Table of Contents
Synthesis
Synthesis
Learn what Synthesis is, why it’s valuable for research, and how to use it to group and analyze your highlights into actionable insights.
What is Synthesis?
Synthesis in Great Question is where you turn raw research data into structured learnings. It allows you to organize your highlights into themed groups, helping you uncover patterns, relationships, and insights faster.
Think of Synthesis as your digital workspace for sense‑making — where messy qualitative data becomes clear, shareable understanding.
It’s like affinity mapping, but faster, more visual, and fully integrated with your interviews and highlights.
Why use Synthesis?
- Fast and flexible research synthesis: Drag, drop, and reorganize highlights quickly.
- Centralized insight generation: Work directly within your studies to stay close to your data.
- Scalable workflows: Move from highlight → synthesis → Insight → Reel seamlessly.
- Collaborative analysis: Share groupings and findings with teammates in real time.
Synthesis helps you:
- Connect related findings into broader themes.
- Identify trends and relationships across participants or tags.
- Generate summaries and visual groupings ready to share.
Where to find Synthesis
You can access Synthesis in any published Customer Interview study:
- Open your study.
- Click Synthesis in the left‑side menu under Results.
How to use Synthesis
Step 1: Start organizing your highlights
Once your study has highlights, click Synthesis. All your highlights will appear under the first column — Ungrouped.
From here, decide whether you already know your themes:
I already know my themes:
- Click ➕ Create a new group.
- Give your group a name.
- (Optional) Click the ⋯ menu to change the group’s color or add a description.
- Drag and drop highlights from Ungrouped into your new groups.
- Select highlights (check boxes or ⋯ → Select all).
- Add grouped highlights to:
- A Reel (via Add to highlight reel)
- An Insight (via Add to insight)
- Your clipboard (via Copy highlights)
I’m not sure of my themes yet:
- Review your Ungrouped highlights.
- Find ones with something in common.
- Drag and drop into the outlined box labeled Drag & drop highlights to create a new group.
Or click ➕ Create a new group and start naming as patterns emerge. - Repeat steps for color, description, and selections (same as above).
Synthesis features
Copy Highlights
- Select one or more highlights → click Copy highlights.
- Pasting them into tools like FigJam or Google Sheets keeps “table” formatting.
- Great for hybrid workflows combining Great Question with visual mapping tools.
Re‑group by
- Click Re‑group by to automatically organize highlights by Participant or Tag.
- Perfect if you’re not sure where to start or want to see data by attribute.
Note: Re‑grouping resets your existing groups and removes manual ones, so only use it when ready.
Sort by
- Use Sort by to reorder highlights based on attributes (e.g., time, participant, tag).
- Sorting only affects highlight order, not group order.
- Name your groups clearly (e.g., “Feature Request: Search Filters”).
- Add colors to differentiate themes visually.
- Always copy highlights before experimenting with re‑grouping.
- Once themes are clear, push highlights directly into Reels or Insights for storytelling.
Troubleshooting Synthesis
Issue | What's Happening | How to Fix It |
Synthesis tab not visible | The study isn’t published yet or doesn’t contain any highlights. | Ensure your study is published and at least one highlight exists before opening Synthesis. |
Highlights not appearing under Ungrouped | No highlights are linked to the study, or filters are applied. | Check that highlights were created within this study. Clear all filters and refresh the page. |
Can’t drag and drop highlights into groups | Browser rendering lag or page not fully loaded. | Refresh the Synthesis page. If the issue persists, try zooming out (90%) or using another supported browser. |
Lost manually created groups after re-grouping | Using Re-group by replaces existing manual groupings. | Only use Re-group by when you’re ready to reset structure. To preserve your work, Copy highlights first or duplicate the study before regrouping. |
“Copy highlights” not working | Browser clipboard permissions are restricted. | Allow clipboard access for Great Question in browser settings, or use keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl/Cmd + C) after selecting highlights. |
Colors or descriptions not saving | Group edits weren’t confirmed before navigating away. | After changing color or description, it saves automatically. |
Highlights disappear after sorting | Sorting changes the view temporarily, not the data. | Click Reset Sort or refresh the page — your highlights will reappear under their groups. |
Re-grouping removes tags | Tag view only applies at highlight level, not group level. | Tags remain on highlights themselves. Re-add or filter by tag if you want to group by tag again. |
Can’t add highlights to a Reel or Insight | No highlights are selected or permissions issue. | Check the boxes beside highlights before clicking Add to Reel or Add to Insight. Make sure you have Creator or Admin permissions. |
Slow performance or lag when dragging | Too many highlights loaded at once. | Collapse unused groups or use Search to filter before reorganizing. Splitting large studies into smaller syntheses can improve performance. |
Have Questions?
Please reach out to us in the chat or at [email protected]!
