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TABLE 7-20: A TEMPLATE FOR AN EVIDENCE-BASED SYNTHESIS PARAGRAPH

Part What must appear

A sentence describing the general pattern without
The synthetic claim
overstatement.

The evidence base The range of studies or sources that support it.

Heterogeneity The most important difference or exception.

Explanation A possible account tied to method or context.

Uncertainty The limits of confidence and what cannot be settled.

Implication How the finding relates to the question or the decision.

✕ Common misconception Correction

A synthesis explains relationships,
Placing summaries one after another and heterogeneity, and the limits of inference.
calling the result a synthesis. If the paragraph could be reordered

without loss, it is a list, not a synthesis.

+ For the advanced reader: handling heterogeneity

Where heterogeneity is substantial, subgroup analyses, sensitivity analyses, or random-
effects models may be considered, but their selection should as far as possible precede
seeing the result and rest on methodological reasoning. Excessive subgroup analysis can
generate findings that are artifacts of chance.

● Remember: the language of uncertainty is not weak writing

Phrases such as “the evidence indicates”, “in these settings”, and “with limited
confidence” protect the meaning when the data are incomplete.

● Remember: Section summary

• Key idea: Synthesis explains relationships and heterogeneity and states the limits of
inference.
• Practical decision: Organize the evidence by the question, test the contrary cases, and
separate finding from interpretation from recommendation.
• Mistake to avoid: Stacking summaries, or hiding difference in order to tell a single story.

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