THE 3 FACES OF SYNTHESIS - BRINGING TOGETHER QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS INTHE FIELD OF TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL-POLICY

Good policymaking is based on sound information. Seldom, however, does any research work generate findings that are genuinely new. Much rese arch draws upon and extends bodies of existing knowledge to gain bette r insights or to refine the accuracy of key parameters. Modern informa tion-retrieval systems allow increasingly easy access to the findings of previous work. One of the bigger challenges today is to keep abreas t of what is actually going on, and to extract insights from the exist ing body of knowledge where gaps still exist and the most fruitful res earch may be conducted. There are three broad approaches towards our e xisting body of knowledge, and the aim of this paper is to examine the usefulness of these alternatives and to pinpoint the types of circums tance where one may prove more helpful than the others. It places part icular attention on work done which relates to the effects that transp ort has on the environment.