determine changes and potential implications for the region. Hydrophilic interaction liquid
chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) was utilized to determine the presence of any known and emerging PSTs in sample extracts.
2. Adapted from :
The exchange process frequently observed in polypyrrane condensations is proposed to occur by the acid-catalyzed fragmentation of a polypyrrane into pyrrolic and azafulvene components.15 As illustrated in Scheme 2, recombination of and can form a new polypyrrane that cannot be formed by direct condensation of the dipyrromethane and aldehyde. Ultimately this process leads to the production of a scrambled mixture of porphyrins. The factors that promote the scrambling process in MacDonald-type 2 + 2 condensations are poorly understood, but suppression of scrambling is essential for preparing large quantities of pure trans-porphyrins. In this paper we describe a study of a wide range of reaction conditions for the 2 + 2 condensation that has led to refined synthetic procedures for the preparation of trans-porphyrins.
3. Adapted from :
In the present paper, we focus on laser wake field acceleration in a new, highly non-linear regime. It occurs for laser pulses shorter than λ(p) but for relativistic intensities high enough to break the plasma wave after the first oscillation. In the present relativistic regime, one should notice that the plama wave fronts are curved and first break new the wave axis and for lower values than the plane-wave limit. This has been studied in 2D geometry in [14-17]. Here, we present 3D PIC simulations of two representative cases. The case (I) is just marginally above and the case (II) is far above the breaking threshold.
[bg_faq_start]
Good gap and fill signaling phrases are italicized.
1. “The factors that promote the scrambling process in MacDonald-type 2 + 2 condensations ….”
“ a study of a wide range of reaction conditions for the 2 + 2 condensation that has led to refined synthetic procedures for the preparation of trans-porphyrins.”
2. This question is a little trickier! The authors use “In the present paper…,” then, “In the present regime…,” and finally, “Here…,” all of which sound like signaling words for filling the gap. But where is the gap? We have to look closely at what exactly is being said. It is true that the first statement appears to be somewhat of a gap fill, although they haven’t yet given us a gap statement. The authors go on to say “This has been studied in 2D geometry,” which brings us back to move 1(iii), identifying critical evidence from the literature.
Thus, the is not explicit. It is a combination of stating that this concept has been studied in 2D, followed by announcement that the authors will study it in 3D.
: “ 3D PIC simulations of two representative cases.”
Although the first sentence (“… we focus on laser wake field acceleration…”) could also be considered part of the fill, because it comes before the gap statement and is also less descriptive, it functions more as an introduction to these moves.
3. According to the national monitoring program in Portugal, G. catenatum along the Portuguese coast during the 10-year period from 1995 to 2005.”
to fully characterize the toxin profile of G. catenatum strains isolated from the NW Portuguese coast before and after the 10-year absence of blooms to
determine changes and potential implications for the region.”
[bg_faq_end]
[bg_faq_end]
[bg_faq_start] Find 3-4 primary research articles (not reviews) from reputable journals in your field. Underline the gap statement and circle the gap fill. Remember that not all papers follow this exact move structure, so if you can’t seem to find either of these moves, you might have to look carefully at different parts of the introduction and ask yourself: [bg_faq_end] |
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Understanding the Seven Types of Research Gaps
DOI link for Understanding the Seven Types of Research Gaps
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The purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, the theoretical framework proposed by Miles (2017) builds on two previous models on research gaps: the five-point theoretical model of Robinson et al. (2011); and the six-point theoretical model of Müller-Bloch and Kranz (2014). Lastly, the purpose of this chapter is to develop and propose a theoretical model that is an amalgamation of the two preceding models and that reconceptualizes the research gap concepts and their characteristics. Thus, we propose a seven-point theoretical model. This chapter discusses the characteristics of each research and the situation in which its application is warranted in the literature review. This chapter ranks the research gaps often found in studies from the most common to the least common.
The significance of this chapter is twofold. First, this research provides theoretical significance by developing a theoretical model on research gaps. Second, this research attempts to build a solid taxonomy on the different characteristics of research gaps and establish a foundation. The implication here for researchers is that research gaps should be structured and characterized based on their functionality. Thus, this chapter provides researchers with a basic framework for identifying them in the literature investigation.
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“ Choosing a topic, research or subject that has not been answered or explored yet by any other scientists is referred to as a research gap.”
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find one!
When you start reading literature, initially you may notice that nothing is left to study! That everyone feels, even me too when I was in my initial days of PhD. But when you get enough research experience, you can find gaps in research easily.
“Every research is incomplete.”
Indeed, a research work completes when it states a gap or unexplored area with the final conclusion, so that future research will get direction.
The process of research or doctorate starts (immediately after you get admission) by initiating searching a research gap which leads to postulating a research question.
A research question is your title or statement of thesis using which you will find your thesis objectives and address a particular question. It can be stated only by finding a research or literature gap.
And as I said, it’s quite difficult for PhD students.
So in this blog post, I will explain to you what a research or literature gap is and how you can identify it.
How to appear in the PhD Interview?
Firstly, a research/ knowledge gap or literature gap is though different terms but has a similar meaning. The reason is that a research problem can be addressed either by experimental research and literature review.
A research or literature gap is a problem or unexplored/ underexplored area of the existing research.
Choosing a topic, research or subject that has not been answered or explored yet by any other scientist is referred to as a research gap.
Let us start with an example;
Take a look at the hypothetical closing sentence.
“3 common mutations IVS1-5, IVS1-1 and CD8/9 have been selected for the present to screen thalassemia patients. A common mutation IVS1-5 has been identified in 2 out of 70 unrelated thalassemia patients using the conventional PCR technique.”
Let’s say you want to do research on the Genetics of Thalassemia. Suppose this one is the closing paragraph of some research article and is a final conclusion. How can you find a research gap here?
I find many gaps, Let us find out some of them;
These are some of the possible gaps in the present research. Let’s look at other closing statements for the same.
“3 common mutations IVS1-5, IVS1-1 and CD8/9 have been selected for the present to screen thalassemia patients. A common mutation IVS1-5 has been identified in 2 out of 70 unrelated thalassemia patients using the conventional PCR technique. The present study can be strengthened by increasing sample size, diversifying geological studies, increasing the number of common mutations and using other techniques for thalassemia.”
“Major limitations of the present study are small sample size, number of mutations and technique selected for the study.
All these closing statements posit the same type of research gaps. You can use these to prepare your thesis statement. Take a look at the one.
“Identifying common Beta-thalassemia mutations by DNA sequencing from south India.”
Some research clearly indicates gaps in their studies whereas some don’t. And that’s why it’s difficult for students to discover one. Notedly, by looking into variables used in the study, gaps can be recognized.
You have to read tons of literature to actually determine possible gaps in the research. A research gap has been indicated in the conclusion section, final interpretation, future direction or suggestions part of a research paper.
Besides, when you came across some phrases used in the literature such as,
The present study has not been covered…..
………… excluded from the present study.
………… is important to address in future research.
…………. Techniques can be fruitful for future research.
……………. have/has not been studied/ reported/ evaluated in the present study.
Keep in mind that this indicates a gap, problem or scopes of improvement in the study.
Read more: Which factors decide a PhD Salary?
As I said, it’s not an easy process to find a problem or gap in the research, though by following some steps that I will mention here, you can find one and can go with it.
Research interest is important because you have to do the same work for at least 4 to 5 years. Research takes a tremendous amount of physical, mental, economical and intellectual effort. Meaning you have to select a topic that likely motivates you. You should not get tired of doing that!
You can’t go through the whole topic or subject, right! you have to select one or a few. Means, make things more narrow. Take a look at the process, I have explained with an example.
Find a keyword that is relevant to the topic you like or are interested in and go ahead with it.
Now next in the process, type your keyword or group of keywords in the Google search box and try identifying literature, reviews and research associated with it.
Find reviews, read them and try to find gaps in studies. Keep in mind that it will remain in your interest circle.
Read peer-reviewed articles and find gaps in the research:
Try to read every fresh research and review article around your topic, go through the technique and sample collection process used in each research and discover discordance or space there.
You can make a comparative analysis table as well. Take a look at the table below,
Research study | Title and year of publication | Techniques, methods and sample collection | Outcomes of the study | The geographical location of the study conducted | What is not covered in the study | Research scope |
When you make a comparative analysis of a few studies you will get an idea about the research gap, gap in sample collection, scope to use other techniques, improvisation or new research areas to include in the study.
When you complete the process, you may find many unanswered questions or research gaps (if you have done things in this manner) and you get stuck with many, which to choose and which to leave.
For PhD, it’s important to weightage a research work accurately; not more, not less. An imbalance will create an unnecessary burden and create problems in the future.
Henceforth, prioritizing and narrowing down the research gap is crucial.
In this case, you can take your supervisor’s help. Postulate an amazing research question that would be suitable for PhD, as per your interest, under your budget and fulfill your supervisor’s need.
This is confusing for you surely!
You may wonder by only identifying a gap and postulating a research question, how can we expect anything as outcomes?
Expected outcomes of the research have significant value and importance in the PhD, PhD research proposal and your final report. You or your guide has to explain the possible results of the study.
It’s mandatory and will give you direction for research. Expected outcomes can be considered as a path on which you will have to walk.
Take an example of the research question we just postulated, “Identifying common Beta-thalassemia mutations by DNA sequencing from south India.”
What will be the expected results?
In either case, you have definite outcomes, and your final results will be around it, perhaps. You will definitely not get any information regarding the globin protein because that’s not included in the study.
Right!
You are just doing mutational analysis and want to find some common mutations in the selected population. So what research gap you will identify will surely give some expected outcomes.
Research gap/ knowledge gap or literature gap all terms leads us to the same direction and help us to propose a research question. Although as we said, expected outcomes are also an important consideration to fill the gap.
If you are new to PhD or just started this article is the best place for you to start, and will definitely assist you to find a mission piece of link in the research.
I hope you like this article. Please do visit other articles on this blog.
Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.
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If you are just starting your bachelor’s or master’s thesis, chances are you have heard about finding a “research gap.” In this blog, we will explain what a research gap is, the four most common types of research gaps, and how to identify a suitable research gap.
A research gap refers to an unanswered question or unresolved problem in a field of study, indicating a lack of existing research in that area. A research gap can also exist when a substantial amount of existing research has been conducted, but the findings of the studies point in different directions. For example, suppose your research focuses on identifying the cause (or causes) of a specific disease. Upon reviewing the literature, you find that certain studies conclude that cigarette smoking is a significant factor. However, you also come across numerous studies that find no association between smoking and the disease. In such a case, you may be dealing with a research gap.
The different types of research gaps We distinguish four most common types of research gaps:
1. the classical research gap.
This research gap occurs when there is a new concept or phenomenon that has not been extensively studied or not at all. For example, when a new social media platform is launched, there is an opportunity to explore its impact on users, how it can be used for marketing, its influence on society, and so on. The same applies to new technologies, new communication tools, new therapies, etc. Always try to delimit your research well. For a thesis, investigating an entirely new therapy, for example, is often too broad and extensive. Also, keep in mind that you will need to rely on adjacent literature to build your literature review. You won’t find many existing studies directly related to your topic.
As the name suggests, the disagreement research gap arises when there are conflicting or contradictory findings in the existing research regarding a specific research question. The example we described above about the causes of a disease is an example of this type of research gap. Importantly, for this type of research gap, there must be different conflicting findings. In other words, a situation where 95% of the articles find one result and 5% find the opposite result would not really constitute a disagreement in the literature.
The third type of research gap is the contextual gap. Simply put, a contextual research gap exists when you find a considerable amount of existing research on a specific topic, but there is a lack of research in specific contexts. This could include:
Many thesis students choose this type of research gap because it allows them to base their research on existing literature and possibly even use existing questionnaires. It is important to clearly justify in your thesis why you expect differences in the specific context you choose. Make sure you can explain clearly why your chosen context is “different” from existing studies and why it could reasonably lead to different findings.
As the name suggests, this type of research gap arises due to the research methodology or design of existing studies. You may conclude that the methodology of existing studies is somehow inadequate or that they lack a certain perspective. For example, you may describe that the majority of existing research has adopted a quantitative approach and that there is, therefore, a lack of insight that a qualitative study could provide. Alternatively, you could describe that existing studies have mainly provided a snapshot of the situation, while a longitudinal approach could help uncover how variables have changed over time.
Now that you have a clearer understanding of the different types of research gaps, the next question is, of course, “how do you find these research gaps?” Here, we describe a basic two-step strategy to help you find the research gap.
As a starting point, you need to gather as much recent literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analysis articles as possible that relate to your topic. It is also a good idea to look at recent dissertations. There are several databases that share dissertations (such as OATD – Open Access Theses and Dissertations). Make sure to review the most recent sources possible; otherwise, the research gaps you find may have already been filled by other researchers. Once you have collected a substantial number of articles, focus on reading the discussion section and pay attention to anything they mention about “future research.” In the discussion, researchers will explicitly indicate areas where further studies are needed – in other words, your potential research gap. You can also look for the “limitations” they describe, as this often provides ideas for the methodological research gap. By following this process, you familiarize yourself with the current state of research, which will lay the foundation for identifying the research gap.
Tip: Go on a “FRIN hunt.” FRIN stands for “further research is needed.” Once you have found several relevant articles, search for specific keywords:
These terms are often found in what we call the “FRIN” section. Some articles have a dedicated FRIN section or paragraph, or they are mentioned in the discussion.
We wish you success in finding the research gap! If you need any assistance or have other questions, feel free to ask.
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A thesis is an investigation that adheres to the principles of academic writing . It is critically evaluated on its reliability and significance for the industry (Chandra, 2017). The thesis research provides new insights into academia by reviewing existing research.
In this process, it is essential to identify the research gap. Research gaps are the centre of any research, determining the areas which lack crucial information.
Research gaps also help to frame:
A research gap is a problem that has not been addressed or answered in previous studies in the form of books, journal articles or reports. For instance, presently, there is a lack of research on the long-term effects of the Covid-19 vaccine. This can be a research gap in many studies such as social sciences, biotechnology, and medicine. Such problems need citation analysis and systematic review (Tsoulfas, 2021). To formulate an information-driven thesis, it is important to recognize the area or the topic that is unexplored or has insufficient information. Often research gaps in a thesis are confused with research questions and problem statements. However, there are fundamental differences in these concepts. The sole purpose of a research gap is to summarise problems with outdated or primitive studies. It is a part of the thesis introduction chapter and can range from 200 to 1000 words in length.
The first step in preparing the research gaps section is to outline the general state of knowledge and research in the field of study. This step helps in building the outline for the aspects that could be relevant to the research field.
The second step involves a thorough reading of earlier research and publication on the topic. For this, the researcher can refer to journal articles, library books, or reports. This step also involves consulting your supervisor.
Further, as per the reviewed articles, a viewpoint about the given topic must be framed by listing all relevant information.
Lastly, the need or significance of addressing the listed gaps should be presented.
Start the research gaps in a thesis with a summary of existing research findings. It does not need a detailed elaboration of the situation. For instance, statistics can be skipped. Similarly, you do not need to explain concepts or theories in this section. Next, state the limitations or lacuna in the area of research. This section needs more elaboration like who, what, when, where, why and how should be discussed. Each gap must be stated separately. For instance, consider these 3 gaps:
each should be explained separately. It should be structured in the form of citations wherever necessary. The writing pattern should move from generic to specific thus targeting the research problem for the thesis.
Case topic: Impact of transformative heritage destinations on changing personal values of tourists
Travel behaviour today has shifted from global consumerism to a more meaningful and personalized experience. This has amplified the demand for heritage tourism, i.e. the movement of a person to places of cultural attraction away from their normal residential place to gain new experiences and information for satisfying cultural needs (G Richards, 2003; Rosenfeld, 2008). Tourists are also seeking transformative travel experiences which lead to positive changes in their values and attitudes. PineII & Gilmore (1999) have identified that heritage tourism is responding towards fulfilling the transformation needs of tourists. However, the lack of empirical evidence on the contribution of transformative heritage tourism in changing the personal values of tourists is restricting the formulation of strategies that can boost its growth.
Moreover, researchers have determined that authenticity, awareness, nostalgia, and satisfaction have a relationship with transformative effects and heritage tourism. Therefore, these factors may be interlinked. But despite this, not many academic studies have focused on addressing these tourist factors’ impact on the linkage between heritage tourism and transformative effect. This is another critical research gap.
I am a management graduate with specialisation in Marketing and Finance. I have over 12 years' experience in research and analysis. This includes fundamental and applied research in the domains of management and social sciences. I am well versed with academic research principles. Over the years i have developed a mastery in different types of data analysis on different applications like SPSS, Amos, and NVIVO. My expertise lies in inferring the findings and creating actionable strategies based on them.
Over the past decade I have also built a profile as a researcher on Project Guru's Knowledge Tank division. I have penned over 200 articles that have earned me 400+ citations so far. My Google Scholar profile can be accessed here .
I now consult university faculty through Faculty Development Programs (FDPs) on the latest developments in the field of research. I also guide individual researchers on how they can commercialise their inventions or research findings. Other developments im actively involved in at Project Guru include strengthening the "Publish" division as a bridge between industry and academia by bringing together experienced research persons, learners, and practitioners to collaboratively work on a common goal.
I am a Senior Analyst at Project Guru, a research and analytics firm based in Gurugram since 2012. I hold a master’s degree in economics from Amity University (2019). Over 4 years, I have worked on worked on various research projects using a range of research tools like SPSS, STATA, VOSViewer, Python, EVIEWS, and NVIVO. My core strength lies in data analysis related to Economics, Accounting, and Financial Management fields.
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Research involves highlighting the questions that remain unanswered in your area of research. This is often referred to as ‘identifying the gap’ in the literature and tells the reader what areas need further investigation in your research area. Identifying ‘the gap’ in your research is fundamental to finding your position in an ongoing conversation by deciding how much you accept, question, or reject the claims that your sources make.
When you start to write about that research, you need to figure out how to signal that position, as you quote, summarize, or paraphrase from your sources.
Read the following text and note the way the researcher identifies the gap in the research as a way of positioning themselves in the research field.
This research project sets out to discover if an experience of Antarctica, specifically mine, could be interpreted through the creation of souvenirs and jewellery. Although Antarctica is considered to be a very remote place it has a long and significant history of science and exploration and most recently has become the destination for tourism [a] . However, unlike most tourist destinations Antarctica has not been memorialised through jewellery and souvenirs in the way of historic tourist locations in the world [b]. Throughout Antarctica’s history explorers have painted images and more recently documented it through photography [c] . Whalers and fishermen have made their own representations of this isolated and uninhabited continent, however, none of these matches the proliferation of souvenirs that have been produced to provide memories and reminders of Europe for example during the times of the Grand Tour or the commonly available souvenirs of popular resorts, sites and locations today [d] .
Excerpt from Kirsten Haydon’s dissertation Antarctic landscapes in the souvenir and jewellery (used with permission)
Research and Writing Skills for Academic and Graduate Researchers Copyright © 2022 by RMIT University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.
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Eunice c. wong.
1 RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA USA
Aneesa motala.
2 Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science & Innovation, Los Angeles, USA
Olamigoke akinniranye, jody larkin, susanne hempel, associated data.
Well-defined, systematic, and transparent processes to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities are vital to ensuring that available funds target areas with the greatest potential for impact.
The purpose of this review is to characterize methods conducted or supported by research funding organizations to identify health research gaps, needs, or priorities.
We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Web of Science up to September 2019. Eligible studies reported on methods to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities that had been conducted or supported by research funding organizations. Using a published protocol, we extracted data on the method, criteria, involvement of stakeholders, evaluations, and whether the method had been replicated (i.e., used in other studies).
Among 10,832 citations, 167 studies were eligible for full data extraction. More than half of the studies employed methods to identify both needs and priorities, whereas about a quarter of studies focused singularly on identifying gaps (7%), needs (6%), or priorities (14%) only. The most frequently used methods were the convening of workshops or meetings (37%), quantitative methods (32%), and the James Lind Alliance approach, a multi-stakeholder research needs and priority setting process (28%). The most widely applied criteria were importance to stakeholders (72%), potential value (29%), and feasibility (18%). Stakeholder involvement was most prominent among clinicians (69%), researchers (66%), and patients and the public (59%). Stakeholders were identified through stakeholder organizations (51%) and purposive (26%) and convenience sampling (11%). Only 4% of studies evaluated the effectiveness of the methods and 37% employed methods that were reproducible and used in other studies.
To ensure optimal targeting of funds to meet the greatest areas of need and maximize outcomes, a much more robust evidence base is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of methods used to identify research gaps, needs, and priorities.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11606-021-07064-1.
Well-defined, systematic, and transparent methods to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities are vital to ensuring that available funds target areas with the greatest potential for impact. 1 , 2 As defined in the literature, 3 , 4 research gaps are defined as areas or topics in which the ability to draw a conclusion for a given question is prevented by insufficient evidence. Research gaps are not necessarily synonymous with research needs , which are those knowledge gaps that significantly inhibit the decision-making ability of key stakeholders, who are end users of research, such as patients, clinicians, and policy makers. The selection of research priorities is often necessary when all identified research gaps or needs cannot be pursued because of resource constraints. Methods to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities (from herein referred to as gaps, needs, priorities) can be multi-varied and there does not appear to be general consensus on best practices. 3 , 5
Several published reviews highlight the diverse methods that have been used to identify gaps and priorities. In a review of methods used to identify gaps from systematic reviews, Robinson et al. noted the wide range of organizing principles that were employed in published literature between 2001 and 2009 (e.g., care pathway, decision tree, and patient, intervention, comparison, outcome framework,). 6 In a more recent review spanning 2007 to 2017, Nyanchoka et al. found that the vast majority of studies with a primary focus on the identification of gaps (83%) relied solely on knowledge synthesis methods (e.g., systematic review, scoping review, evidence mapping, literature review). A much smaller proportion (9%) relied exclusively on primary research methods (i.e., quantitative survey, qualitative study). 7
With respect to research priorities, in a review limited to a PubMed database search covering the period from 2001 to 2014, Yoshida documented a wide range of methods to identify priorities including the use of not only knowledge synthesis (i.e., literature reviews) and primary research methods (i.e., surveys) but also multi-stage, structured methods such as Delphi, Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI), James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership (JLA PSP), and Essential National Health Research (ENHR). 2 The CHNRI method, originally developed for the purpose of setting global child health research priorities, typically employs researchers and experts to specify a long list of research questions, the criteria that will be used to prioritize research questions, and the technical scoring of research questions using the defined criteria. 8 During the latter stages, non-expert stakeholders’ input are incorporated by using their ratings of the importance of selected criteria to weight the technical scores. The ENHR method, initially designed for health research priority setting at the national level, involves researchers, decision-makers, health service providers, and communities throughout the entire process of identifying and prioritizing research topics. 9 The JLA PSP method convenes patients, carers, and clinicians to equally and jointly identify questions about healthcare that cannot be answered by existing evidence that are important to all groups (i.e., research needs). 10 The identified research needs are then prioritized by the groups resulting in a final list (often a top 10) of research priorities. Non-clinical researchers are excluded from voting on research needs or priorities but can be involved in other processes (e.g., knowledge synthesis). CHNRI, ENHR, and JLA PSP usually employ a mix of knowledge synthesis and primary research methods to first identify a set of gaps or needs that are then prioritized. Thus, even though CHNRI, ENHR, and JLA PSP have been referred to as priority setting methods, they actually consist of a gaps or needs identification stage that feeds into a research prioritization stage.
Nyanchoka et al.’s review found that the majority of studies focused on the identification of gaps alone (65%), whereas the remaining studies focused either on research priorities alone (17%) or on both gaps and priorities (19%). 7 In an update to Robinson et al.’s review, 6 Carey et al. reviewed the literature between 2010 and 2011 and observed that the studies conducted during this latter period of time focused more on research priorities than gaps and had increased stakeholder involvement, and that none had evaluated the reproducibility of the methods. 11
The increasing development and diversity of formal processes and methods to identify gaps and priorities are indicative of a developing field. 2 , 12 To facilitate more standardized and systematic processes, other important areas warrant further investigation. Prior reviews did not distinguish between the identification of gaps versus research needs. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Evidence-based Practice Center (AHRQ EPC) Program issued a series of method papers related to establishing research needs as part of comparative effectiveness research. 13 – 15 The AHRQ EPC Program defined research needs as “evidence gaps” identified within systematic reviews that are prioritized by stakeholders according to their potential impact on practice or care. 16 Furthermore, Nyanchoka et al. relied on author designations to classify studies as focusing on gaps versus research priorities and noted that definitions of gaps varied across studies, highlighting the need to apply consistent taxonomy when categorizing studies in reviews. 7 Given the rise in the use of stakeholders in both gaps and prioritization exercises, a greater understanding of the range of practices involving stakeholders is also needed. This includes the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders (e.g., consultants versus final decision-makers), the composition of stakeholders (e.g., non-research clinicians, patients, caregivers, policymakers), and the methods used to recruit stakeholders. The lack of consensus of best practices also highlights the importance of learning the extent to which evaluations to determine the effectiveness of gaps, needs, and prioritization exercises have been conducted, and if so, what were the resultant outcomes.
To better inform efforts and organizations that fund health research, we conducted a scoping review of methods used to identify gaps, needs, and priorities that were linked to potential or actual health research funding decision-making. Hence, this scoping review was limited to studies in which the identification of health research gaps, needs, or priorities was supported or conducted by funding organizations to address the following questions 1 : What are the characteristics of methods to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities? and 2 To what extent have evaluations of the impact of these methods been conducted? Given that scoping reviews may be executed to characterize the ways an area of research has been conducted, 17 , 18 this approach is appropriate for the broad nature of this study’s aims.
We employed methods that conform to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. 19 See Appendix A in the Supplementary Information. The scoping review protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/5zjqx/ ).
Studies published in English that described methods to identify health research gaps, needs, or priorities that were supported or conducted by funding organizations were eligible for inclusion. We excluded studies that reported only the results of the exercise (e.g., list of priorities) absent of information on the methods used. We also excluded studies involving evidence synthesis (e.g., literature or systematic reviews) that were solely descriptive and did not employ an explicit method to identify research gaps, needs, or priorities.
We searched the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Our database search also included an update of the Nyanchoka et al. scoping review, which entailed executing their database searches for the time period following 2017 (the study’s search end date). 7 Nyanchoka et al. did not include database searches for research needs. The electronic database search and scoping review update were completed in August and September 2019, respectively . The search strategy employed for each of the databases is presented in Appendix B in the Supplementary Information.
Two reviewers screened titles and abstracts and full-text publications. Citations that one or both reviewers considered potentially eligible were retrieved for full-text review. Relevant background articles and scoping and systematic reviews were reference mined to screen for eligible studies. Full-text publications were screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer. Discrepancies were resolved through discussion by the review team.
Information on study characteristics were extracted from each article including the aims of the exercise (i.e., gaps, needs, priorities, or a combination) and health condition (i.e., physical or psychological). Based on definitions in the literature, 3 – 5 the aims of the exercise were coded according to the activities that were conducted, which may not have always corresponded with the study authors’ labeling of the exercises. For instance, the JLA PSP method is often described as a priority exercise but we categorized it as a needs and priority exercise. Priority exercises can be preceded by exercises to identify gaps or needs, which then feed into the priority exercise such as in JLA PSP; however, standalone priority exercises can also be conducted (e.g., stakeholders prioritize an existing list of emerging diseases).
For each type of exercise, information on the methods were recorded. An initial list of methods was created based on previous reviews. 9 , 12 , 20 During the data extraction process, any methods not included in the initial list were subsequently added. If more than one exercise was reported within an article (e.g., gaps and priorities), information was extracted for each exercise separately. Reviewers extracted the following information: methods employed (e.g., qualitative, quantitative), criteria used (e.g., disease burden, importance to stakeholders), stakeholder involvement (e.g., stakeholder composition, method for identifying stakeholders), and whether an evaluation was conducted on the effectiveness of the exercise (see Appendix C in the Supplementary Information for full data extraction form).
Synthesis of results entailed quantitative descriptives of study characteristics (e.g., proportion of studies by aims of exercise) and characteristics of methods employed across all studies and by each type of study (e.g., gaps, needs, priorities).
The electronic database search yielded a total of 10,548 titles. Another 284 articles were identified after searching the reference lists of full-text publications, including three systematic reviews 21 – 23 and one scoping review 24 that had met eligibility criteria. Moreover, a total of 99 publications designated as relevant background articles were also reference mined to screen for eligible studies. We conducted full-text screening for 2524 articles, which resulted in 2344 exclusions (440 studies were designated as background articles). A total of 167 exercises related to the identification of gaps, needs, or priorities that were supported or conducted by a research funding organization were described across 180 publications and underwent full data extraction. See Figure Figure1 1 for the flow diagram of our search strategy and reasons for exclusion.
Literature flow
Among the published exercises, the majority of studies (152/167) conducted gaps, need, or prioritization exercises related to physical health, whereas only a small fraction of studies focused on psychological health (12/167) (see Appendix D in the Supplementary Information).
As seen in Table Table1, 1 , only about a quarter of studies involved a singular type of exercise with 7% focused on the identification of gaps only (i.e., areas with insufficient information to draw a conclusion for a given question), 6% on needs only (i.e., knowledge gaps that inhibit the decision-making of key stakeholders), and 14% priorities only (i.e., ranked gaps or needs often because of resource constraints). Studies more commonly conducted a combination of multiple types of exercises with more than half focused on the identification of both research needs and priorities, 14% on gaps and priorities, 3% gaps, needs, and priorities, and 3% gaps and needs.
Methods for Identifying Health Research Gaps, Needs, and Priorities
Framework tool | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 |
JLA PSP | 46 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 53 | 0 | 0 |
ENHR | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
CHNRI | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Systematic review | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Literature review | 29 | 17 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 2 | 40 | 7 | 29 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 60 |
Evidence mapping | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Qualitative methods | 28 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 80 |
Quantitative methods | 54 | 32 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 48 | 2 | 40 | 11 | 46 | 22 | 25 | 5 | 100 |
Consensus methods | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 4 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 60 |
Workshop/conference | 61 | 37 | 12 | 100 | 7 | 70 | 13 | 57 | 5 | 100 | 5 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 4 | 80 |
Stakeholder consultation | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 40 |
Review in-progress data | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 20 |
Review source materials | 25 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 40 | 11 | 46 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 100 |
Other | 28 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 6 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 40 |
JLA PSP , James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnerships; ENHR , Essential National Health Research; CHNRI , Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative. Numbers in columns may add up to more than the total N or 100% since some studies employed more than one method
Across the 167 studies, the three most frequently used methods were the convening of workshops/meetings/conferences (37%), quantitative methods (32%), and the JLA PSP approach (28%). This was followed by methods involving literature reviews (17%), qualitative methods (17%), consensus methods (13%), and reviews of source materials (15%). Other methods included the CHNRI process (7%), reviews of in-progress data (7%), consultation with (non-researcher) stakeholders (4%), applying a framework tool (4%), ENHR (1%), systematic reviews (1%), and evidence mapping (1%).
The criterion most widely applied across the 167 studies was the importance to stakeholders (72%) (see Table Table2). 2 ). Almost one-third (29%) considered the potential value and 18% feasibility as criteria. Burden of disease (9%), addressing inequities (8%), costs (6%), alignment with organization’s mission (3%), and patient centeredness (2%) were adopted as criteria to a lesser extent.
Criteria for Identifying Health Research Gaps, Needs, and Priorities
Costs | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 40 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Burden of disease | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 6 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Importance to stakeholders | 120 | 72 | 2 | 17 | 5 | 50 | 6 | 26 | 5 | 100 | 15 | 63 | 83 | 94 | 4 | 80 |
Patient centeredness | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Aligned with organization mission | 5 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Potential value | 49 | 29 | 3 | 25 | 2 | 20 | 11 | 48 | 1 | 20 | 12 | 50 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 80 |
Potential risk from inaction | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Addresses inequities | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Feasibility | 30 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 40 | 9 | 38 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 80 |
Other | 37 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 39 | 4 | 80 | 9 | 38 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 60 |
Not reported | 14 | 8 | 5 | 42 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
Not applicable | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 40 |
Unclear | 12 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 60 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
Numbers in columns may add up to more than the total N or 100% since some studies employed more than one criterion
About two-thirds of the studies included researchers (66%) and clinicians (69%) as stakeholders (see Appendix E in the Supplementary Information). Patients and the public were involved in 59% of the studies. A smaller proportion included policy makers (20%), funders (13%), product makers (8%), payers (5%), and purchasers (2%) as stakeholders. Nearly half of the studies (51%) relied on stakeholder organizations to identify stakeholders (see Appendix F in the Supplementary Information). A quarter of studies (26%) used purposive sampling and some convenience sampling (11%). Few (9%) used snowball sampling to identify stakeholders. Only a minor fraction of studies, seven of the 167 (4%), reported some type of effectiveness evaluation. 25 – 31
Our scoping review revealed that approaches to identifying gaps, needs, and priorities are less likely to occur as discrete processes and more often involve a combination of exercises. Approaches encompassing multiple exercises (e.g., gaps and needs) were far more prevalent than singular standalone exercises (e.g., gaps only) (73% vs. 27%). Findings underscore the varying importance placed on gaps, needs, and priorities, which reflect key principles of the Value of Information approach (i.e., not all gaps are important, addressing gaps do not necessarily address needs nor does addressing needs necessarily address priorities). 32
Findings differ from Nyanchoka et al.’s review in which studies involving the identification of gaps only outnumbered studies involving both gaps and priorities. 7 However, Nyanchoka et al. relied on author definitions to categorize exercises, whereas our study made designations based on our review of the activities described in the article and applied definitions drawn from the literature. 3 , 4 Lack of consensus on definitions of gaps and priority setting has been noted in the literature. 33 , 34 To the authors’ knowledge, no prior scoping review has focused on methods related to the identification of “research needs.” Findings underscore the need to develop and apply more consistent taxonomy to this growing field of research.
More than 40% of studies employed methods with a structured protocol including JLA PSP, ENHR, CHRNI, World Café, and the Dialogue model. 10 , 35 – 40 The World Café and Dialogue models particularly value the experiential perspectives of stakeholders. The World Café centers on creating a special environment, often modeled after a café, in which rounds of multi-stakeholder, small group, conversations are facilitated and prefaced with questions designed for the specific purpose of the session. Insights and results are reported and shared back to the entire group with no expectation to achieve consensus, but rather diverse perspectives are encouraged. 36 The Dialogue model is a multi-stakeholder, participatory, priority setting method involving the following phases: exploratory (informal discussions), consultation (separate stakeholder consultations), prioritization (stakeholder ratings), and integration (dialog between stakeholders). 39 Findings may indicate a trend away from non-replicable methods to approaches that afford greater transparency and reproducibility. 41 For instance, of the 17 studies published between 2000 and 2009, none had employed CHNRI and 6% used JLA PSP compared to the 141 studies between 2010 and 2019 in which 8% applied CHNRI and 32% JLA PSP. However, notable variations in implementing CHNRI and JLA PSP have been observed. 41 – 43 Though these protocols help to ensure a more standardized process, which is essential when testing the effectiveness of methods, such evaluations are infrequent but necessary to establish the usefulness of replicable methods.
Convening workshops, meetings, or conferences was the method used by the greatest proportion of studies (37%). The operationalization of even this singular method varied widely in duration (e.g., single vs. multi-day conferences), format (e.g., expert panel presentations, breakout discussion groups), processes (e.g., use of formal/informal consensus methods), and composition of stakeholders. The operationalization of other methods (e.g., quantitative, qualitative) also exhibited great diversity.
The use of explicit criteria to determine gaps, needs, or priorities is a key component of certain structured protocols 40 , 44 and frameworks. 9 , 45 In our scoping review, the criterion applied most frequently across studies (71%) was “importance to stakeholders” followed by potential value (31%) and feasibility (18%). Stakeholder values are being incorporated into the identification of gaps, needs, and exercises across a significant proportion of studies, but how this is operationalized varies widely across studies. For instance, the CHNRI typically employs multiple criteria that are scored by technical experts and these scores are then weighted based on stakeholder ratings of their relative importance. Other studies totaled scores across multiple criteria, whereas JLA PSP asks multiple stakeholders to rank the top ten priorities. The importance of involving stakeholders, especially patients and the public, in priority setting is increasingly viewed as vital to ensuring the needs of end users are met, 46 , 47 particularly in light of evidence demonstrating mismatches between the research interests of patients and researchers and clinicians. 48 – 50 In our review, clinicians (69%) and researchers (66%) were the most widely represented stakeholder groups across studies. Patients and the public (e.g., caregivers) were included as stakeholders in 59% of the studies. Only a small fraction of studies involved exercises in which stakeholders were limited to researchers only. Patients and the public were involved as stakeholders in 12% of studies published between 2000 and 2009 compared to 60% of studies between 2010 and 2019. Findings may reflect a trend away from researchers traditionally serving as one of the sole drivers of determining which research topics should be pursued.
More than half of the studies reported relying on stakeholder organizations to identify participants. Partnering with stakeholder organizations has been noted as one of the primary methods for identifying stakeholders for priority setting exercises. 34 Purposive sampling was the next most frequently used stakeholder identification method. In contrast, convenience sampling (e.g., recommendations by study team) and snowball sampling (e.g., identified stakeholders refer other stakeholders who then refer additional stakeholders) were not as frequently employed, but were documented as common methods in a prior review conducted almost a decade ago. 14 The greater use of stakeholder organizations than convenience or snowball sampling may be partly due to the more recent proliferation of published studies using structured protocols like JLA PSP, which rely heavily on partnerships with stakeholder organizations. Though methods such as snowball sampling may introduce more bias than random sampling, 14 there are no established best practices for stakeholder identification methods. 51 Nearly a quarter of studies provided either unclear or no information on stakeholder identification methods, which has been documented as a barrier to comparing across studies and assessing the validity of research priorities. 34
Determining the effectiveness of gaps, needs, and priority exercises is challenging given that outcome evaluations are rarely conducted. Only seven studies reported conducting an evaluation. 25 – 31 Evaluations varied with respect to their focus on process- (e.g., balanced stakeholder representation, stakeholder satisfaction) versus outcome-related impact (e.g., prioritized topics funded, knowledge production, benefits to health). There is no consensus on what constitutes optimal outcomes, which has been found to vary by discipline. 52
More than 90% of studies involved exercises related to physical health in contrast to a minor portfolio of work being dedicated to psychological health, which may be an indication of the low priority placed on psychological health policy research. Understanding whether funding decisions for physical versus psychological health research are similarly or differentially governed by more systematic, formal processes may be important to the extent that this affects the effective targeting of funds.
By limiting studies to those supported or conducted by funding organizations, we may have excluded global, national, or local priority setting exercises. In addition, our scoping review categorized approaches according to the actual exercises conducted and definitions provided in the scientific literature rather than relying on the terminology employed by studies. This resulted in instances in which the category assigned to an exercise within our scoping review could diverge from the category employed by the study authors. Lastly, this study’s findings are subject to limitations often characteristic of scoping reviews such as publication bias, language bias, lack of quality assessment, and search, inclusion, and extraction biases. 53
The diversity and growing establishment of formal processes and methods to identify health research gaps, needs, and priorities are characteristic of a developing field. Even with the emergence of more structured and systematic approaches, the inconsistent categorization and definition of gaps, needs, and priorities inhibit efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of varied methods and processes, such efforts are rare and sorely needed to build an evidence base to guide best practices. The immense variation occurring within structured protocols, across different combinations of disparate methods, and even within singular methods, further emphasizes the importance of using clearly defined approaches, which are essential to conducting investigations of the effectiveness of these varied approaches. The recent development of reporting guidelines for priority setting for health research may facilitate more consistent and clear documentation of processes and methods, which includes the many facets of involving stakeholders. 34 To ensure optimal targeting of funds to meet the greatest areas of need and maximize outcomes, a much more robust evidence base is needed to ascertain the effectiveness of methods used to identify research gaps, needs, and priorities.
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This scoping review is part of research that was sponsored by Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (now Psychological Health Center of Excellence).
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What is a research gap.
A research gap is a question or a problem that has not been answered by any of the existing studies or research within your field. Sometimes, a research gap exists when there is a concept or new idea that hasn't been studied at all. Sometimes you'll find a research gap if all the existing research is outdated and in need of new/updated research (studies on Internet use in 2001, for example). Or, perhaps a specific population has not been well studied (perhaps there are plenty of studies on teenagers and video games, but not enough studies on toddlers and video games, for example). These are just a few examples, but any research gap you find is an area where more studies and more research need to be conducted. Please view this video clip from our Sage Research Methods database for more helpful information: How Do You Identify Gaps in Literature?
It will take a lot of research and reading. You'll need to be very familiar with all the studies that have already been done, and what those studies contributed to the overall body of knowledge about that topic. Make a list of any questions you have about your topic and then do some research to see if those questions have already been answered satisfactorily. If they haven't, perhaps you've discovered a gap! Here are some strategies you can use to make the most of your time:
Please give these suggestions a try and contact a librarian for additional assistance.
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Your Master's thesis should make a significant, novel contribution to the field. Your thesis hypothesis should address a research gap which you identify in the literature, a research question or problem that has not been answered in your research area of interest. This shows that you have developed expertise in the body of knowledge and theoretical issues in your chosen research area.
Step 1: Focus Your Research Area
Before you start trying to identify gaps in the literature, you need to figure out what your area of interest is, and then focus and narrow that research area. If you don't narrow down your initial research area of interest, you'll end up wanting to research everything. You'll overwhelm yourself with all the research gaps you find because there are still a lot of unanswered research questions out there.
Step 2: Read, Read, and then Read Some More
Read (a lot of) research articles : this is going to be time-demanding, but you really do need to read through a lot of research articles in your research area to become an expert in it. That being said, what you use from the articles that you read should relate directly back to your focused research questions and hypothesis. Don't waste your time getting sidetracked by issues that don't relate to your research questions and hypothesis.
Follow the research trails of seminal articles and authors using Web of Science and Scopus:
Read meta-analyses, literature reviews, and systematic reviews : these papers delve deep into the literature, examining the trends and changes over a long period of time in your research area and summaries of previous research findings.
Step 3: Map out the Literature :
Keep track of what the authors told you and the questions that occur to you whenever you read anything - an article, a book, a book chapter, a dissertation, etc. This will also help you write your thesis introduction later on and help you avoid unconscious plagiarism .Some more tips:
If you find don't find any answers to one of your questions, you've probably found a research gap from which you can develop a thesis hypothesis and experimental project. Get feedback from your advisors before you get too carried away, though!
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This article is an excerpt from a lecture given by my Ph.D. guide, a researcher in public health. She advised us on how to identify research gaps to pursue innovative research in our fields.
What is a Research Gap?
Today we are talking about the research gap: what is it, how to identify it, and how to make use of it so that you can pursue innovative research. Now, how many of you have ever felt you had discovered a new and exciting research question , only to find that it had already been written about? I have experienced this more times than I can count. Graduate studies come with pressure to add new knowledge to the field. We can contribute to the progress and knowledge of humanity. To do this, we need to first learn to identify research gaps in the existing literature.
A research gap is, simply, a topic or area for which missing or insufficient information limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question. It should not be confused with a research question, however. For example, if we ask the research question of what the healthiest diet for humans is, we would find many studies and possible answers to this question. On the other hand, if we were to ask the research question of what are the effects of antidepressants on pregnant women, we would not find much-existing data. This is a research gap. When we identify a research gap, we identify a direction for potentially new and exciting research.
Considering the volume of existing research, identifying research gaps can seem overwhelming or even impossible. I don’t have time to read every paper published on public health. Similarly, you guys don’t have time to read every paper. So how can you identify a research gap?
There are different techniques in various disciplines, but we can reduce most of them down to a few steps, which are:
It is the last step which we all find the most challenging. It can be difficult to figure out what an article is not saying. I like to keep a list of notes of biased or inconsistent information. You could also track what authors write as “directions for future research,” which often can point us towards the existing gaps.
Identifying research gaps is an essential step in conducting research, as it helps researchers to refine their research questions and to focus their research efforts on areas where there is a need for more knowledge or understanding.
These are gaps in knowledge or understanding of a subject, where more research is needed to fill the gaps. For example, there may be a lack of understanding of the mechanisms behind a particular disease or how a specific technology works.
These are gaps in the conceptual framework or theoretical understanding of a subject. For example, there may be a need for more research to understand the relationship between two concepts or to refine a theoretical framework.
These are gaps in the methods used to study a particular subject. For example, there may be a need for more research to develop new research methods or to refine existing methods to address specific research questions.
These are gaps in the data available on a particular subject. For example, there may be a need for more research to collect data on a specific population or to develop new measures to collect data on a particular construct.
These are gaps in the application of research findings to practical situations. For example, there may be a need for more research to understand how to implement evidence-based practices in real-world settings or to identify barriers to implementing such practices.
Limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms of a disease:.
Despite significant research on a particular disease, there may be a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the disease. For example, although much research has been done on Alzheimer’s disease, the exact mechanisms that lead to the disease are not yet fully understood.
When previous research on a particular topic has inconsistent findings, there may be a need for further research to clarify or resolve these inconsistencies. For example, previous research on the effectiveness of a particular treatment for a medical condition may have produced inconsistent findings, indicating a need for further research to determine the true effectiveness of the treatment.
As new technologies emerge, there may be limited research on their applications, benefits, and potential drawbacks. For example, with the increasing use of artificial intelligence in various industries, there is a need for further research on the ethical, legal, and social implications of AI.
Once you have identified the literature gaps, it is critical to prioritize. You may find many questions which remain to be answered in the literature. Often one question must be answered before the next can be addressed. In prioritizing the gaps, you have identified, you should consider your funding agency or stakeholders, the needs of the field, and the relevance of your questions to what is currently being studied. Also, consider your own resources and ability to conduct the research you’re considering. Once you have done this, you can narrow your search down to an appropriate question.
There are thousands of new articles published every day, and staying up to date on the literature can be overwhelming. You should take advantage of the technology that is available. Some services include PubCrawler , Feedly , Google Scholar , and PubMed updates. Stay up to date on social media forums where scholars share new discoveries, such as Twitter. Reference managers such as Mendeley can help you keep your references well-organized. I personally have had success using Google Scholar and PubMed to stay current on new developments and track which gaps remain in my personal areas of interest.
The most important thing I want to impress upon you today is that you will struggle to choose a research topic that is innovative and exciting if you don’t know the existing literature well. This is why identifying research gaps starts with an extensive and thorough literature review . But give yourself some boundaries. You don’t need to read every paper that has ever been written on a topic. You may find yourself thinking you’re on the right track and then suddenly coming across a paper that you had intended to write! It happens to everyone- it happens to me quite often. Don’t give up- keep reading and you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Class dismissed!
How do you identify research gaps? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
A research gap can be identified by looking for a topic or area with missing or insufficient information that limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question.
Identifying a research gap is important as it provides a direction for potentially new research or helps bridge the gap in existing literature.
Gap in research is a topic or area with missing or insufficient information. A research gap limits the ability to reach a conclusion for a question.
Thank u for your suggestion.
Very useful tips specially for a beginner
Thank you. This is helpful. I find that I’m overwhelmed with literatures. As I read on a particular topic, and in a particular direction I find that other conflicting issues, topic a and ideas keep popping up, making me more confused.
I am very grateful for your advice. It’s just on point.
The clearest, exhaustive, and brief explanation I have ever read.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you very much.The work is brief and understandable
Thank you it is very informative
Thanks for sharing this educative article
Thank you for such informative explanation.
Great job smart guy! Really outdid yourself!
Nice one! I thank you for this as it is just what I was looking for!😃🤟
Thank you so much for this. Much appreciated
Thank you so much.
Thankyou for ur briefing…its so helpful
Thank you so much .I’ved learn a lot from this.❤️
Very exciting and useful piece for researchers.
Your are awesome, it’s a great article.
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The gap between what is known from research, to applying that research in real-life situations is referred to as, the implementation gap. Implementation science has developed as a discipline to address this gap. It seeks to understand and map the processes to take what is known from scientific evidence and to bring this evidence to inform and improve policy and practice. As essential aspect of sustaining successful implementation is an adequate monitoring and evaluation system. Furthermore, a failure to monitor and evaluate is a failure to provide good governance. This chapter explores the application and practical use of a range of common implementation science frameworks. It provides details on the enablers and barriers during the various stages of implementation and on cycles of improvement. The chapter explains the steps for a successful evaluation and how data can be generated for this. This includes indicator data from a monitoring system. The chapter concludes with two practical case studies, one describing a program to increase PhD education within healthcare and one to increase clinical research outputs with an example from an HIV/AIDS clinic.
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Comiskey, C. (2024). Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation: What Enablers Do We Need and When Do We Need Them to Ensure Success?. In: Addiction Research and Evaluation. Advances in Mental Health and Addiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-65917-1_10
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