Research synthesis
Also known as Synthesis, Research analysis
Research synthesis is the step after collecting research where you combine everything you heard into a small number of findings, each backed by evidence, that the team can act on.
What is the difference between analysis and synthesis?
Analysis breaks the data apart: coding transcripts, pulling out quotes, grouping observations. Synthesis puts it back together into findings: what is true, how sure you are, and what it means for the decision you are making.
What does a good research finding look like?
A claim someone could disagree with, backed by a count and quotes. "Six of nine ops leads re-book delayed shipments by phone because they don't trust the portal" is a finding. "Customers want better visibility" is a summary nobody can act on.
Why does synthesis take so long?
Mostly because of the manual work before it: reading transcripts, tagging and sorting. The thinking itself is quicker once the evidence is organised, which is why tools that group and count feedback automatically save the most time here.
Research synthesis, in brief
- What is research synthesis?
- Research synthesis is combining everything you heard in research into a small number of findings, each backed by evidence, that the team can act on.
- How do you present research synthesis?
- Lead with three or four findings, each with a count of how many people it came from and two or three quotes, plus what you still don't know. Keep the working, such as the affinity map, available but out of the main presentation.
Put the theory to work.
Corha turns your calls, tickets and surveys into one evidence-backed picture of your customers, so these ideas become part of how your team works, not just definitions.
Try it with your own website, no account. We read the public page and keep nothing.