Choose a bounded question
A synthesis matrix becomes unwieldy when its columns are broad topics with no role in the assignment. Start with the question your review must address. Choose a small number of dimensions that could change the answer: definition, evidence type, population or explanation. Let the task guide the selection. Do not impose identical categories on sources whose purposes differ so much that a direct comparison would misrepresent them.
Record claims with their conditions
For each source, record what it claims and the conditions under which that claim is offered. Include a page or section reference that lets you return to the original. Keep quotation marks around borrowed wording. A compact cell should not strip away a qualification that changes meaning. If a source does not address one dimension, mark it as not addressed rather than inventing an implied answer to complete the table.
Compare horizontally
Read across sources for one dimension at a time. Ask whether apparent disagreement concerns the same question, definition and setting. Two findings can differ because their methods or objects differ, not because one author refutes another. Write a provisional relationship sentence and check it against both originals. Useful synthesis identifies agreement, tension or incomparability with reasons instead of arranging citations in a decorative sequence.
Draft around relationships
Use a paragraph to explain a relationship that matters to the review question. Introduce the issue, compare relevant contributions and state what the comparison allows you to conclude. The matrix is a planning aid, not a paragraph generator. Return to the full texts before finalising the discussion. Short notes can omit the very methodological detail that determines whether a comparison is fair.
Audit the strongest sentence
Select the most consequential comparison in your draft. Trace every component back to its source and check whether your wording overstates agreement or conflict. Record a limitation or unresolved difference where needed. Three carefully compared sources can produce a more defensible paragraph than a crowded table used superficially. The final reference list and citation format must still follow the assignment’s requirements.
