolina University: RN to BSN Library Research Guide: Literature Review Matrix

• Research Questions & PICO
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Nursing Literature Reviews

What is a Literature (Lit) Review? 

A Literature Review is Not: 

• a quick summary of sources
• a grouping of broad, unrelated sources
• a compilation of everything that has ever been written on a topic
• a literature criticism or book review

So, what is it then?

A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
• Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

Adapted from:  https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215270&p=4439026  by Hillary Fox, University of West Florida,  hfox @uwf.edu.

Creating a Literature Review using the Matrix Method: 

A matrix review allows you to quickly compare and contrast articles in an easy to read format. It can help you to easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles and your nursing research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews that cover the scope of research over a given amount of time. 

Most literature reviews are set up in this format: 

Chart adapted from the book below: 

• Check out the e-book above for more help in creating a literature review matrix. 

Steps for Conducting a Literature Review

1. Choose Your Topic

• Review your PICO question and think about your central research question. To review the PICO process, please see Kerry Sewell's LibGuide on this subject. 

2. Decide on the scope of your review

• How many studies do you need to look at? 
• How comprehensive should it be? 
• How many years should it cover? 

3. Select the databases you want to use to conduct your searches (See the Databases Tab Above!)

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. (Keep track of your searches, try using the Search Strategy Lab Notebook!)

• Review the abstracts and conclusions carefully. This will help you decide which articles actually fit the criteria you are looking for. 
• Write down the keywords you used and where you found them. 
• You can also use RefWorks to keep track of your citations. 

5. Review the Literature (This will probably be the most time consuming part)

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing?  What were the authors trying to discover? 
• Was the research funded by a company or source that could influence the findings? (Such as Colgate® sponsoring a toothpaste study?)
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze the paper's literature review, the samples and variables used, the results and conclusions. Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What questions does it raise? 
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is? 
• How are the authors of the paper viewed in the field? Has this study been cited by other publications? 

Literature Review Examples

Remember, a lit review provides an intelligent overview of the topic. There may or may not be a method for how studies are collected or interpreted. Lit reviews aren't always labeled specifically as "literature reviews," they may often be embedded with other sections such as an introduction or background. 

• Mentes, J.C., Salem, N., & Phillips, L.R. (2017). Ethnocultural gerontological nursing. An integrative literature review. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 28(1), 79-97.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1043659615601483
• Rosa, D.F., Carvalho, M.V., & Pereira, N.R, et al. (2019). Nursing care for the transgender population: genders from the perspective of professional practice. Revista Brasilerira de Enfermagem, 72 (Suppl 1), 299-306.  http://www.scielo.br/pdf/reben/v72s1/0034-7167-reben-72-s1-0299.pdf
• Dahlke, S.A., Hunter, K.F., Negrin, K. (2019). Nursing practice with hospitalized older people: Safety and harm. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 14 (1), Article e1220.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opn.12220

Adapted from:  https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215270&p=4439026  by Hillary Fox, University of West Florida, [email protected].

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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• Last Updated: Jul 26, 2022 6:15 PM
• URL: https://libguides.ecu.edu/RN2BSNResearch

Matrix Method for Literature Review

• The Review Matrix

Organize Your Sources

• Choose Your Remaining Column Topics
• More Information
• Sample Matrix and Templates
• Related Library Guides
• Getting Help

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose.

It may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

• << Previous: The Review Matrix
• Next: Choose Your Remaining Column Topics >>
• Last Updated: Feb 20, 2024 10:26 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix