Finding and using knowledge

Combining resources from different sources

Literature search results

To help you organise your resources Refworks is a web-based reference management service that allows you to import references from online databases such as Medline, Cinahl and PsycInfo as well as other sources including The Knowledge Network Library Search. RefWorks helps you to manage these references, create bibliographies, insert references into documents and share references with colleagues.

To access RefWorks you must have an NHS Scotland OpenAthens account. NHS staff can now sign-in to OpenAthens using their NHS Scotland work email address and password.

Access our dedicated RefWorks page for more information, including a selection of training videos produced by RefWorks.

Bookmarking /favourites

You can use your browser bookmarks or favourites to keep a record of sources you have used. There are a number of free tools on the Internet that you can use to manage your bookmarks with the advantage of enabling you to synchronise and access from any device. Examples include Diigo, Symbaloo. 

Writing a digest/summary – a few hints:

• Be aware of not introducing bias from your question, the selection of your sources or your interpretation of the findings 
• Read all the literature and plan your digest
• Use language appropriate to your audience
• Do not use acronyms
• Keep sentences short 12-15 words
• Use short paragraphs and bullet points for lists
• Check spelling and typos
• Ask someone to proof read your digest
• Use a standard format so your audience becomes familiar with the layout
• Use headings and sub headings

Be aware when quoting, paraphrasing or summarising and always acknowledge the source, this will save you from the risk of plagiarism and infringing copyright

Synthesising, unlike summarising and paraphrasing, which use the ideas of only one author at a time, synthesising involves combining ideas from a range of sources so as to group and present common ideas or arguments. It is an essential skill for literature reviews and other forms of ‘serious’ writing.

The Cochrane Public Health Group (2012) have developed two further definitions :

According to the University of New England (UNE), there are six steps to producing an information synthesis :

1. consider your line of argument and draft a topic sentence ;
2. read the texts you have retrieved in your literature search ;
3. write notes in your own words from each of your sources, try to keep notes to one single page ;
4. link common ideas to make sets or groups of information from each source (different text colours or font faces can help with this) ;
5. number the groups to follow a logical order in writing your synthesis (or review/systematic review) ;
6. draft your conclusions from the notes beginning with a topic sentence and citing your sources.

Make sure your references are consistent by following a reference style, such as Harvard or Vancouver. See the guides in Quality assure for more information.

It is important to reference your sources in order:

• to acknowledge your sources and other people's work
• be transparent and avoid plagiarism
• to illustrate where the information originated

Copyright, together with moral rights, patents, trademarks, database rights, design rights and performers' rights are some examples of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), which is the name given to the broad range of legal rights that protect the fruits of human innovation, intellectual creativity and invention. 

Information about dealing with issues relating to copyright can be found on Turas Learn.