Synthesis

Synthesis is comparing several reviewed records side by side to surface the themes they share, the contradictions between them, and the gaps none of them resolves, revealing connections no single record shows on its own. Each record on its own reports what happened; synthesis asks what they mean together. Say you ask your assistant to compare three approved meeting notes about a pilot. One note records a two-client scope, a later note records four clients, and a third never settles the count. The assistant returns one supported theme, one contradiction with both dates and sources attached, and one open question, so the disagreement becomes something you can judge instead of a fact you missed.

Builder example

If your assistant only answers from one record at a time, it never tells you when two trustworthy sources disagree, and you act on a stale number without knowing a newer one exists. Ask it to compare a small set of reviewed records and report supported themes, contradictions with both sides cited, and unresolved questions as separate buckets. Counting independent sources rather than repeated echoes of the same original keeps a single rumor from looking like agreement.

Common confusion: Synthesis is not the same as summarizing. A summary condenses one source; synthesis sets several reviewed sources against each other to expose where they agree, conflict, or leave a gap. Two records can each be reliable alone and still contradict each other once compared.