Managing Context during Scholarly Knowledge Synthesis: Process Patterns and System Mechanics

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Scholarly knowledge synthesis --- the production of a novel conceptual whole such as an effective literature review or theory --- is a critical yet consistently challenging subtask of research. We explore how managing the context of knowledge claims being synthesized, such as their production context or methodology, may be a critical under-supported subtask of synthesis in existing tools. Through in situ protocol analyses of researchers doing the work of synthesis, we studied how researchers capture contextual information in their notes and annotations, and how this varies across generic vs. specialized systems for synthesis. Our analysis revealed common process patterns of context capture, and qualitative differences in the nature of support for context capture across generic and specialized systems. Based on these findings, we discuss design implications for systems that aim to better support scholarly synthesis.