5.6: Connect Patterns across Sources

"But when you go to graduate school, you realize that there’s so many unknowns, and there’s no definite answer…
and they [the committee] would ask you questions about research that…it’s not well established or not well known or it’s a knowledge gap and then you’re trying to address this, and you’re not quite sure, because you have not read all of the literature [sweeping gesture with hands out and around] that exists, right?" (Graduate student participant as cited in Droog et al. 2024, p. 838)

Techniques for finding connections:

In the last couple sections, we tried to get a sense of how the articles connect to each other, but we still were looking at them individually. Now that you've read and taken notes on all 5-10 sources, let's think deeper about those patterns. Some questions to consider (even though you might not have answers yet):

• Did you start to find new patterns as you read the sources?
• Which sources cover which of the patterns?
• How do your sources connect to each other?
• What can you tell me, just from what you've done so far, about the context of research on your topic?

To answer these questions and to help you prepare to eventually write the literature review, there are a myriad of techniques you can use. Below are just a few examples.

Matrix model:

The matrix model (Garrard, J. 2017) is highly effective at:

• Organizing your citations
• Providing a quick visual in which areas you need more sources
• Simplifying your writing process later

How to set it up:

1. Open Google Sheets or Excel (don't worry - you don't have to be good with spreadsheets nor create any elaborate formulas).

2. Create a simple spreadsheet with each row = one source.

3. Use the first few columns for citation details.

• Title
• Author(s)
• Date

4. Add additional columns for the patterns you want to track (e.g. methodology, population, location)

Filling it in:

• Record the basic citation info for every source even for those that turn out not to be useful. 
• In the pattern columns, enter Yes/No or short notes (e.g., "survey", "interviews", "teens", "U.S.") so you can sort them later

Example: Matrix model \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Matrix of citations

Title	Author(s)	Date	Pattern 1 (e.g. methodology)	Pattern 2 (e.g. population)	Pattern 3 (e.g. covered one Venn circle)
Source #1	Author #1a, Author #1b	date	survey	elderly	yes
Source #2	Author #2a, Author #2b, Author #2c	date	case study	teens	no
Source #3	Author #3	date	theory	N/A	yes
Source #4	Author #4	date	survey	teens	yes

Once you've entered all the sources so far, you can sort by columns. Therefore, you can see at a glance all the sources which cover a particular pattern or which use a particular methodology. If you're not familiar with how to sort, I recommend doing a quick Google search for "how to sort in Microsoft Excel" or "how to sort in Google Sheets" since applications change slightly with each version.

Example: Matrix from my research \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Below is a screenshot of my matrix. Notice the row for Cahoy & Schroeder. I provided my Notes for this source in the previous section: 5.5 Take Notes. In those notes, I had labeled a pattern of: definition. After reading other sources, I'd found other patterns. This source addressed a few of those new patterns (reason considering student affect is important and addressing affect in learning objectives) so I added "yes" for both of those columns.

For an accessible chart of the below screenshot, please go to Appendix - ADA Accommodation.

Activity: Matrix \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Even if you think you don't like spreadsheets, take a few minutes to enter create a simple spreadsheet and add all of your sources.

Visualizations: Article maps

While spreadsheets excel at helping us organize and sort information, sometimes we need to consider things more visually.

Article Maps are a version of mind mapping in which we connect how the sources relate to each other. For the examples below, I'll draw on a different article I published. I already created maps for that project, so you can see what these techniques look like in practice. Even though the topic is different from the grad students + affect example I've been using so far, the process of mapping connections is exactly the same, regardless of topic.

Example 1: Who cited whom

I discovered this method when I was writing a manuscript about "peer teachers". I wanted to cite the first instance of someone using this term in the way I used the term. However, in reviewing the literature, I became confused, as it appeared some sources were citing a 2007 article, while other sources cited a separate 2007 article with a similar, but not exact, definition. Neither 2007 article cited each other and I need to figure out which article I should cite.

On a sheet of blank paper, I started with the two 2007 citations, and then drew lines to each source that cited them (I had also noticed that most articles also cited a 2008 article which did not use the term Peer Teacher, but instead the similar term Peer Assisted Learning, so I added that citation too).

For a verbal description of the below image, please see the Appendix: ADA Accommodations.

Activity: Article Map Example 1\(\PageIndex{1}\)

After I created the map above, I realized why the two citations from 2007 were so similar, even though neither cited anyone for their definitions.

Look at the article map I created, above. Can you notice within the map what connected both articles from 2007?

Once you think about it on your own, click "Answer" below.

Answer

Both 2007 articles have the same author: Durning. While the lead authors are different (Ten Cate vs Bulte, Betts, Garner), Durning is the common link. This is not surprising. Often, a faculty member might drive the research topic, but the graduate students (or other collaborators) do the majority of work. Thus, the faculty's name is listed last, but it connects the different sources.

In this case, I could choose to cite both or either of the 2007 articles as the progenitor of the definition.

Example 2: Patterns

For a verbal description of the below image, please see the Appendix: ADA Accommodations.

In the above map, I circled each citation with a different color, depending on which pattern(s) they covered. I drew lines between which articles cited each other.

Example 3: Mind map

For a verbal description of the below image, please see the Appendix: ADA Accommodations.

In the above map, I started with a more traditional mind map of my topic. Then I drew which citations connected to each of the facets of my topic.

Activity: Article maps \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Consider how the 5-10 sources you read, relate to each other. Then draw a map of these relationships.

Some possible options might be:

• Who cited whom? Did any of your sources cite each other?
• Chronologically
• By patterns/themes
• Mind map
• Etc.

There's no wrong way to consider how your sources relate. Depending on the sources and your topic, you might choose one or several options, either within the same map, or draw multiple maps.

Again, remember, you can do this on paper, as I did. Or you can use Canva or another tool online.

Other techniques

If the above techniques don't help you, try one of the following instead:

Post-it mapping

Use different colored Post-its to represent different patterns (such as theory, methodology, findings, population, context, etc.)

Write one idea per Post-it and the author + year on each Post-it.

Put them on a wall or your desk:

• Arrange them into clusters - what patterns emerge?
• Do some articles show up in multiple clusters?
• Are there some missing clusters? Areas you thought you'd see, but don't have notes for?

Tip: take a photo and then rearrange to consider multiple ways of visualizing.

Index cards

This is the first technique I learned in junior high when I did my first research paper. It's how I took notes, rather than using the model I suggested earlier.

First, add a shorthand "code" to each source (such as A1, A2)

• At the top of the Post-it, leave space for the pattern name
• In the center of the Post-it, write one note
• At the bottom right, write the source's code (you could just write the lead author's last name + year, but the code shortens how much you have to hand write)

Zotero

If you’re using Zotero, add custom tags (like theory: social constructivism or method: survey) to each article.

• Later, click on a tag to see all articles that share it.
• Try combining tags (e.g., articles that are both quantitative and focused on adolescents).

This works like a digital color-coded Post-it system.

Next Steps

In this step, you started piecing together sources. Your picture of the full puzzle isn't complete yet, but the outline of key patterns is forming. You're getting a sense of what's missing, both in your searches and in the literature itself. In the next unit, we'll follow these leads more closely, using the patterns you've uncovered to refine your topic and track down additional relevant sources.