Condensing a large amount of information from a source/author(s) using your own words
You MUST cite the original source, both in-text and at the end of the paper (references/works cited/bibilography)
Extracting the main idea(s) of a source
Providing background or an overview of a topic
Often used in annotated bibliographies, when providing a paragraph or two to explain the main findings/arguments of a source/author(s).
Often used for literature reviews, when explaining the main findings of the seminal works
How to Summarize
| From page 52 of the original source: | Summary |
| Building on findings from my US-based research on vaccine selectivity and on cannabis treatment for paediatric epilepsy, referenced below, I argue that truly counterfactual details can and should be challenged in proportion to the degree to which their promulgation could underwrite widespread harm, subverting the greater good. Although all parties involved should have a say in defining harm, social justice and basic human rights must take precedence (see American Anthropological Association Committee for Human Rights, 1999). This Utilitarian-influenced line of thinking, which prioritises the greater good (e.g., public health) over individual proclivities, holds that if harm potential is low, regardless of empirically verifiable or ‘substantive’ facts (about which, see Harambam, this issue), there is no need to impose one’s own culturally conditioned version of ‘the truth.’ Rather, we should ask what adherents of low-harm counterfacts can teach us about being human. If a counterfact’s harm potential is high, however, we must try, carefully and with an eye to social justice, to reduce that element’s salience for believers. Sobo, E. J. (2021). Conspiracy theories in political-economic context: Lessons from parents with vaccine and other pharmaceutical concerns. Journal for Cultural Research, 25(1), 51–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2021.1886425 |
Sobo (2021) maintains that mostly innocuous misinformation need not be combated, as it does not present a threat to the overall well-being of society. However, potentially dangerous misinformation that could be harmful to society must be combated (p. 52). |