The research process requires that you organize and synthesize information in a manner that permits analysis, understanding and communication.

Organizing information is important because it allows you to

• manage and retain the information more efficiently
• communicate the information more effectively
• recognize the need for further information and discard unneeded information
• recognize trends, clusters, and other patterns in the information gather
• synthesize disparate pieces of information into new knowledge

The following diagram gives a clear picture of the research process and the steps involved: 

Research in Steps

1.  Plan.  You need a topic and some good keywords.

2.  Search library databases.  Your topic determines which databases you should search.

3.  Read what you find.

4.  Extract new search terms and a gain a better understanding of your topic.  Extracting also refers to the activity of going through a
     particular source and selectively identifying relevant materials from that source.

5.  Repeat until you've got what you need.  Follow chains of citations or other forms of referential connection between materials or sources identified 
     during "Planning" activities. You should get closer with each iteration.

One way to organize the information you have gathered is to group materials by similar concepts or content.  For example, when gathering information from the Web, it can be useful to bookmark sites and organize them into folders:

 An example of bookmarked Websites

Create an Outline

Another way of organizing information is to create an outline.  An outline arranges material hierarchically and sequentially by identifying main topics, subtopics, and details under the subtopics.  Outlines allow you to group materials by similar concepts or content and put them into a logical order.

Once you have organized your information, you will be able to analyze your materials and combine the different elements of information into a new entity.  This process of integrating materials you have gathered and then creating your own information product is called synthesizing.

For Example:

• Scientists know that dinosaurs ceased to exist around 65 million years ago.   

• Scientists also know that meteors and asteriods periodically hit the earth raising huge clouds of dust.   

                                                                  SYNTHESIS

• Perhaps a meteor raised such a dust cloud that major climate changes were brought about, making it too cold for dinosaurs to survive.