This discussion thread is designed to help you see how a synthesis of sources essay, or literature review, is organized.
Please download the article, “Beyond Frequency: Perceived Realism and the CSI Effect,” by Evelyn Maeder and Richard Corbett. The article is available in the e-reserves of your class.
On pages 84-85, the authors provide an introduction to the research study they conducted. You can read this section if you would like to. However, for this discussion thread, please read from page 85 “(“The CSI effect defined”) to page 94 (up to the section entitled “Method”).
Then answer the following questions:
1. In the first section (“The CSI effect defined”), do the authors ever give you their opinion on the CSI effect? How do they support their definition and their expansion on the definition? How many different sources do they cite in this section?
2. From pages 86-88, the authors discuss lawyers, police officers, judges, and community members. In this section, do the authors ever give you their opinion on any of the issues discussed?
3. Examine the section entitled “Verdicts” (pp. 90-92). How do the results from the study by Shelton et al. differ from the results of the study by Kim, Barak, and Shelton? How do the results of the study by Baskin and Sommers differ from the results of other studies?
4. As a result of having read this article, please write a few sentences about what you might have learned about a) synthesizing sources or b) the CSI effect.
