Multi-source synthesis
Positions, overlap, contradiction, and combining sources without misrepresenting any of them.
Working across sources has an order to it. First establish what each source claims, in its own terms. Only then look for overlap and conflict — and keep the two apart from the separate question of who is right, which the sources cannot settle for you.
Two sources disagree only if they make incompatible claims about the same thing. A commentary arguing for occasion-based presence and a survey reporting approval rates are not in conflict — they are answering different questions.
| Relationship | What to look for | Phrase |
|---|---|---|
| agreement | the same claim in both, however differently worded | Beide Quellen stimmen darin überein, dass … |
| partial agreement | the same claim, different scope or strength | Beide sehen …, Quelle B beschränkt dies jedoch auf … |
| contradiction | incompatible claims about one question | Während Quelle A …, hält Quelle B dem entgegen, dass … |
| different question | no shared claim at all | Quelle C trifft hierzu keine Aussage. |
| evidence vs opinion | figures and findings against evaluations | Quelle C liefert Zahlen, Quelle A eine Bewertung. |
A neutral synthesis reports what the sources say and nothing else. That is harder than it sounds, because three things routinely leak in: your own evaluation, a claim no source actually made, and a strength no source actually asserted. Turning dürfte into ist is already a distortion.
Beide Quellen stimmen darin überein, dass die Einarbeitung neuer Beschäftigter Präsenz erfordert.
Both sources agree that onboarding new staff requires presence.
a genuine overlap, stated as such
Während Quelle A pauschale Regelungen ablehnt, hebt Quelle B die Schwierigkeit ihrer Umsetzung hervor.
Whereas Source A rejects blanket rules, Source B stresses how hard they are to implement.
a contrast that does not overstate it as a contradiction
Quelle C trifft zur Produktivität keine Aussage.
Source C makes no statement about productivity.
saying what a source does NOT say is part of a fair synthesis
Attribute every claim to the source that made it. In a synthesis, an unattributed sentence reads as your own position — which is exactly what a neutral summary must not contain.
Beide Quellen zeigen, dass Anwesenheitspflicht die Produktivität senkt.Quelle B hält Aussagen zur Produktivität für schwach belegt; Quelle C misst Zufriedenheit, nicht Produktivität.
Neither source claims this. A synthesis that strengthens its sources into a tidier conclusion is a misrepresentation, however plausible the conclusion.
Die Studie beweist, dass kurze Förderprogramme nichts bringen.Die Studie konnte für kurze Programme keine von null unterscheidbaren Effekte nachweisen.
No effect measured is not the same as no effect existing — and the study itself flags non-randomised assignment. Keep the strength the source chose.
Words from this topic
- übereinstimmento agree, to concur
- hervorhebento emphasise, to single out
- entgegenhaltento counter, to object in reply
- die die Quellethe source
- der der Widerspruchthe contradiction
- die die Übereinstimmungthe agreement, the correspondence
- die die Verzerrungthe distortion
- nachweisento demonstrate, to prove
- einordnento place in context, to classify